WTO director general says blockchain technology can be particularly beneficial for women

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director general of the World Trade Organization and former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Finance of Nigeria, said blockchain technology can help empower women with and without bank accounts across the country.

Cointelegraph Editor-in-Chief Kristina Cornèr spoke to the G20’s high-level independent panel on funding the Global Commissions to Prepare for and Respond to the Pandemic Today and asked regulators and lawmakers how blockchain technology can help improve the financial inclusion of women during COVID-19 and beyond to promote. Okonjo-Iweala, co-chair of the panel, was the only one of several members, including representatives from the United States and Singapore, to speak about women on the blockchain.

“Of course, blockchain brings more transparency to the way businesses work and eliminates middlemen,” said the WTO Director General. “I think, especially in the financial sector, the possibility of translating this into transactions could be particularly advantageous for women, who are often excluded from financial access. I think that’s a good thing to look at. “

In many countries, women often have more difficult access to financial services than men, a situation that the pandemic could worsen with the closure of many institutions. Many experts have suggested using cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology to promote financial inclusion in infrastructure-deficient regions such as developed countries, especially where women can face challenges.

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Women are still underrepresented in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industries, according to a World Economic Forum report released in April. The World Trade Organization previously reported women’s economic empowerment as part of its agenda for wealth creation and poverty reduction, with the group proposing technical solutions:

“E-commerce via online platforms can be a simple and inexpensive way for women to do business around the world, open up new foreign markets, grow their business and use their entrepreneurial spirit.”

Cryptocurrency and blockchain could be an extension of this view by using digital currencies as a payment method and blockchain for banking, etc. However, it is unclear how individual economies will react.