The Women Building a Better World in Web 3

In recent years, Web 3 technology has emerged as a promising solution to address some of the world's most pressing problems. From decentralized finance to sustainable development, Web 3 has the potential to revolutionize the way we live and work. And in this rapidly changing landscape, women are leading the way to create a better world through the framework and technologies of Web 3.

According to a recent survey from Etoro, crypto is the second most popular asset after cash for women in 13 countries. Women crypto holders also jumped from 29% in Q3 2022 to 34% in Q4 2023. This is a significant increase from just a few years ago when women made up only a small fraction of the cryptocurrency community and one that must be kept in mind given the systemic challenges they still face. Only 13% of Web3 startups include a female founder and women represent 27% of the top Web3 startups’ workforce.

As more women enter the Web 3 ecosystem and make their mark in various fields, we can expect to see even more positive change and progress towards a more equitable and inclusive digital economy. 

At Givepact, we’ve met dozens of inspiring women who are leading some extraordinary social impact efforts in the Web 3 ecosystem. Get to know these leaders and their projects:

Jerusaliem Gebreziabher, Internet Freedom DAO

Jerusaliem is the co-founder of Internet Freedom DAO with a mission to make the internet free and accessible to prevent human rights indignities. The organization’s current focus, Tigray DAO, is creating awareness and fundraising for people impacted by the widespread violence, displacement, sexual violence, extrajudicial killings, and mass atrocities in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, two years after a civil war broke out. 

“The world turned its head and a blind eye to almost 200k Tigrayan women experiencing conflict related sexual violence between 2020-2023, it is imperative that we occupy as many spaces as possible moving forward,” Jerusaliem told Givepact.

An estimated 5.2 million people are in need of assistance, including food, shelter, and medical care. Humanitarian agencies have faced significant challenges in accessing the region, which has hampered their ability to provide assistance. Jerusaliem and her team believe that the lack of internet access in the community is preventing people from documenting the crimes and getting the support they need.

“As a woman in Web 3, I also feel an obligation to take up space despite it being uncomfortable at times,” Jerusaliem said. 

 “Again, if we aren’t at the table and in these spaces, we risk our narratives being excluded altogether; which in my case in particular and in the case of Tigrayan women, this is a risk I’m not willing to take.” 

Sam Flanagan, Web3ForGood

Sam Flanagan is the founder of Web3ForGood, a newsletter aggregating events and projects focused on social good around the world. Through her work, Sam is bridging the gap between the traditional philanthropic sector and the emerging Web 3 ecosystem. We recommend you subscribe to the newsletter to stay on top of news and opportunities in social impact. 

“The Web 3 space is creating opportunities for people in different parts of the world that may have been disconnected before, to engage with a global economy is inspiring,” she said.

Deepa Chaudhary, Impact DAOS

Deepa Chaudhary is the host of the podcast All About Impact DAOs and the author of Impact DAOs (Decentral Autonomous Organizations). On her podcast she interviews DAO leaders and their projects. Her newly released free digital book Impact DAO is a great beginners guide to explaining what DAOs are and showcasing projects that are already making an impact by tackling societal challenges.

“I got into Web 3 in May 2021 when [Ethereum founder] Vitalik Buterin donated $1B to India's crypto relief fund,” Deepa told us in December. “I was like ‘wow that's like a lot of money.’ I was like wow, ‘what can this do’ … It helped procure oxygen cylinders and other supplies for hospitals overwhelmed with Delta virus ... it did save lives and I got intrigued.”

Magdalena Madrigal, Web3Familia

Magdalena Madrigal is the co-founder of Web3Familia, a nonprofit and DAO on a mission to onboard one million Latinos to Web 3. Magdalena is empowering Latinos to participate in the development and governance of Web 3 projects through education, community building, and events. 

“What keeps me going every day in Web3Familia is making it known to the Latinos who join our community that we belong in the Web 3 space,” she said. “Reminding them to put the imposter syndrome behind and helping them feel empowered in this space so they can pursue their own personal endeavors and build in Web 3."As Latino co-founders of Givepact, Alicia and Steve can attest that Web3Familia has welcomed them with open arms and been a great foundation to them in the industry.

Maggie Love, SheFi

Maggie Love is the founder and lead instructor of SheFi, an in-depth crypto finance course designed for women and non-binary people. SheFi has grown to over 1,000 members who have taken the course and stay connected through crypto events around the world. Many have pivoted to or advanced their Web 3 careers and cite  the course and community as a foundation.

“SheFi is bringing significant value to women in Web 3 and making the ecosystem as a whole stronger,” said Givepact co-founder Alicia Maule, who was in SheFi’s cohort seven.

Sahar Frakhan, ChoiceDAO

Sahar launched ChoiceDAO to raise $1M in crypto to fund reproductive rights in response to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe V. Wade, effectively making abortion illegal in 14 states. Sahar and her team, including Reshma Saujani of Girls Who Code, began organizing when the Supreme Court decision leaked in May 2022, ahead of the official announcement in June. 

“We were looking at the ‘Repro Rights’ space and seeing two big problems,” she said. “One, historically the space and the work is very underfunded and the funding from big donors has come from people you can count on one hand … we need many new sources of funding. Second, this is a decade-long fight … What we see in Web 3 is the power of community and the power of engaging this geo-agnostic decentralized group of people that share the mission and support of reproductive rights … Web 3 has the keys to strengthen social movement even beyond reproductive rights.”

Watch Sahar:

Shondra Washington from Black@

Shondra Washington is the co-founder of Black@ a vibrant and dynamic token-gated community designed for Black creatives, investors, community builders and entrepreneurs. 

“When we started Black@ the thought process was that we were everywhere and we should be able to claim our space in all spaces,” Washington told Givepact. 

“What keeps me going every day is being and working towards being a digital third space for Black folks. There have been so many spaces in the real world where Black people felt as others. I want to be able to create a space where we never feel like an other, where we can be ourselves, where we can use our own language, where we can teach each other, where we can feel comfortable with each other.” 

Betty from Deadfellaz

Betty and her husband Psych are the founders of NFT collection Deadfellaz. While Psych is the artist behind these 10,000 androgynous zombies on the blockchain, Betty is the heart and soul of the operation.

On Twitter, Betty regularly champions diversity and inclusion in Web 3. She told NFT Evening that before launching Deadfellaz, she “didn’t see anything that represented that spectrum of gender at all. It was either mostly male traits or one or two female traits. But then they would be really leaning into the stereotypes and sometimes, almost borderline offensive. So I felt like something needed to change, and I wanted to bring that to the space.”

María Castillo, Peace Keepers

María Castillo is the founder and CEO of Peace Keepers, an “unbiased and decentralized system that promotes fair and appropriate resolutions” for any type of conflict. María spent a decade running a trademark lawfirm and during the pandemic began to learn about cybersecurity and blockchain. 

“I read about smart contracts and how they could change law forever, I decided to learn more and never left,” she told Givepact. 

“My motivation is to bring better legal solutions to the Web3 world, and to start changing the concept that the current adversarial judicial system is the only solution, we have the perfect opportunity to change paradigms. I believe we need more women and underrepresented people in positions of power.”

Randy Gomez, Blu3DAO

Randy Gomez, is the co-founder of Blu3DAO, a global community onboarding women and non-binary people to Web 3. In just one year, Blu3DAO has won 97% of the hackathons they’ve participated in including becoming the first all-women team to win win at ETHAmsterdam, grown to 1,000 members, and inspired chapters in Latin America and Africa. 

Randy believes the organization is a “smart business decision that can lead to more diverse, inclusive, and successful projects” and help its members build generational wealth.

"As an immigrant Latina founder, I hope others get inspired to get involved because in that participation lies the ability to bring diversity, inclusivity, and innovation to the industry, and inspire future generations,” she told Givepact. 

This list is by no means exhaustive and we look forward to meeting more women at the forefront of social impact. If that’s you or someone else we should know about, please shoot us an email at hello@givepact.io.