xCollective is an up-and-coming female and nonbinary project that aims to help women mint NFTs and find jobs in the crypto web3 industry. They have an emphasis on achieving fair pay for women using a decentralized recruiting network. The project should also increase women's and nonbinary individuals' role in crypto adoption and development of web3. Women and nonbinary individuals have a unique view of web3 helping the community grow through efficient marketing as well as attracting a diverse population.
A study conducted by Deloitte found that 75% of US retailers will start accepting crypto as a form of payment in the next 2 years. (Deloitte) Women's involvement in crypto adoption is detrimental as it is projected to grow approximately four times the rate of initial internet adoption. Currently, crypto is a male-dominated industry but, hopefully, that gap may eventually start to close.
The lack of women and nonbinary individuals in the cryptocurrency space is often related to being intimidated when trying to find employment in a male-dominated field. This has contributed to a lack of diversity over time. Many of these women have skills for the cryptocurrency industry but are left out. xCollective has made it its mission to assist women and nonbinary individuals become involved in NFTs and assist them in finding jobs in the crypto web3 industry. Rachel Price, the founder of xCollective, describes her company as:
"a professional growth community, with a mission to open virtual doors and help people get paid jobs in web3 by providing career coaching, networking and wage negotiation tips. We are focused on empowering women & nonbinary individuals to make hiring in web3 more inclusive, but our community is open to all races, genders, religions, etc. Our long term vision is to turn our community into a decentralized, crowdsourced recruiting platform - where we can support people across the globe when it comes to enhancing their professional opportunities and careers, specifically in web3 roles."
xCollective reaches out to crypto projects founders and co-founders to discuss diversity issues we currently face and also the pay gap between women and men. They also survey women's pay scale for the crypto industry which can then be used in negotiating a paid job. A study conducted by McKinsey & Company found that companies practicing gender diversity outperformed peers by over 25% (McKinsey). Hopefully, over time the benefits of increased diversity will motivate the crypto industry to hire more women and nonbinary individuals with equitable wages. Increased diversity may be hard to achieve if women are intimidated to apply for work in the industry. Rachel of xCollective’s advice when applying for a web3 position is:
"There are so many transferable skills you can take with you from web2 to web3. Don't discount your previous experience. You do not have to start from scratch if you want to pivot into a web3 role. A huge part of what we discuss within the xCollective community is how to recognize your skills and strengths and translate that into the job you are applying for in the web3 space. Don't underestimate the importance of practicing storytelling and crafting your narrative."
Another way X-Collectives assists in finding jobs is through the refer-to-earn program which rewards people for referrals that lead to employment. Rachel at xCollective summarizes this program stating:
"There is a lot of money in recruiting-it is a lucrative business. I truly believe if we can help our community earn on referrals and redirect recruiting dollars, we can create better incentives in the system, and ultimately help people get access to networks they wouldn't have otherwise had access to. This is why I am so driven to turn xCollective into a decentralized recruiting network and create a refer to earn platform to drive it."
Women often face discrimination and bias during the interview process or when trying to obtain a web3 position. Hiring should not be based on looks, gender, or how you speak. Women and nonbinary individuals can become frustrated while learning about crypto and the web3 environment in a male-dominated industry. Sometimes this leads these individuals to give up on their aspirations to enter the industry. Rachel of xCollective has expressed many of the challenges women and nonbinary individuals face when starting a career and have a mission to support them. In this supportive role, Rachel states:
"I am excited to be exploring the ways in which web3 can reduce discrimination and bias within the interview process and make hiring in the space more inclusive and diverse."Often, women and nonbinary individuals underestimate their skills and how much they should be paid for working in the web 3 field. Entering a world transitioning from web 2 to 3 is difficult and even more trying as a female but with Rachel Price and xCollective women and nonbinary can find support and guidance while achieving their goals.”
xCollective will also be assisting with the minting of NFTs. They will be launching their genesis NFT project on the Ethereum blockchain and anyone interested in gaining access to the whitelist can contact Rachel via xCollective’s twitter which is xCollectiv. Another way to get whitelisted and get to know the community is by joining and participating in their discord.
Although xCollective is early on in their mission, other people are starting to take notice of its project. HedgeHUG is an advisory program that helps pre-mint NFT projects. xCollective was recently chosen for the hedgeHUG accelerator program and hedgeHUG will be providing 90 days of free mentorship to xCollective’s genesis Ethereum-based NFT launch which started in July. They will help open doors for partnerships in the HUG ecosystem. This also includes helping promote the project utilizing their social channels with an impressive audience of over three hundred thousand people.
xCollective’s future is to mold its community into a decentralized recruiting platform. Although their focus is on more underrepresented groups, they are open to all people. Over time with xCollective’s dedication and fiery motivation, an inclusive and diverse web3 environment will evolve for women and nonbinary individuals.