Women must not be left behind in the digital revolution. Despite the fantastic work of organizations and movements increasing the number of women in tech, women remain a minority in tech and science fields that are driving digital transformation for the future. Women hold less than 30-percent of jobs in science and tech – and even lower numbers in leadership roles within those fields. Women-led startups receive less than 3-percent of venture capital. It is a call to action.
Paulette Watson is driving this change in the science and tech space in the United Kingdom. Her mission is to empower girls and women to start web3 and STEM-related (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) jobs. She leads the #BeMe digital inclusion program and Academy Achievers, aiming to address the disparities around gender and inequality in the tech space by bringing one million women into the space by 2030.
The digital revolution demands more and more jobs driving advances in technologies. Paulette advocates for young people to acquire skills in computational thinking to tackle the digital challenges and not to be left behind in the job market. As technology advances in leaps and bounds in Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, and Machine Learning, technology blurs the boundaries of gender, providing the opportunity for girls and women to make a meaningful impact in the tech space.
She believes it is young people aged 5-35 years old who are vulnerable, disaffected, disadvantaged and come from marginalized communities that can empower themselves through STEM and web3 jobs to overcome those obstacles and reshape the future for women – especially black women. The challenge of mass adoption of web3 and the Metaverse is to include as many people as possible to participate in the digital revolution. She explains: “With so many jobs in tech and web3 if people are socially excluded, they will be displaced, pushing them further into poverty.”
Her journey to web3 underlines that and serves to inspire the next generation. As an educated black woman, Paulette was victimised, harassed, discriminated against and experienced micro-aggression. She holds the position of Managing Director and Founder of Academy Achievers, where she’s able to share her personal lived experiences to educate and empower other black women.
Her words of insight: “Being adaptable, having a psychological mindset, being resilient and committed has afforded me the ability to be where I am now.”
Paulette is excited about the power of web3 and STEM-related jobs. “The Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) sector is growing fast, and the supply of skilled STEM workers can’t keep up with demand. Web3 is a new and emerging technology that is making money. You can create and design an app, you can be an inventor, you can be whoever you want: make it happen.”
In terms of opportunities, Paulette sees web3 as providing the best employment breaks – and driving change. “I see so many opportunities in this space, especially around the web3 stack: the tech architecture and those who will create the algorithms,” she remarks. “I personally feel healthcare, education, and the future of work – more and more people will be creative and innovative in this space, and it’s going to be fun!”
Bringing one million girls and women into web3 and STEM-related jobs will take remarkable effort. Paulette isn’t alone in her ambition. She’s built and fostered a community of like-minded women.
Within her role in web3 and the Metaverse, Paulette sees her objectives as three-fold. She remarks: “I help to onboard women and girls in this space through hosting networking events, building an online community, virtual tech talks in collaboration with tech companies and web3 speakers; by mentoring and coaching women and girls in the web3 space; and, I’m writing blog articles and speaking at events and podcasts.”
She is working on releasing new NFT art and music collections to advance NFT use cases and utilities to shift the direction of NFTs with a mission of representing more women and girls in this space.
Through the Academy Achievers UK (AAUK) and STEM Academy Achievers Ghana (SAAG), Paulette supports children and young people ages 5-35 years old who are vulnerable, disaffected, disadvantaged and come from marginalised communities to venture into STEM and web3 related careers.
It is said ‘a rising tide floats all boats.’ That is precisely what Paulette aims to achieve through the power and potential of web3 for women’s empowerment. These women who’ve learned web3 skills through the #BeMe digital inclusion program can help onboard businesses to the web3 community and participate in its development meaningfully. She also believes these women will become ambassadors for their local communities and give back by hosting web3 events and onboarding more women.
For Paulette, the Metaverse is not new. “I will use the same definition I used 12 years ago when I did my Master’s thesis: the Metaverse is an integrated network of 3d virtual worlds,” she explains. “These worlds are accessed through a virtual reality headset, and users navigate the Metaverse using their eye movements, feedback controllers or voice commands.”
Web3 and the Metaverse’s power lies in how they will transform lives. Her perspective of the Metaverse is that it “aims to innovate how we interact with each other on the internet, interacting in a way previously thought possible only in science fiction.”
As more women enter the space, they will be able to raise their collective voice and have a hand in establishing women’s rightful place in the economics and ownership of the future.
Looking to the future of web3 and the Metaverse, Paulette is most excited about it bringing equity and equality for women. “It gives me great joy and pleasure to inspire and educate others. I hope my legacy gives more girls and women an opportunity in web3 and a voice.”
This passionate web3 champion ends on this note: “I just love web 3 – it is truly the future.
Website: paulettewatson.com
