Gender ratios in crypto development

Examining the Gender Disparity in Cryptocurrency Development

The technology industry has long grappled with gender imbalance, and recent years have seen efforts by major companies to address this issue through diversity reports. However, the blockchain sector, a relatively nascent industry, lacks comprehensive data on the gender distribution of developers. In an attempt to shed light on this aspect, the author conducted an extensive analysis by scraping over 1 million code commits from the top 100 cryptocurrency projects. This article presents the methodology employed and discusses the findings, emphasizing the need to address the prevailing gender disparity in cryptocurrency development.

Approach to Unveiling Gender Distribution

The methodology involved compiling a list of the top 100 cryptocurrency projects by market capitalization and linking each project to its respective GitHub repository. By utilizing the GitHub API and a custom Python script, the author obtained a dataset of code commits and sought to infer the gender of contributors based on real names associated with their user accounts. The intricacies of this process, including the utilization of the Genderize.io web service, are detailed to provide transparency in the study's approach.

Distinct Gender Disparity in Cryptocurrency Development

The analysis of 1,026,804 code commits revealed a glaring gender disparity among cryptocurrency developers. Only 4.64% of commits were attributed to GitHub users with female-identified names, with male-named developers dominating at 67.3%. The article further delves into the average number of commits per gender category, highlighting a significant discrepancy. By examining individual user accounts, the study reinforces the underrepresentation of female developers, uncovering a broader challenge in achieving gender diversity in the field.

Addressing the Gender Imbalance in Cryptocurrency Projects

Despite the limitations and complexities surrounding gender identification through real names, the study paints a clear picture of a male-dominated cryptocurrency development landscape. The article acknowledges potential biases in the dataset and explores the question of whether developers opting not to disclose their real names might impact the overall gender balance. Drawing on existing studies in the open-source community, the article concludes by advocating for a deeper examination of the causes behind the gender imbalance and proposes steps to encourage more women to participate in blockchain programming. It underscores the potential benefits of diversity in fostering innovation within the cryptocurrency industry and encourages the sector to prioritize inclusivity for sustained growth.