On June 2nd, ATN Director Hope Fan moderated the blockchain panel at the Inaugural Ladies Who Tech (LWT) Convention in Shanghai, as a special male guest. The event made history as being the first Ladies Who Tech Convention in China, and featured a full day of talks and workshops to promote and advocate for women working in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) industries. Hope Fan’s blockchain panel included 3 female leaders in the blockchain industry in China, Layla Dong (CEO and Founder of Blockshine Technology), Tamar Menteshashvili (Co-Founder of Expread), and Momo Chang (Co-Founder of Drep Foundation).
Other notable guests at the event included Celina Chew (President of Bayer China), Charon Morgan (Director of Engineering at General Motors China), and Miranda Tan (CEO at Robin8).
Charlene Liu, one of the founders of the organization, emphasized the importance of increasing awareness regarding the lack of women in these industries as a means to encourage more women to enter into STEM fields.
The convention focused quite specifically on AI, blockchain and big data since these emerging technologies are currently mainly male-dominated industries.
However, in targeting these specific areas, it is essential to not only acknowledge why these industries tend to be more male-dominated, but why it is important for women to play an equal role in these fields.
For example, after talking to emerging female leaders in artificial intelligence, Quartz found that fewer women were attracted to the AI industry due to its lack of emphasis on humanistic goals. The mainly male-driven industry tends to focus more on questions about algorithms and math properties, causing AI research to be more narrowly focused on solving technical problems rather than bigger issues. Additionally, many designs in this field lack the perspectives of women and other lesser represented groups. For example, artificial intelligence associating the term “doctor” with men more than women.
However, the broader issue is that these are not merely a few isolated cases within the sphere of artificial intelligence. Other similar technical industries including blockchain and big data are also affected by these disparities. Thus, it is even more necessary for women to become more involved in these technologies that will ultimately drastically change our lives in the near future.
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