How Defi Is Empowering Women To Create Their Own Financial Destiny, An Interview With Alex Lemberg – Forbes

The only woman bank cashier in America, or possibly in the world. Photograph, 1890.

The very first female U.S. senator was sworn in on November 12, 1922, representing the state of Georgia. Her name was Rebecca Felton. She was 87 years old at the time. Her tenure lasted one day.

Hers was a token appointment to placate new women voters when the sitting senator died unexpectedly. The special election was expected to produce a new senator before congress was back from recess. When Walter F. George won the special election, he allowed Fenton to be sworn in for one day to appease his female constituents.

Fenton, a prominent suffragette and unfortunately virulent white supremacist history is always unkind to those on its wrong side called out southern men for doing little for womens rights, writing that honeyed phrases are pleasant to listen to, but the sensible women of our country would prefer more substantial gifts. It had been just a little over twenty years since married women were allowed to open their own bank accounts, and own their own land. And yet, few did.

Even in the 1970s, fifty years later, married women in the United States could not universally open bank accounts or apply for credit cards without first procuring their husbands permission. And women couldnt obtain a loan without a male co-signer.

Between the years 1971 to 1976, Ruth Bader Ginsburg argued a number of cases that empowered womens rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution that set precedence for womens financial freedoms today.

Ginsburgs work paved the way for the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974 which prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, or age in credit transactions.

47 years later, we are in a new era in which financial transactions are no longer gender-discriminatory. And thanks to DeFi and crypto-currencies, they are indeed gender-blind. De-centralized finance, or DeFi removes the central service, such as a bank or exchange, that exercises control over the entire system. Regulation is often lacking, but so is discrimination.

We live in an era in which gender equality should be the norm, not male-dominated nor female-overprotected, says Nimbus CEO Alex Lemberg. The financial world doesnt simply transfer assets to those with a good business idea, as it should. Although women have proved to be highly capable and successful in almost every single industry, finance is still dominated by men who may wrongly perceive women as risky or incapable of making financial decisions. DeFi offers a safe harbor for those facing gender discrimination in traditional financial institutions.

Alex Lemberg

The fact that Blockchain technology does not discriminate is one of the most positive transformations in financial systems worldwide, adds Lauretta Otoo of CQ Legal and Consulting.

The problem is that there are far fewer women than men taking advantage of the opportunity in DeFi. Men are twice as likely as women to hold Crypto. From my experience, women are financially cautious and very serious about finances, but the issue may be the lack of motivation to participate in something not directed toward them. Once women are motivated, participation won't be a factor, Lemberg continues.

Cynthia Quarcoo, Managing Partner of CQ Legal and Consulting, says that a barrier to entry could be a lack of technical background, making Crypto more complicated in an ecosystem constantly evolving over short periods of time. She adds, There is no secret formula for doing this, but women wont be convinced to join an industry that is underrepresented by females.

Quarcoos associate Otoo agrees its not any harder for women to understand DeFi, but women are less aware of its potential. Women need to know that there are a lot of entry points, and no need to be technical or specialize in cryptocurrencies. The ecosystem is versatile, offering opportunities regardless of background.

Further, in countries where womens rights lag far behind mens, DeFi gives women more opportunities to control their finances independently of men. We need to drive education and awareness that financial knowledge ultimately brings success. Women in all communities can use DeFi to create their financial safety net. I believe that this is also our mission to make women free to manage their own assets.

Quarcoo adds, Women can be financially included and attain their own financial independence because Blockchain is an ecosystem that allows for the participation of all persons regardless of gender, culture, or country. Even where women have few rights, all they need is access to the technology.

But what is more important and I never get tired of emphasizing this is the unidentifiable nature of DeFi. To DeFi, gender doesnt mean a thing. Women have the same opportunities as men built into the structure of the system, and to me, the main goal of the Defi sphere is to provide equal access to everyone, Lemberg concludes.

The internets easy access to information has made marvelous inroads for underrepresented communities worldwide. With the advent of crytocurrency and DeFi, that access is being extended to financial resources as well. We can only hope that over time, governments will follow suit.

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How Defi Is Empowering Women To Create Their Own Financial Destiny, An Interview With Alex Lemberg - Forbes