Women in Tech Week features Blockchain Building 101 session

We need more women in blockchain, and providing a welcoming environment for educational opportunities is a wonderful place to start.

Here in the United Kingdom, the very first “Women in Tech Week” took place from October 7-11, featuring in-person and virtual events hosted across the nation with a focus on education, career development and networking.

Supporters of the Tech Week included big names such as Barclays (NASDAQ: BCS), Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL), Morgan Stanley (NASDAQ: MS) and EY with an even longer list of partners, including Tec Women, Code First Girls, Next Tech Girls, HSBC (NASDAQ: HSBC), Zoom (NASDAQ: ZM), Women in Tech, Women in Data and the list goes on and on.

The Block Dojo was also a Women in Tech Week partner and hosted an in-person Blockchain Building 101 Session last October 8, an event I had the pleasure of attending.

“When the team behind the inaugural Women in Tech Week reached out to us to become a partner and run a skills session to help bridge the tech gap facing women in the U.K., we jumped at the chance,” Cait Pilkington, Block Dojo Dealflow Manager, shared with me.

“The tech space, and particularly Web3, is heavily dominated by men, and it can seem intimidating for women trying to break into the space or build a career within it,” she said.

Pilkington went on to explain how the Block Dojo program, a global venture builder with a special focus on blockchain and future tech, strives to make access to technology and the space, in general, more inviting to women.

“We know that innovation is bred through diversity of thought. Increasing this diversity within the space introduces exciting new ideas and ways of doing things, which only improves things for everyone,” Pilkington said.

The Blockchain Building 101 Session provided a “safe space” to introduce women to the basics of blockchain technology with hands-on activities and an engaging presenter.

“We’re very lucky at Block Dojo to have our own in-house blockchain and AI expert, Priyatham Varma, who makes understanding blockchain at the simplest level fun and easy,” shared Pilkington.

“The session taught attendees the basics of building a block, validating, mining, smart contracts and tokens,” she added.

What was so magical about the session was the willingness of the attendees to ask all sorts of questions throughout the evening, no matter how basic they may have seemed. The attendees were also keen to discuss real-world applications of blockchain which was a welcomed outcome for the Block Dojo team.

“We know how important it is to improve opportunities for female founders, and we’ve been actively making efforts to become more visible in female communities to ensure the next unicorn isn’t missed due to limited access,” Pilkington said.

“We’re so pleased with our progress on this, and our current cohort, Cohort 9, is 50/50 female-founded to male-founded companies. We’re aiming to continue this trajectory and ensure we remain accessible to female founders moving forward,” she added.

I also felt a lot of love for U.K. women in tech during the London Blockchain Conference this past May, with a significant presence of female speakers and attendees, including a female master of ceremonies (the lovely Lilly Douse!) and a Women in Blockchain side event. After talking with Alex Stein, LBC Event Director, I can reveal efforts are being made to welcome even more fabulous females to London Blockchain Conference 2025 and other events leading up to it.

“As a conference dedicated to advancing blockchain and emerging technologies, we are deeply committed to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within the industry,” Stein shared.

“In May, we hosted a successful ‘Women in Blockchain’ evening, providing a platform for women leaders to share their insights and innovations,” he said.

“This November, we are honored to take the conversation further with an exclusive event at the House of Lords’ Driving Inclusive Innovation: DEI Strategies for Blockchain, Web3, and AI in the U.K.,’ where we will explore actionable strategies to ensure that these transformative technologies are developed inclusively, reflecting the diversity of the U.K.’s tech talent. We believe that true innovation happens when everyone has a seat at the table,” Stein added.

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