Katie Evans
Chief Business Development and Communications Officer at Swarm
Please introduce yourself and your background. What has brought you into fintech?
I’m the Chief Business Development and Communications Officer at Swarm, where I work at the intersection of tech and financial services. My career has been quite varied—I started in fashion, moved into the charity sector, and then shifted to institutional commodities trading before getting into crypto in 2019.
Even though I'm currently the only woman at my company, I’ve found the crypto space to be more inclusive than it’s often portrayed. The women here are incredibly supportive, and there’s a real sense of connection that I haven’t experienced in other industries.
Can you provide a brief overview of your career journey and what motivated you to pursue a career in crypto?
If you look at my CV, it might look a little “schizophrenic”. I started off in the fashion industry and then moved to the charity sector. One day, I just woke up and thought, "I need to sink my teeth into something new." So, I decided to move into financial services and actually chose one of the most difficult markets to dive into – metals trading. People who work in trading know it’s one of the most complex market structures to get your head around, which I loved. It fed my need to learn.
I've always liked working in fields that are hard to understand, because I think one of my superpowers is taking complex information and simplifying it for others. I also enjoy staying on the cutting edge of trends and new technologies, which is why I eventually moved to the crypto industry in 2019. It combines these passions perfectly.
Would you describe the crypto industry as being inclusive for women? Why?
I’d say the level of representation of women in crypto is improving, but there’s still a way to go. When I first started attending crypto conferences, I’d be one of just a handful of women in a room of hundreds of delegates. I had a feeling of being a sort of minority there; even now in my company I’m the only female employee even though we have had other women work in the team previously. However, the wider community is incredible, and I’ve built strong, personal connections with many women in this space.
In my personal experience, the crypto industry is in fact more egalitarian than it’s often portrayed. We’re all going against the grain of the status quo of traditional finance, so there’s this element of "we’re in this together." The women I’ve worked with in crypto have been some of the most supportive people I’ve ever encountered and the men on my team at Swarm have been some of my biggest career-champions to date.
There are also plenty of women-focused events, like breakfast meetups and dedicated conferences like SheFi. Actually, I myself host “Women in Blockchain Breakfast” every quarter. Some of these events also include men, which I think is crucial for the dialogue because you can’t have a conversation without the other side showing up either.
So, overall, I find the crypto industry is far more inclusive than people might think.
What specific challenges do you face as a woman in the crypto industry?
The level of representation is still a challenge, though it’s getting better as the sector matures. Initially, crypto was heavily focused on coding and development, but now it’s incorporating areas like marketing, communications, and business development – fields which some might argue have traditionally been female-oriented.
However, one challenge I’ve faced is related to labelling about what women can do or should know. When I started at Swarm as Global Head of PR and Communications, I would attend events and engage in discussions, but people would often make comments like, “Oh, you know a lot for a PR person.” While they probably meant it as a compliment, it felt a bit backhanded. It was as if I wasn’t expected to understand certain aspects of the business because of my role – or perhaps because of my gender. This is something we need to address across the industry: ensuring that people aren’t pigeonholed into certain roles or expectations simply because of traditional gender norms.
What initiatives or changes would you like to see within the crypto industry to further promote gender diversity and inclusivity?
There are some very tangible things all industries, not just crypto, can do. For example, implementing policies that promote more women to join – like flexible work-from-home policies, since women often have child care responsibilities. Another crucial factor is having a strong maternity policy. Women are often scared to ask about this during interviews because they worry it might lower their chances of getting the role. Employers need to be proactive about offering this information.
We also need more women in leadership, especially on boards. In crypto, boards are still new, and some companies don’t even have them yet. But if they do, they should make sure at least one woman is included. It has been proven that having diverse opinions is always more commercially beneficial for an organisation. And speaking about the diversity of opinions, as I’ve mentioned before, men attending female-oriented events is a positive step, but we still need more male allies actively supporting these initiatives.
Lastly, we need to ban “manels,” or all-male panels, at events. No matter the topic, there’s always at least one woman who can contribute. We should be promoting women and making sure they feel comfortable sharing their insights.
