Kara Howard is the Founder of SI<3> and is a passionate advocate for inclusion of diverse groups in the development of the new economy. Kara has ten years of experience in Equity Research and financial analysis, and holds an MBA from NYU in Entrepreneurship and Marketing. She also has ten years of experience as a growth marketer, including her role as VP of Growth and Partnerships at CleverTap, a marketing CRM and engagement platform. Kara has been guiding and championing women in emerging tech communities for the last ten years, and is very bullish on women and the emerging markets leading in this next evolution of a more democratized and decentralized economic system.
Web3 has the opportunity to create borderless connection, community and economic exchange through its DeFi and blockchain technologies. It is a very exciting time for the industry as much of the core infrastructure of these technologies has been developed, alongside interest and demographic-based communities.
I believe we are now entering a very important stage which is focused on growing Web3 projects and making them more accessible to mainstream markets. It’s important we create pathways for a broad spectrum of demographics using inclusive language, education, and distribution channels.
This is one of the most meaningful aspects of the potential of Web3. We know that there are socioeconomic and geographic barriers that many face in the tech industry in achieving leadership-level compensation and opportunities. Much of this is due to access to higher education, networks, and geolocations with larger income averages. What is encouraging about Web3 is that new entrants may find it easier to grow professionally vs. than in the general tech industries. It can be less about one’s background and pedigree, and more on one’s present meaningful contributions to an organization.
Still, there are barriers faced by underrepresented groups in some areas of Web3, such as in DAO delegate representation and grant councils. Unfortunately unconscious bias still exists, which can result in people engaging, funding and hiring people similar to themselves. In response to this, we have created a 6-month working group and DEAI (Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Inclusion) training program called FIXX (Financial Inclusion XX Chromosomes) for blockchains, protocols and DAO’s with grant programs. We believe it is very important that these organizations are aware of how to attract, fund and hire underrepresented groups.
These are our key areas of focus around the areas of driving accessibility and inclusion:
It is interesting to look at the concepts within decentralization and make connections to the sharing economy. Both topics relate to decreasing the emphasis on centralized, individualized ownership…from computer servers, centralized banks, and even homes and physical goods.
In these early days of DeFi, we can learn from the mistakes of the sharing economy. While the intentions of the sharing economy were likely mostly good, over time we saw how it often benefited the wealthy. For example, we see individuals and real estate groups amass many Airbnbs throughout regions. Here, a sharing economy platform and concept is capitalized and moved towards even greater centralization and wealth division.
Similarly, we see decentralized tools and systems like blockchain and crypto with the potential to democratize access to wealth actually exacerbating the wealth divide. Early adopters, who entered the crypto market in its early stages, have disproportionately benefited from the significant price increases. This has led to a concentration of wealth among a select few.
To bridge this divide, it is essential to:
Everything we create has a diversity-first lens. This means we are designing and developing programming and technologies that put underrepresented groups first. Until we see equitable representation, we will continue to employ these strategies:
“There’s No Decentralization Without Diversity”
Kara’s Si Her Web3 Site
X: si3_ecosystem