Using Blockchain for Gender Equality- How, Why and What?
Blockchain, a word everyone keeps hearing from past 2 years after Bitcoin. But people usually connect it with bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The thing is that it is a secure digital decentralized network that is used as a ledger. This holds everything that passes through it with max security possible. The data is safe with it. But it can do many different things too like holding records, transaction, text and many things. Each activity is a block and one it is finished it is added to the chain. But no one has wondered that it can be used for the Gender Equality.
How Blockchain will help Gender Equality:
Blockchain is like a social media network where women from around the world can raise their voices. They can discuss on so many different topics and problems they are facing. It can also connect women for global movements toward economic empowerment of women, by women. But how? So answer is that it enables women to connect securely. With these women with knowledge of property records, contracts, law, finance and many can help other women. UN is focused on achieving the sustainable development goal-05: Gender Equity. For this UN have partnered with Norway to test on their experiment.
Why Women Need Blockchain:
Women in developing countries are not the only beneficiary of blockchain. Approximately 25 percent of women in the U.S. survive domestic violence in their lifetime. Also, 99 percent of survivors experience financial abuse. These experiences make it harder for them to break free from their abusers, as financial abuse takes many forms. Like, signing documents without consent or understanding, running up credit in the survivor’s name or controlling access to cash. Regardless of its form, all financial abuse has the same goal: to keep the survivors stuck. But we can do a lot by providing blockchain to these women. We can use blockchain to provide a secure ID, access to legal contracts, and secure transactions. But what if survivors could disintermediate their abusers? Perhaps we could eliminate, or at least substantially reduce, financial abuse and help women break free with their credit and economic futures intact.
Impact of Blockchain:
To use blockchain for everything and everyone is still a big challenge but it might not in 2019. There is some hope that the blockchain will be a help from 2019. Stanford Graduate School of Business made some research on blockchain. The report contains some factors about blockchain. These are like, 34 percent [of blockchain initiatives] were started in 2017 or later, and 74 percent are still in the pilot or idle stage. 55% blockchain initiative will make their presence in.
What is Next in Blockchain and Gender Equality:
To move forward with using blockchain for gender equity. We must make a concerted effort to increase the representation of women in the ranks of blockchain. Particularly in startups with a social and financial impact. We should encourage organizations working to bring more women into technology, such as Women Who Code, Latinas in Tech, Black Tech Women and Lesbians Who Tech, to join together with their sisters in finance, such as Financial Women’s Association, Accounting and Financial Women’s Alliance and Women in Finance Association. Together, we can spur a wave of blockchain solutions with the express purpose of the economic empowerment of women. Let’s not forget that closing the economic gender equity gap expands the economic pie for all.