Leadership is often discussed through the lens of diversity, particularly in Web3 where women remain underrepresented in senior roles. Yet for Renna Ba, Head of Ecosystem at Morph, the conversation starts somewhere else entirely. Before organisations challenge women’s leadership, she argues, many women have already absorbed assumptions about how they are expected to lead.
“Women often carry preconceived notions about their own leadership before anyone else projects theirs,” she says. “The industry hands you two boxes: lead ‘like a man,’ or be written off as the emotional one because you’re a woman. Both are traps.”
It is a striking observation because it shifts the discussion away from external barriers towards internal expectations. For years, Web3 was criticised for putting women on conference stages while excluding them from positions of influence. Ba believes that is beginning to change.
“For a long time, Web3 saw women through a narrow lens by putting them on a pedestal, hiring them to be the face, not the force. That’s finally shifting. Skill and merit are starting to outweigh optics.”
The distinction matters. As the sector matures, conversations about leadership are becoming less about visibility and more about capability. Ba is clear that she does not want to be defined by a qualifier.
“I don’t see myself as a woman in leadership. I see myself as a leader. The moment you accept the qualifier, every sentence you speak begins from a place of defence, and I refuse to start there anymore.”
That philosophy also shapes her view of decentralisation. Web3 has often described itself as a meritocracy, yet leadership remains disproportionately male. Rather than seeing this as a contradiction, Ba believes both realities can exist simultaneously.
Power Dymanics
“The old power dynamics are still very much alive,” she says. “But Web3 has opened up more opportunities across the board—new companies, new roles, new markets and far less gatekeeping over who gets to build. Growth made space, and women took it.”
Her point is an important one. Decentralisation has not eliminated traditional structures of influence, but it has accelerated the pace at which new organisations are created. Every new protocol, startup and ecosystem creates opportunities for new leadership. The playing field has expanded faster than established hierarchies have been able to close around it.
Perhaps the greatest irony is that while blockchain is often described as a trustless technology, the businesses being built on top of it rely profoundly on trust.
“The chain is trustless. The business isn’t,” Ba says. “Nothing about a partnership, timelines or who ships what is settled by code. It runs on whether people believe you’ll do what you said.”
As Head of Ecosystem, those relationships sit at the centre of her role. Building partnerships requires judgement, empathy and the ability to understand people as much as technology. She describes herself as personable and introspective, qualities that help her read situations and adapt her approach. Whether those are inherently female traits, she is reluctant to say, but she is certain they remain beyond the reach of software.
“It’s the part of the work that no infrastructure can replace.”
For women considering careers in Web3, Ba’s advice is refreshingly direct. She encourages them not to think of themselves as women trying to compete in a technical industry, but as skilled professionals who belong there.
“How you frame it changes everything,” she says. “One narrative has you constantly justifying your presence while the other frees you up to actually do the work.”
That confidence extends to the changing relationship between grassroots crypto communities and institutional finance. Ba believes the distinction is narrowing rapidly. Conversations with regulators and conversations with developers increasingly revolve around the same questions, even if they use different language. She points to figures such as SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce and Senator Cynthia Lummis as examples of women helping shape the regulatory conversation around digital assets.
Looking ahead, she believes women also have an important contribution to make as artificial intelligence becomes more closely intertwined with blockchain. While much attention is given to AI capability, she wonders whether enough thought is being given to emotional intelligence.
She recalls an author describing the difference between people and AI as the pause before answering—the moment of reflection that allows empathy and judgement to shape a response. If ethical frameworks for AI are developed without people who understand those human nuances, she argues, the limitations will inevitably become visible. That is one reason she believes more women should be helping shape AI governance.
Equally important is the role of mentorship. Ba credits mentors who encouraged her growth without asking her to suppress the qualities that made her effective. She also rejects the idea that success depends on competing with colleagues. Organisations thrive when people invest in one another rather than treating every opportunity as a zero-sum game.
Asked what advice she would offer a young woman entering Web3 today, her answer reflects the same philosophy that has guided her own career:
Prioritize yourself and your career and protect what makes you distinct. The thing that sets you apart is usually the first thing someone will ask you to file down.
Be open about what you don’t know. Not knowing something is a fact, not a reflection of your worth. Don’t fall into imposter syndrome, and don’t let anyone put you there either.
Ask questions. Find a mentor, learn how others got where they are, speak up when you need support. None of that works, though, unless you’re willing to admit you need help in the first place. You’re not alone in this.
Perhaps that is the real lesson from Ba’s leadership philosophy. Web3 has always promised to challenge established structures. The next stage of that evolution may depend less on the technology itself than on the willingness of leaders to stop defining themselves by labels and start leading with confidence, competence and authenticity.
