Table of Contents
TL;DR,
- Women in Web3 remain severely underrepresented—only 1% of US women own NFTs versus 4% of men, and just 3% of startups are exclusively women-led. This guide covers the data, barriers, and projects driving change.
- While men collect NFTs at nearly four times the rate of women, female-led projects like World of Women and Women Rise are reshaping community norms and driving financial autonomy.
- Closing the digital gender gap isn’t just ethical; it is a smart investment strategy that unlocks innovation, reduces volatility, and creates a truly decentralized ecosystem for the future.
The blockchain and NFT ecosystem has promised decentralization, inclusivity, and democratized access to wealth-building opportunities. Yet, dig a bit deeper and you’ll find that women in Web3 remain underrepresented.
According to 2024 data, approximately 4% of men in the United States own NFTs, while only 1% of women report ownership. Globally, the disparity widens further: men collect NFTs at nearly four times the rate of women (15% versus 4%). This gap stretches a bit further. Only three out of the top 50 CEOs in the crypto industry are women, and just 13% of Web3 startups have a female founder. Among those, only 3% are exclusively women-led teams.
According to Bloomberg Intelligence research, companies with more women on their boards deliver 2–5% higher returns in developed markets and experience lower volatility. This guide distills the latest data, highlights credible female-led projects, and offers practical steps that actually help.
Examples of women-led NFT projects worth knowing
NFT is akin to creativity, and the industry has surprisingly popular women-led NFT projects focusing on an inclusive community that tells the story as is.
World of Women (WoW)
The World of Women NFT collection stands as one of the most successful women-led initiatives in the space. Created by artist Yam Karkai and her team, WoW features 10,000 randomly generated portraits celebrating diversity and inclusivity. Reese Witherspoon and Shonda Rhimes are two famous people who have backed the project.
Maggie Mae, an early member of the community and winner of WoW’s Creative Storytelling Award, used her WoW NFT (#8738) to make stories and pictures. Later, she combined them with the world of 10KTF to take her career in creative entrepreneurship to the next level.
Women Rise
Women Rise is a 10,000-piece collection that focuses on women’s rights and girls’ education. It was started by Maliha Abidi, a Pakistani-American artist and author who works in many different fields. Her art is a direct way to advocate for change, which gives the collection a purpose beyond just guessing.
Sad Girls Bar and Other Initiatives
The Sad Girls Bar NFT project was made by Glam Beckett and takes a different approach by using 10,000 hand-drawn pieces to look at sad and complicated feelings. The collection, along with the companion projects Skeletongues and The Sad Cats, fights against the “toxic positivity” that is common in NFT communities and gives people a place to express their real feelings.
Some other important projects are
- Both Alpha Girl Club and Women Tribe are known for promoting gender equality.
- Honey Badges, which G.D. Anderson started on Solana, makes money for human rights grants through DAO-managed royalties.
- Lisa Mayer showcased Boss Beauties, the first NFT, at the New York Stock Exchange and the United Nations. Additionally, it generated funds for scholarships and mentorship programs for young women.
Barriers Women Still Face
Many creative people still don’t like NFTs and blockchain because they are too complicated.
As digital artist Hanne Van Briel observes,
“Sometimes the tech can be a bit overwhelming to get started. Even when you have been around for a while, new things pop up every week. There are so many platforms and ways to mint and sell art.”
Surveys indicate that up to 60% of women report experiencing bias or exclusion in crypto-related communities. Imposter syndrome surfaces repeatedly in testimonials from women leaders.
Security concerns affect all participants but pose particular challenges for newcomers. Despite growth, hacks and exploits resulted in $407 million in losses in Q2 2024 alone. Today, in a digital-focused age, education around wallet security, private key management, and scam recognition is all the more vital.
Funding disparities compound these obstacles. All-female founding teams have a harder time getting funding than male or mixed teams. This makes it harder for them to grow their projects and compete for attention.
The reality check: gender gap statistics you should know
It’s not just about who owns something; women are very poorly represented in Web3, from making things to leading them, getting media coverage, and getting funding.
Ownership and Investment
The gap in NFT ownership is similar to the gap in cryptocurrency ownership. In 2024, 39% of people who owned crypto were women, up from 37% the year before. Just 8% of women in the US own cryptocurrency, compared to 19% of men.
Globally, 74% of cryptocurrency investors identify as male.
Among adults aged 18–34, 5% own NFTs, but that figure plummets to 1% for those over 55. Millennials are the most likely to own NFTs, with 23% doing so, compared to only 2% of boomers Gen Z women are the fastest-growing group of people who use cryptocurrencies, and they prefer NFTs and social tokens to regular coins.
One good thing: Japan is the only country where more women (1.6%) than men (1.5%) own NFTs. Singapore has the highest percentage of young adults who own at least one NFT, with 9% of people aged 18–34 owning one. Women are the fastest-growing group in Africa, and Nigerian women make up almost 45% of new crypto users in recent years.
Leadership and Visibility
At the executive level, the picture grows starker. Women comprise roughly 27% of employees at top Web3 companies as of 2023, according to Boston Consulting Group. In blockchain firms with strong female representation—Chainalysis (46% women), BitOasis (42%), Coinbase, Elliptic, and Circle (each at 33.3%).
Media visibility tells a similar story. An analysis of 1,000 op-eds and articles across leading outlets found women mentioned as subject-matter experts just 127 times, compared to 867 mentions of men. Among the top 100 crypto influencers on X (formerly Twitter), only five are women.
Male-led teams secure funding more easily, followed by mixed-gender teams. All-female teams face the steepest challenges in raising capital; however, this tugs more on the diversity of ideas rather than capability.
Why This Matters: The Business Case for Inclusion
The gender gap statistics paint a narrative of the industry. When only a narrow demographic participates, the ecosystem develops products, messaging, and community norms tailored to that group. It works in terms of specialty but alienates a whole segment of users.
Simone Maini, CEO of blockchain analytics firm, argues that digital currencies hold particular relevance for women because they can enhance access to assets and financial autonomy—attributes historically denied to women in traditional finance.
This is a fact. In the United States, banks could legally refuse women credit without a male co-signer until the Equal Credit Opportunity Act passed in 1974. Women weren’t admitted to the London Stock Exchange trading floor until 1973. There weren’t many women involved in the finance and technology industries that created cryptocurrency, and those patterns of exclusion have continued into Web3.
As Gracy Chen, Managing Director of Bitget and an MIT MBA graduate, reflects on her early career:
“During my time as CMO for my fintech startup, I was the only female partner out of ten. That left me with a lot of questions regarding whether I was worthy. Do I really belong at this table with all these guys?”
Even though she had imposter syndrome, Chen helped make Bitget the biggest crypto copy trading platform in the world, with 20 million users and more than $10 billion in daily trading volume.
How Can This Information Help You?
If you’re a woman considering entering Web3 or NFTs:
Educational resources have expanded, especially in Africa.
Maggie Love, who used to be the Director of Strategic Initiatives at Consensys and co-founded W3BCLOUD, started SheFi. It has brought on more than 1,000 women from more than 50 countries and given them more than 60 hours of free crypto and Web3 education. Bitcoin Dada, CryptoChicks, and Women in Blockchain Talks are all places where women can get help and support from other women.
Search interest for “women in crypto” grew 40% year-over-year, and membership in women-focused platforms has expanded by 150% over the past two years. You’re entering a moment of momentum.
If you’re a collector or investor:
Incorporating work by female artists goes beyond tokenism and into broadening perspectives. Women now own 63% of the auction market for ultra-modern artists born in or after 1985. This is a big change from the traditional art market, where women’s works made up only 9% of sales in 2022.
If you work in the industry:
Creating opportunities matters.
Have women speak at conferences. Make their media skills even better. Give money, partnerships, and visibility to projects led by women. Sasha Stiles, a poet and artist, says
“When you look around and see artists like Holly Herndon, Stephanie Dinkins, Linda Dounia, Sougwen Chung, Ivona Tau, Operator, and Emily Xie at the forefront of how technology is changing creativity and expression, it’s clear that things are already changing.”
Women in Web3: Creating an Open Ecosystem
In the first quarter of 2024, the NFT market had $3.9 billion in trading volume, which was 50% more than the same time last year. The global NFT market, which was worth $26.9 billion in 2023, is expected to grow at a rate of 34.5% per year until 2030. This growth path depends on getting more people involved, not just the small group of people who are currently in charge.
Women in Web3 don’t want anything special. They want a seat at a table that is based on the values of decentralization, inclusion, and financial empowerment, which the industry says it supports.
The future of Web3 doesn’t depend on copying the exclusionary patterns of traditional finance; it depends on building something truly new, and that means everyone needs to be there.
