It is always great to hear women who are role models in the industry that they work in. Knowing that female leaders achieve what they love is a great way to inspire other women and girls to succeed regardless of what other people say. In the area of technology, there is a common stigma portraying it as a male-dominant field, and in recent decades there has been an increased number of females breaking into the industry.
Here are 5 women who have made history in the tech industry and have become renowned for their roles and leadership in succeeding in their careers:
Kimberly Bryant – CEO of Black Girls Code
Making dreams come true, Kimberly has created an organisation that gives women and girls in South Africa opportunities to gain skills in computer programming and technology. As a young girl, Kimberly has become a high-level math and science student, landing a major in Electrical Engineering. She saw that the numbers of girls studying computer engineering had plunged from 30% to 12% lately and 3% for women of colour. Determined to design pathways for women and girls, she founded Black Girls Code to give women and girls of colour the opportunity to learn and gain the skills needed for careers in technology.
Ellen K. Pao – co-founder and CEO of Project Include
The previous CEO of Reddit, Ellen K. Pao, is the CEO and co-founder of the nonprofit organisation. As a speaker, she focuses on issues surrounding sexism in Silicon Valley and the divide of a ‘male-lead industry’. Project Include’s mission is to give every individual a fair opportunity to succeed in the tech field. Ellen has created a community to accelerate diversity and inclusion in this industry and advocate that learning shouldn’t cost thousands of dollars to gain the skills. Successfully, Ellen has become a world-known role model in this area as both a woman and an individual that advocates diversity and inclusion.
Reshma Saujani – Founder and CEO of Girls Who Code
Author, TED speaker, and CEO of Girls Who Code, Reshma Saujani, renowned for being this decade’s role model in computing for girls across the globe. Girls Who Code aims to inspire, educate and lead young females with the computing and technology skills to pursue dream careers in this field. Based in New York City, she was the first Indian American woman who had run for U.S. Congress in 2010. While she was in the running, she had noticed a significant gender gap in the tech industry and took it into her hands to create Girls Who Code.
Susan Wojcicki – CEO of YouTube
Starting in marketing and commerce for Google, she became the CEO of YouTube in 2014 and has continuously displayed her hard work. As a mother of 5, she has become a role model presenting the balance of being a busy mother and hard worker in the tech industry. Many people doubted where she would end up when she had her second child, and she has since proved them wrong. Now leading the world with the biggest video sharing platform, Susan has been a leading female in the tech industry and continues to be a great mother to her children.
Melanie Perks – Co-founder and CEO of Canva
One of the youngest female CEOs in the tech field based in Australia, Melanie created a graphic design website that rocketed to USD S6 billion in 2020. Starting her business with her partner at 19, they had built a business that put Australia on the map in the tech industry. Years after starting her company, she had gained a fantastic opportunity to pitch her idea to Silicon Valley investor Bill Tai. Teaching students across the world, Melaine has given many people across the globe to gain design skills for future careers.
It is inspiring to know that every female who works in the tech industry has started at different times of their lives, with different educational backgrounds. These women are just a small percentage of successful women in the field of technology, and we hope to see more astounding and aspiring entrepreneurs in the coming future.
Written by Janaya Hacinas
