There has always been a gender imbalance in the information technology industry, with fewer women working in this field. So when you get the chance to build a whole new world, you might expect the gender imbalance to be resolved very early on.
Women in Metaverse
The metaverse represents the next significant step in the evolution of the internet. Built around the immersive worlds of virtual reality, the metaverse is destined to become the primary source of entertainment for humans – and to create entirely new ways to buy and sell online. Over time, the metaverse will blur the boundaries between the connected and unconnected worlds, allowing the two to interact for the first time ever.
Since the metaverse is supposed to change the world (for the better), you might expect issues like the gender gap to be a top priority. But if anything, the Metaverse may have already made things worse.
According to research published by McKinsey & Co, only 10% of financing and reverse investment is directed toward companies headed by women. What makes this number even more shocking is the fact that women are (for now) more likely to get involved in the metaverse than men.
Women see the potential of the metaverse.
According to a survey, 60% of women have implemented more than two metaverse-related initiatives in their organizations, which is 20% higher than the rate for men. It appears that women may understand the potential of the metaverse better than men – even if they are less likely to attract funding.
Women in information technology
As always, the problem seems to be a lack of women in IT. There are signs that this disparity is being addressed – women now account for 53% of all STEM degrees worldwide. Domestically, the picture is very different – only 34% of STEM degrees are awarded to women in the European Union.
This has a knock-on effect in the IT industry where only 17% of key technology jobs (programmer, systems analyst, software developer, etc.) are held by women. With so few women choosing IT as a career, it’s no surprise that we see them underrepresented in the metaverse.
Fortunately, if the metaverse grows as anticipated, an increasing number of individuals will begin working in this industry. Especially since more and more of our daily activities are expected to take place in this new virtual world. It may take a while for the current gender imbalance to be fully rectified, especially since the concept is still quite new. However, there is still a very good opportunity for women to discuss their claim to the future – and their place in metaphysics.
