Education and aesthetics: Bringing more women into the Metaverse

cointelegraph.com:

Interest in the Metaverse is growing rapidly and fashion brands across the globe are taking note. A new report from the technology research and advisory firm Technavio found that the Metaverse will hit a market value of $50.37 billion by 2026. Findings from Technavio further show that the Metaverse in fashion market share is expected to increase by $6.61 billion from 2021 to 2026. 

Given this, a number of major brands have begun participating in Web3 initiatives. For instance, Metaverse Fashion Week hosted in Decentraland this year attracted more than 70 brands, artists and designers including Tommy Hilfiger, Estée Lauder, Philipp Plein, Selfridges and Dolce & Gabbana. Luxury jewelry brand Tiffany & Co also recently stepped into the Web3 space with the sale of 250 diamond and gemstone encrusted pendants for CryptoPunk nonfungible token (NFT) holders.

While these initiatives are notable, new findings from The Female Quotient (The FQ) and the media company EWG Unlimited show that metaverse experiences are still largely geared toward men. The report titled “What Women Want in Web 3.0” also found that 62% of women surveyed have never heard of or are unfamiliar with NFTs, while 24% of females don’t understand the Metaverse. 

Shelley Zalis, CEO of The FQ — an equality services and advisory firm — told Cointelegraph that while there is a tremendous interest for women to become involved in Web3, the experiences offered by brands need to cater more toward what women want. She said:

To Zalis’ point, The FQ and EWG Unlimited report found that one in four women would revisit a Metaverse platform if it contained better aesthetics. Yet, understanding visually appealing elements for women may be challenging, as the report notes that only