With the Metaverse, new worlds are just emerging, offering the potential to leave old burdens such as discrimination and exclusion behind and create an equal space for all. Unfortunately, women don't seem to have arrived in the Metaverse yet, which needs to change urgently.
While we are still struggling with issues like the gender pay gap, a whole new movement is arising, and a multi-billion dollar industry is in danger of marginalising us. Consulting firm McKinsey's Value creation in Metaverse, published in June 2022, estimates the potential of the Metaverse to be worth up to five trillion dollars by 2030.
Women's interest in the Metaverse seems to grow by 15% a month. However, according to The Female Quotient and EWG's joint report "Women In Web 3.0", there are still hurdles as a third say their internet bandwidth is insufficient, and almost a quarter of all women fail to use the Metaverse due to technical limitations such as access and operation.
Is diversity in the Metaverse an illusion or reality?
Currently, most Web 3.0 platforms are still developed and designed by men. But to meet all needs, more perspectives are needed. Diverse teams are essential for balance in Web 3.0; unfortunately, we are still far from that.
Looking at the Boston Consulting Group's survey, where Austrians were asked how they would design their avatar to maximise professional success, you come to sobering conclusions. One in three LGBTQ+ people would conceal their sexual orientation in the virtual world for better career opportunities. A quarter of the women surveyed assumed they would have better job opportunities with a male avatar, whereas only 4% of women would choose to be a man if the same chances of success were guaranteed.
If women want to have a say, they need to get involved
It's time for women to get involved in building the Metaverse platforms to ensure we don't return to a world where women are marginalised. This is where initiatives like 'Women of the Future', a platform created by women to tell the success stories of female pioneers in the new ecosystem and amplify their voices, come in.
The top 100 female leaders have been selected - visionaries, developers and architects of Web3 and Metaverse worldwide. So far, three experts from Switzerland have been included: the Dean of the Metaverse Academy, Dr Martha Boeckenfeld, the NFT and Metaverse rebel Kelly Vero and Lili Zhao, Director Neo Global Development.
Come with us into the Metaverse
With our new SmartPurse Metastudio, we are committed to a diverse Metaverse - we want to awaken interest in finance and technology topics, especially among women.
On 4 October, we will open the world's first independent financial wellness platform in the Metaverse and create new spaces and opportunities to impart financial knowledge in a playful, interactive and inspiring way.
Soon we'll invite you to explore the new world with us and learn the most important basics and key technologies in our introductory courses. Are you in?
Click here for Part 1 of our Metaverse blog series: Background, facts and figures