Binance: At the Forefront of Gender Equality in Tech
At any given day, several of the biggest decisions and moves in the Binance ecosystem are handled by women, from the overall global marketing strategy of Binance to the new features being added on the trading platform, and just about everything in between.
Binance is well positioned to be a great case study on what happens when more women are empowered in the workplace. We owe a huge part of our progress in the blockchain world to our female colleagues, who take on many critical roles in the Binance ecosystem.
Amid the gender equality struggle of many companies in the tech industry, Binance has put importance in entrusting women with several crucial roles within the organization. This has resulted in about 50% of employee positions in Binance, including more than 40% of the leadership positions, being held by women. In almost every division in Binance, you’ll see women either leading strategy or executing at top performance, oftentimes both at the same time.
Binance’s female leaders on gender equality
Some of our more senior leaders within Binance are women, including:
He Yi, co-founder and chief marketing officer of Binance (pictured above, left)
Ella Zhang, head of Binance Labs (center)
Helen Hai, head of Binance Charity (right)
He Yi, who has been with Binance since the white paper-writing days, oversees our overall global branding and outreach initiatives, from leadership messaging to our multinational community.
Ella, who was the youngest investment director of KPCB, a prominent Silicon Valley VC, now leads our international venture fund and startup incubation programs.
Helen, who was recently recognized as “One to Watch” at the recent Bloomberg 50, heads our blockchain charity arm, which is making waves with several outreach programs and tie-ups with Malta and the UNDP, among others.
They are just three of the several trailblazing women at Binance, across different divisions and hierarchies.
“At present, our proportion of female employees is very high, accounting for about half of our team,“ He Yi says. “We see more and more women joining the industry, and many outstanding women have emerged in the space. I think this is the best proof, as Binance does not consider gender or marital status during the recruitment process. We have naturally recruited a lot of excellent women, and we speak through our strength at Binance.”
“We have a saying in China: ‘It doesn't matter whether the cat is black or white, for as long as it catches the mice, it is a good cat.’ This is also what I saw in this company,” Helen added. “Binance does not judge people by his or her gender, but by his or her performance. One could be a good leader as long as he or she can lead the team to achieve the objectives in time.”
Through Binance Charity, Helen is working to bring the gender equality standard she saw on Binance to more institutions. Through Helen’s leadership, Binance Charity works closely with the UN and other international organizations to advocate for equality, especially when it comes to access to technology through the blockchain.
For her part, He Yi defers from explicitly describing the gender-equal environment at Binance, preferring to let her work, experience, and mantra speak for it.
“Blockchain and crypto is an emerging industry, one at a very early stage. Many people are still uncertain about the industry. You have to jump in early enough.” He Yi adds, “Never expect others to give preference to women.”
The equality advocacy work Helen and her colleagues had done at Binance Charity speaks volumes as well. “One of our main mandates is empowering women in the workplace, especially in developing countries, because we truly believe that by helping women, we help the next generation, consequently creating a better world,” she says.
Meanwhile, we have women in leadership roles at the community level as well, working with local partners and organizations to support women in tech.
Binance Vietnam: A trendsetter for gender equality
If Diem Tran has her way, Ho Chi Minh City will be known as a city where gender equality in the blockchain space takes root. In October, the Binance Vietnam held a talk on "Opportunities for Women in Technology” at the Polytechnic University of Ho Chi Minh City, where women and men from all backgrounds shared their experiences when it comes to technology.
"The image of Vietnamese women through generations is often associated with sacrifice and devotion to family. However, the image has become a barrier for women to express themselves and to stand up and take on more important positions in the workplace,” Tran, who goes by the nickname Mary, reflected during the meetup, which she helped organize.
“Maintaining gender equality leads to not only a balanced working environment for employees, but also to diversity professional skills, creative thinking, and problem-solving capabilities for businesses,” said Thao Trang, who also organized the event.
At Binance, we encourage continued discourse on important issues in tech, such as gender equality, charity, and more. As for gender equality, we walk the talk; the Binance community in Vietnam has three leaders, two of whom are women -- Mary, who handling events, and Trang, who manages local PR.
“We want to help women become more aware of the role and importance of the women in the blockchain era, and to promote gender equality in the process,” Viet Hoang, the third Binance Vietnam leader who handles community engagement, said.
In some ways, it makes much sense for community-driven gender equality conversation to start in Vietnam. Women run about 25% of the country’s small and medium-sized enterprises, well above the 8% average in South Asia, and hold 15% of board positions in the country, ahead of most of its Asian neighbors. The only female billionaire in Southeast Asia is Vietnamese.
The struggle for gender equality is far from over in Vietnam, as women continue to be underrepresented in the country’s tech industry, even with increased demand for women in STEM (science, tech, engineering, math) fields. It’s a reality that the Binance Vietnam community is continuing to change, and this has elicited some encouraging reactions from elsewhere in the world.
This early, the Binance community in the Philippines expressed interest in staging a women-in-tech meetup to coincide with International Women’s Day next year, emulating the Vietnam community’s example. Leaders from several other Binance communities commended Binance Vietnam for its event. Soon enough, the global Binance community will be at the forefront of the struggle for gender equality in tech, with the Binance global team showing the way.