Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) roles have remained predominantly male industries. That trend continues despite the heavy emphasis on diversity and gender equality by small and large companies trying to get more women in tech.
According to The National Girls Collaborative Project, fewer than 30 percent of science and engineering roles are filled by women. Roughly 25 percent of computer and mathematical roles are filled by women. Not only are fewer women working in STEM education and careers, but they are also more likely to be overlooked, underpaid, and challenged by male counterparts.
From the lack of role models in leadership roles to glass ceilings and underrepresentation, women in tech continue to struggle to gain equality in the workplace.
Despite these challenges, women continue to make huge contributions and advancements in their fields and serve as role models for other professionals everywhere.
In honour of International International Women’s Day on March 8 and Women’s History Month, we’re highlighting powerful women in tech who serve as an inspiration both within and outside of the industry.
“Entrepreneurs need to start building today. The barrier to entry in tech is low, so start designing, start coding it, launch it, build prototypes, build a working version of it. The Internet has amazing powers of distribution. You can test your ideas. You can see if it works, if it doesn’t work, whether it’s fun, and whether you’re sufficiently motivated. People who go into entrepreneurship to get rich aren’t going to be happy. It’s the building of things that makes you happy. You have to enjoy the process whether you succeed or fail.”
Catrina Fake, Co-founder of Flickr
“I remember having this conversation with myself one day and I just said, you know what? This is not rocket science. You’re gonna figure it out. I just decided that I was going to have enough confidence in myself to figure out whatever I needed to figure out and then surround myself with as many smart people as possible.”
Leah Solivan, Founder of TaskRabbit
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“If you can offer a free tier that provides a lot of value, it will naturally help your product to spread much more rapidly.”
Melanie Perkins, Co-Founder and CEO of Canva
“I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow. When there’s that moment of ‘Wow, I’m not really sure I can do this,’ and you push through those moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough.”
Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo
VP North America Partner Strategy & Sales at Sage.
“One of the most important things for any leader is to never let anyone else define who you are. And you define who you are. I never think of myself as being a woman CEO of this company. I think of myself as a steward of a great institution.”
Ginni Rometty, CEO of IBM
“If anyone I work for wants to become an entrepreneur, my job is to make sure they acquire my skill set within two to three years of working for me. […] It’s my personal mission to empower the people within my organization to be able to go off and build their own thing if they want to. Because it’s how you solve problems in the world: you build companies around how to solve those problems.”
Michele Romanow, Co-founder of Clearco
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“The way I inspire loyalty in my team is for them to see me more casually, to have lunch with members of my team, for them to see me with my family, my fiance, to see the real me.”
Jennifer Hyman, CEO and Co-founder of Rent The Runway
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“The fastest way to get customers to love your company — is to get employees to love their job.”
Tiffani Bova, Global Customer Growth and Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce
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“I also say to my team: Do 10% of your job shittily. It’s okay to do something shittily. Perfectionism prevents us from taking double steps in our career. We think we have to be perfect, but we don’t.”
Reshma Saujani, Founder of Girls Who Code
“Anyone can replicate a product. There are lots of brilliant minds out there that know how to code, but there’s unique DNA to a brand. You cannot have a brand without people. That is the most important asset you will ever have.”
Whitney Wolfe Herd, Founder and CEO of Bumble
“Businesses perform better when you have diversity of view in your senior leadership positions. This is not just the right thing to do socially; it’s the right thing to do for your business.”
Ruth Porat, CFO of Alphabet
“It is important to represent and be seen as an example of someone who doesn’t have the typical start-up background, but who is doing it. I think a lot of people would love a career as an entrepreneur or at a start-up, but never see anyone who looks like them doing it.”
Eva Wong, Co-founder of Borrowell
Read the full article here.
“When women fight for a higher salary, they can often feel guilty. When men fight for more pay, they feel empowered. I’ve always wanted to encourage women to go after the money they deserve.”
Whitney Wolfe Herd, Founder and CEO of Bumble
“The most significant barrier to female leadership is the actual lack of females in leadership. The best advice I can give to women is to go out and start something, ideally their own businesses. If you can’t see a path for leadership within your own company, go blaze a trail of your own.”
Safra Catz, CEO of Oracle
“The normal thing to do after your 100th ‘no’ would be to stop, but you just have to persevere. I’d continuously pour my energy into things that I could refine and fix, trying to find people who believed in my vision and would come along for the ride.”
Melanie Perkins, Co-founder and CEO of Borrowell
Read the full article here.
“When you actually find the investor that believes in you and believes in the way you look at the industry, it’s just going to feel like a discussion. Fundraising is really about finding the right person, it’s like dating actually. It will take longer than you think, it will be harder than you think but don’t get discouraged.”
Dawoon Kang, Co-founder of Coffee Meets Bagel
Read the full article here.
“Though we do need more women to graduate with technical degrees, I always like to remind women that you don’t need to have science or technology degrees to build a career in tech.”
Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube
“If you looked at my resume in the years leading up to Flickr, I worked in a dive shop in landlocked Arkansas; I was a starving artist. I just arrived at the thing I love to do accidentally.”
Catrina Fake, Co-founder of Flickr
“Always know your merit and how special you are, and don’t let someone else’s qualifications make you feel small. If you stick to this, you will always deserve their respect.”
Whitney Wolfe Herd, Founder and CEO of Bumble
“Love what you do and do what you love. Doing something new and different requires a level of drive and passion that is really hard to fake. When your heart is behind what you are doing, so much is possible.”
Tracy Sun, Co-Founder of Poshmark
In a world where women receive a mere 10% of venture capital, grants are a critical source of business funding for female founders and entrepreneurs.
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) roles have remained predominantly male industries. That trend continues despite the heavy emphasis on diversity and gender equality by
FundThrough has built a diverse management team and staff to spur innovation. The diverse staff has built momentum for the company as the fintech industry continues
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