JEMMA GREEN
“TECH NEEDS MORE DIVERSITY – NOT JUST MORE WOMEN”
CO-FOUNDER AND CHAIR OF POWER LEDGER
Jemma Green has reinvented herself multiple times. From working in investment banking in London, to studying business at Cambridge University, then backpacking, creating an eco-village back home in Western Australia, then completing a PHD in low-carbon living, she’s recreated her world multiple times. And now she’s recreating ours. Her company Power Ledger enables peer-to-peer electricity trading using blockchain technology. And if you’re fuzzy on blockchain, get this: Green first had it explained to her by experts just seven weeks after giving birth. “I got my mum over to hold the baby while I was chatting with them and honestly, I was like, ‘What are they on about?’ It was like science fiction.”
She soon figured it out, and Power Ledger now has projects in the US, Japan, Thailand, India and Australia, all with one goal: solving the climate crisis. “Investment in renewables needs to be six times faster to meet Paris climate goals,” explains Green. “Our technology can help manage the transition from a centralised fossil fuel-based energy system to a distributed low-carbon and low-cost energy system.”
The three worlds she inhabits – finance, energy and blockchain – are male-dominated, but Green’s hopeful for the future of women in each of them. “There’s a real appetite for a diverse representation of people in the field,” she says. She also believes women are particularly suited to working in STEM. “Women are often systems thinkers, so they’re good at understanding markets and emergence of markets. There’s a real role for that kind of thinking. We need this thinking to solve some of the problems we face in the world, and they can’t be solved with the same thinking that created them.”
She participates in hackathons and training events to encourage women and girls to take up coding. “Studies say if you can’t see yourself in a role, you are unlikely to pursue it. so we need more female role models. We need to highlight the dynamic nature of the job – programmers’ roles are often seen as static or isolated, but they actually involve problem-solving and product development and client interaction. And we need to shift the culture. Inclusion and diversity policies are just the beginning. We need to address unconscious bias in hiring and promotion.”
The final hurdle for working women is childcare. “I take my kids on business trips with me,” says Green. “I’d love to provide onsite childcare so women could continue to breastfeed if they want, and be close to their children.” Far from simply toeing the politically correct line, this is crucial, she says. “We need our collective and diverse ideas and experiences to come up with a solution to today’s challenges and create tomorrow’s future.”