Who Runs The World? Women Control 85% Of Purchases, 29% Of STEM Roles

The breakneck evolution of the technology sector means innovation is no longer just welcomed — it’s essential for survival and growth. However, women have historically been left out of critical, cutting-edge areas like AI, Web3, and blockchain. According to the Global Gender Gap Report (2023), women comprise only 29% of the STEM workforce in 146 nations evaluated.

This exclusivity threatens the entire tech ecosystem. Diversity fundamentally improves decision-making, problem-solving, and product development. When women are left out, we miss out on immense talent and diverse perspectives that are increasingly crucial as technology integrates deeper into our lives.

“Thousand Faces is more than just a platform; it’s a movement towards reshaping the global entrepreneurial ecosystem. By empowering female founders with the funding and networks they need, we’re not just building businesses, we’re crafting a future where sustainability and prosperity go hand in hand,” commented Moojan Asghari CEO & Cofounder of Thousand Faces. “Our commitment lies in unlocking the untapped potential of women entrepreneurs, who have proven to outperform yet remain underfunded. At Thousand Faces, we believe in the power of women to lead not only in creating successful businesses but in driving meaningful change for our planet and communities.”

Plus, women represent tremendous spending power and economic influence, controlling the dominant share of global consumer expenditure. In recent years, women have accounted for more than 85% of purchases per TechCrunch across various categories in the U.S. alone.

Projecting further into the future, women are estimated to control 75% of discretionary spending by 2028. Women entrepreneurs also tend to borrow more conservatively than men, launching startups with less capital. Yet, they contribute more than 37% of global GDP today — a share that’s likely to grow.

With this sheer scale of consumption clout and economic gravity, the case for representation of women in tech is unequivocal. It’s time for drastic actions to balance the act. And since they’re such a major economic force, leaving them out defies business sense.

Rise of Women-Led Focus Programs

Women-led focus programs can have a profound impact across emerging tech sectors. In AI, more women developing algorithms can help mitigate biases and ensure diverse perspectives inform training data and design.

“As a woman in tech and the Founder and CEO of Women Leaders in Data and AI (WLDA), I deeply understand the significance of female leadership in AI development. Women’s unique perspectives are crucial for creating inclusive, fair AI models, ensuring technological progress reflects society’s diversity,” said Asha Saxena, CEO and Founder WLDA. At WLDA, we advocate for women’s advancement in data and AI, emphasizing the necessity of diversity in leadership for innovation and equitable growth. By empowering women, offering leadership opportunities, and championing gender equality, our goal is to enhance innovation, decision-making, and problem-solving in technology. Our efforts are dedicated to building a more inclusive, equitable, and dynamic technological future, meeting the varied needs of our global community. This commitment to diversity in tech leadership is not just a moral imperative but a strategic one, essential for driving forward-thinking solutions and a fair digital world.”

In areas like Web3 and blockchain technologies that aim to decentralize and democratize, Including more women developers can prevent replicating the exclusions and inequities stemming from male-dominated workforces.

We can attribute the surge of these programs to several key factors. First, diverse representation across teams can enhance growth, innovation, and performance. And more organizations now increasingly recognize this competitive edge.

In chatting with the CEO and Founder of Black Women Blockchain Council, Olayinka Odeniran, told me that “I firmly believe that fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for black women in the blockchain and web3 fields, particularly fintech, is not just important—it’s imperative for the progress and innovation of our industry. Our organization is dedicated to creating a unique safe space that not only inspires but also provides tailored training and professional activation for black women. This empowers them to not only enter but excel and lead in these high-potential careers. On International Women’s Day, we reaffirm our commitment to breaking down barriers and building bridges, ensuring that black women are not just participants but pioneers at the forefront of technological advancement. Our mission is rooted in the conviction that diversity is not just a metric to aspire to; it’s a vital component of success in the ever-evolving landscape of STEM.”

Second, today’s social media platforms are connecting women in tech, enabling organizing, amplifying diverse voices, and creating communities for themselves..

And finally, a broader societal shift towards addressing systemic inequalities has pressed the tech industry to improve its abysmal record on inclusion.

The bottom line is that such programs can promote diversity, tap overlooked talent pools, and lead to better technologies. And their rise signifies that tech may finally be ready to transform its gender imbalance — and will be better for it.

Guiding Women in Tech

Today, statistics may showcase women’s deep influence powering trillion-dollar markets. However, few boardrooms creating those very products mirror that diversity. This stark contrast remains most glaring within science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, birthing cutting-edge innovations daily. Careers defining our interconnected future but where female participation has barely budged — stuck at a quarter for decades.

That’s why, this International Women’s Day, I want to highlight some of the initiatives making impressive strides towards gender balance across STEM. Through scholarships, networking channels, mentoring programs, and coding camps, they actively smash barriers that block women from entering and staying in technical fields.

I founded Unstoppable Women of Web3 and AI in 2022, seeking to empower women by providing tailored educational resources, networking opportunities at events, and hands-on skill-building workshops — with the ultimate goal of driving more diversity across these critical emerging technology areas.But we aren’t alone. There are more such initiatives:

• Women in AI (WAI) connects female AI experts at a global scale to increase representation and participation in AI-related fields notorious for low female presence and leadership — enhancing women’s collective professional impact.
• Girls Who Code offers computer science, AI and blockchain educational programs directly to young women to activate future stewards that will drive a more balanced gender ratio in core technologies.
• Thousand Faces is a pioneering platform dedicated to empowering impact-driven female founders worldwide by offering essential funding and networking opportunities, aiming to build sustainable and meaningful organizations. Thousand Faces is committed to fostering a more sustainable world by enhancing female participation in entrepreneurship and climate-related decision-making.
• Women in Machine Learning (WiML) maintains a thriving community platform and hosts topic-focused workshops, as well as collaborative networking meetups intended to support professional growth among members.
• Black Women Blockchain builds a unique safe space to inspire, provide tailored training/sharing and professionally activate black women to pursue leadership roles in high-potential blockchain or intersecting fintech careers.
• AI4ALL increases diversity and inclusion, specifically in artificial intelligence, by developing beginner-friendly yet specialized learning programs — and targeting hands-on participation from young students hailing from underrepresented ethnic/gender groups.
• Women Leading in AI Network convenes current AI experts, policymakers, legislators, and industry practitioners to assess ethical dimensions — and advocate for responsible governance plus oversight guidelines allowing AI systems to progress inclusively.
• Women4Blockchain facilitates collaborative blockchain education based around hackathons and workshops intended to lower barriers limiting gender parity in decentralized technology applications.
• Women in AI Ethics (WAIE) is dedicated to the ethical development and governance of AI systems with an emphasis on diversity and inclusion
• CryptoConexion highlights innovations spearheaded by Latina women in Web3, Metaverse, blockchain and artificial intelligence technology — directly empowering Hispanic women developers and engineers.
• Women Leaders in Data and AI (WLDA) promotes leadership and development for women in data/AI fields by providing educational resources, mentorship and community support to bridge longstanding gender gaps.
• HerDAO operates as a decentralized autonomous organization focused specifically on empowering women/non-binary individuals participating in Web3/blockchain – by funding women-led entrepreneurial projects and cultivating an inclusive network expanding opportunities.

• SheFi increases financial literacy and hands-on engagement for women around decentralized finance concepts via customized courses, workshops, grants and mentoring.
• Women Who Code (WWC) supports women across technology career tracks, including emerging roles in AI/Web3, prioritizing computational skills training, leadership development and global community building.
• Women in Blockchain hosts networking events, skill-building workshops on concepts like NFTs/DAO Governance and mentorship initiatives to drive diverse female participation in blockchain.
• Crypto Tech Women serves as an international association fostering women’s talent in blockchain/crypto technologies via comprehensive education initiatives, project hackathons and mentorship programs.
• Women in Technology Global encourages female participation across frontier tech domains by offering an empowering global support network alongside development programs.
• Blockchain Ladies connects women exploring careers in blockchain or seeking to launch decentralized applications by providing technical education, hands-on skills training and professional networking opportunities.
• FemTechies supports women across verticals like AI and blockchain – via educational workshops and networking opportunities.
• She Loves Blockchain seeks to educate and involve more women globally in blockchain concepts including NFTs/DAOs through conferences, hands-on workshops and mentorship programs.
• Digital Undivided supports black and Latina women founders specifically leveraging high-potential technologies like AI/ML and blockchain to create impact-focused business ventures.
• Women in VR/AR supports professional growth, skill-building and leadership development for women working with transformational extended reality technologies rapidly gaining prominence in blockchain applications.
• Global Women in Blockchain connects female members within the blockchain community globally to advocate for visibility, while providing specialized education and mentoring.
• 100 Women in AI Ethics recognizes influential women in artificial intelligence ethics, providing visibility while cultivating community dialogue around establishing ethical AI systems advancing inclusively.

Fixing the Issues Will Require ALL of us!

It’s not enough to say girls opt out of STEM willingly. The story starts way earlier, from schools where certain aptitudes get nurtured actively in young boys more often, to pop culture tropes glorifying specific archetypes in those fields, to work cultures rewarding traits like aggression fitting distorted norms of what engineering tightrope walks demand.

As Solene Daviaud, Co-Founder & COO of Dusa Labs and the French Lead of H.E.R. DAO told me, “ The power of women is to learn collectively and effectively, without judgment regardless of differences. The International Women’s Day puts the spotlight on women who inspire us, particularly women we admire daily and who are not highlighted enough.”

All those leaky pipelines seed an ecosystem trying its hardest to preserve the status quo even today. But creative change needs diversity — because unique challenges demand expanding both representation and imagination simultaneously.

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