Late last year, a major exchange's newly appointed co-leader shared some thoughts on what really matters for women climbing the ladder in this industry. The conversation happened at a gathering focused on female professionals, and the message was pretty straightforward—forget about asking for special treatment based on gender.

According to this executive, whether you're building in traditional tech or diving deep into crypto, what sets you apart isn't your background. It's what you bring to the table. Skills, execution, and how you handle pressure when markets go sideways—that's the stuff that counts.

The take? Commercial battlegrounds don't care about demographics. They care about results. Women succeeding in Web3 aren't doing it because companies are cutting them slack. They're doing it because they're damn good at what they do. From protocol development to community building, from trading strategies to regulatory navigation—excellence speaks for itself.

It's an interesting perspective, especially in an industry that loves to talk about inclusivity. But maybe the real inclusion isn't about lowering bars. Maybe it's about recognizing talent regardless of who's bringing it. When you're negotiating partnerships worth millions or making split-second decisions during liquidity crunches, competence is the only currency that matters.

What do you think? Does the crypto space need more conversations like this, or are we missing something bigger about how we build truly diverse teams?