Let’s dive into the topic of fear. As women, we often find ourselves deep in thought, pondering countless scenarios, what others might think, and at times, we even hesitate to dream big, plagued by feelings of inadequacy. The imposter syndrome is real – especially among my fellow Web3 female colleagues. So, what’s the one of most common fears we face? Let me share what I’ve noticed.
It’s the fear of not being taken seriously.
This fear holds true for any role in Web3, given that the industry was primarily forged by men, and some still raise eyebrows at the sight of women in key positions. I recently had a chat with a very impressive woman who works as the CMO of a company building a highly complex project. She’s also the sole female on the team, but that is a common scenario. During one event, she was introduced to a group of gentlemen as the CMO of the project. One of them was very shocked, following her around and repeatedly asking others, “Can you believe it? She is the CMO for “this” company,” clearly implying that it was astonishing for a woman to hold such a role. To be fair, most of the other guys were cringing and offering apologies on his behalf… And that’s just in the field of Marketing. At least, the world has somewhat grown accustomed to women being marketers or community managers, but imagine what things are like for, let’s say, female developers or CEOs.
This fear often comes up even in little things, such as what to wear for work-related events. Striking a balance between looking beautiful and elegant while avoiding anything too revealing or sexy becomes a delicate dance. It’s all to ensure we don’t give off the wrong impression and are taken seriously as professionals.
Sometimes, these fears are merely products of our overactive minds – we overthink and overanalyze. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. However, I’m an optimist, and I firmly believe that if we unite to conquer our fears, we can emerge victorious. Perhaps in 10 years, these fears will be nothing more than distant memories.
