Get to Know Women in Tech: 33 Facts About Female Leaders Transforming the Industry

The technology industry is in the midst of a major shift as more and more women enter the field and take on leadership roles. While tech has traditionally been a male-dominated space, women are making significant strides and transforming the industry with their skills, innovation and unique perspectives.

In fact, according to a recent report, the eight largest tech companies including Google, Apple, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are hiring women 238% faster than men. Women now make up 47% of the overall U.S. workforce and 28% of jobs in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields – a marked increase from previous decades but still far from parity.

To shine a spotlight on the progress of women in tech, we‘ve compiled an array of fascinating facts and statistics. From pioneering female tech founders to rising stars making their mark, get to know some of the most successful women in the industry and their impact as leaders, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.

Pioneering Women in Tech History

Women have a long and often untold history in the field of technology, stretching back to the 19th century origins of computer science. English mathematician Ada Lovelace is widely considered to be the first computer programmer for her work on Charles Babbage‘s proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. She published the first algorithm intended to be carried out by such a machine.

Fast forward to the 1940s and the women of the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) were among the first programmers of one of the earliest electronic general-purpose computers. Originally recruited as "computers" to calculate ballistics trajectories by hand, these six women soon learned to program the ENIAC, although their contributions went largely uncredited at the time.

In the following decades, female tech pioneers continued to make their mark:

• Grace Hopper – One of the first programmers of the Harvard Mark I computer, she invented the first compiler for a computer programming language. She popularized the term "debugging" for fixing computer glitches.

• Jean Jennings Bartik – One of the original ENIAC programmers, she went on to work on the BINAC and UNIVAC I computers. She led the development of early computer storage and memory.

• Evelyn Boyd Granville – The second African-American woman to receive a Ph.D in mathematics, she worked on computer software for space trajectories and digital computer techniques for NASA.

• Joan Ball – An English entrepreneur who founded the first computer dating service in 1964.

• Mary Allen Wilkes – One of the first programmers of the LINC computer at MIT, she helped develop one of the earliest operating systems and wrote computer-assisted instruction software.

• Frances Allen – Known for her work optimizing compilers and parallel computing, she became the first female IBM Fellow in 1989.

While women accounted for a significant share of programmers in the early decades of computing, their participation declined sharply in the 1980s as personal computers became more common and computer science degrees surged in popularity. The percentage of female computer science majors peaked in 1984 at about 37% and then steadily declined to a low of 18% in 2014.

However, the tide started to turn in the 21st century as diversity became a growing focus in the booming tech industry and a new crop of female leaders emerged on the scene…

Tech Trailblazers of the 21st Century

In the early 2000s, a Newsweek article made waves by suggesting that women‘s underrepresentation in tech could be traced to their lack of exposure to computers at a young age compared to boys. While the theory itself was controversial, the article did highlight a key gap – the lack of visible female role models in the tech world.

Fortunately, that started to change as a number of prominent women ascended to high-profile leadership positions and became household names:

Name	Role
Sheryl Sandberg	COO of Facebook
Susan Wojcicki	CEO of YouTube
Ginni Rometty	CEO of IBM
Marissa Mayer	CEO of Yahoo
Meg Whitman	CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise

These women and many others helped shatter stereotypes and glass ceilings, demonstrating that gender is no barrier to reaching the highest echelons of the tech world. They became inspirational figures and role models for the next generation of female technologists.

Entrepreneurial Spirit

Beyond climbing the ranks of major corporations, women are also making their mark as tech entrepreneurs and startup founders. One prominent example is Sandra Kurtzig, who founded ASK Computer Systems in 1972. She became the first woman to take a Silicon Valley company public in 1981. More recently:

• Lynda Weinman co-founded the online learning platform Lynda.com, which was acquired by LinkedIn for $1.5 billion in 2015.

• Adi Tatarko co-founded the home remodeling and design platform Houzz, valued at $4 billion as of 2017.

• Anne Wojcicki co-founded the personal genomics company 23andMe, which has raised over $780 million in funding.

• Leah Busque founded the online and mobile marketplace TaskRabbit, which was acquired by IKEA in 2017.

These successful founders and CEOs are role models for aspiring female entrepreneurs in the tech space. Research has shown that mentorship and representation can play a key role in encouraging women to pursue entrepreneurship.

One study found that women who see other women give entrepreneurship pitches are more than twice as likely to express interest in starting a company themselves. And according to PitchBook, startups with at least one female founder raised 21% of all VC funding in 2017, up from a meager 4% in 2004.

Savvy Investors

In addition to starting companies themselves, women are increasingly shaking up the venture capital world and funding the next wave of diverse startups. By one estimate, the number of women-led VC firms in the U.S. has more than quadrupled in the past decade.

Some prominent female VCs leading the charge:

• Aileen Lee – Founder of Cowboy Ventures, known for coining the term "unicorn" for billion-dollar startups
• Megan Quinn – General Partner at Spark Capital, an early investor in Slack, Glossier and Snapchat
• Kirsten Green – Founder of Forerunner Ventures, an early investor in Bonobos, Dollar Shave Club and Jet.com
• Mary Meeker – General Partner at Bond Capital and longtime tech industry analyst

According to All Raise, 65% of top U.S. VC firms still have zero female partners, and only 9% of decision-makers at U.S. venture firms are women. But with more and more women becoming angel investors and launching their own female-focused firms, the VC landscape is starting to change.

The State of Women in Tech Today

So where do things stand now? Let‘s take a look at some key statistics and figures that paint a picture of the current state of gender diversity in the tech industry:

• According to the AnitaB.org, women make up roughly 28.8% of the tech workforce at top U.S. tech companies, up from 25.9% in 2018
• Women hold 26.5% of professional computing jobs, up from 25.7% in 2018
• The turnover rate for women in tech is 41%, compared to 17% for men
• Women earn 18% of computer science bachelor‘s degrees in the U.S.
• Female founders received only 2.2% of all venture capital funding in 2018
• 48% of women in STEM jobs report experiencing discrimination in recruitment and hiring

While progress has been made, it‘s clear that the tech industry still has a long way to go to achieve true gender equality. And the gap is even wider for women of color, who face intersectional barriers and discrimination.

Over time, the compounding effect of these disparities can be detrimental to women‘s career growth and lead to a sense of isolation in the workplace. One telling statistic: 56% of women in tech leave their employers at the mid-career level, double the turnover rate for men. Retaining and promoting female talent is just as important as recruiting women in the first place.

Minding the Gap

So what steps are being taken to attract more women and girls to the tech field and break down barriers to their advancement? A number of initiatives have emerged from nonprofits, corporations, schools and female leaders themselves:

• Nonprofit organization Girls Who Code aims to support and increase the number of women in computer science by offering clubs and programs for girls from elementary school through college

• In 2019, A New York law went into effect requiring all publicly traded companies headquartered in the state to have at least one woman on their board of directors by 2020

• The online educator Coursera teamed up with the women‘s advocacy group LeanIn.org to offer mentorship opportunities to women enrolled in its computer science courses

• The female-only social club The Wing launched a scholarship program to teach women how to code

• Former Reddit CEO Ellen Pao and other prominent Silicon Valley women founded the diversity consulting nonprofit Project Include to help tech companies recruit and retain diverse talent

• Apple and Facebook offer to cover the $20,000 cost of egg freezing for female employees, a fertility-extending benefit intended to help women pursue both career and family

• A number of female-focused VC firms and angel investing syndicates like Halogen Ventures, Female Founders Fund, Pipeline Angels and Astia were created to fund and support women-led startups

Beyond these concrete programs and policies, there has also been a growing conversation around toxic elements of tech culture that create an unwelcome environment for underrepresented groups. Sexual harassment allegations at major tech companies like Uber and Google have exposed systemic issues and put pressure on the industry to change.

More and more women are also speaking out and organizing to share their experiences and enact solutions. In 2017, former Uber engineer Susan Fowler published a blog post detailing the sexism and sexual harassment she endured at the company, prompting internal investigations and the eventual ousting of CEO Travis Kalanick.

Women across the industry have increasingly banded together to form supportive communities and networks. The group Tech Ladies has over 100,000 members in its online community and offers everything from job postings to virtual coding workshops. Women Who Code is a global organization with 230,000 members that hosts technical development and career training events.

Looking Ahead

As awareness grows and efforts to close the gender gap gain steam, the hope is that women in tech will continue to make gains in the coming years. If the current pace of change continues, one analysis predicts that women will reach 39% of the tech workforce by 2025.

Of course, true equality is the ideal end goal, meaning the gender breakdown of the tech industry should mirror that of the broader population and workforce. Striving for 50/50 representation would help ensure women‘s voices and contributions are fully integrated into the fabric of the tech world.

More female leadership across the board will also be key, from the entry level all the way to the C-suite and boardroom. Hopefully, a decade from now we‘ll see just as many female tech CEOs, startup founders, and VC partners as men, if not more so.

Achieving this progress will require buy-in and participation from male allies in conjunction with the ongoing efforts of women and women‘s advocacy groups. Men still hold the majority of positions of power in tech, so their willingness to hire, promote and advocate for female candidates will be crucial.

The Bottom Line

Women have made undeniable strides in the tech industry, but there is still much work to be done to combat underrepresentation, pay gaps, discrimination, and lack of upward mobility. Driving change will require not just conscientious policies and initiatives, but a wholesale shift in the culture and mindset of tech companies.

The importance of gender diversity in tech cannot be overstated:

• Diverse teams make better business decisions 87% of the time
• Every 10% increase in gender diversity within a firm leads to a 3.5% increase in revenue
• Companies with higher levels of gender diversity are 15% more likely to outperform the industry average

Beyond the bottom line, having more women in tech is simply the right thing to do in the name of equality and ensuring that the technology shaping our lives reflects the diversity of our society. With women making up half the global population, there‘s no justifiable reason why they should only account for a quarter of the tech workforce.

Ultimately, empowering women in tech is a win-win with far-reaching benefits. Solving the persistent gender gap will lead to more innovation, better products, and a more just and equitable future. By harnessing the full potential of all people regardless of gender, the possibilities are limitless.