Roughly half of the world’s population is female gender, hence it is no surprise that women are surging ahead in all professional fields. The tech industry is one particular sector where women leaders are taking major strides and impacting society positively.
The gender gap is closing in the tech industry, and it is a great space for progressive and forward-thinking women professionals. They deliver a high sense of creativity, have immense dedication, and have contributed to generate novel products or services. Here is a list of the 12 most inspirational women leaders who are disrupting the tech industry.
Ekta Sahasi ( Konica Minolta)
The Vice President of the prestigious US Business Innovation Center for Konica Minolta in Silicon Valley, Ekta Sahasi is a leading influencer. She has played a strategic role in boosting the company’s revenue pipeline and has provided a solid thrust to the start-up ecosystem culture in the region. Equally competent in both the lab and the boardroom, Ekta Sahasi is well recognized as an innovative business personality in Silicon Valley and has provided smart leadership advice to many Asian and global organizations.
Jessica Naziri (TechSesh)
A global tech influencer, and content strategy expert, Jessica Naziri has been a game-changer in the tech industry. She is a widely acclaimed consultant who uses her business expertise to help start-ups and growing firms target niche consumer markets. Jessica’s core areas of focus remain media strategy development and brand positioning. She has gained fame as the founder and CEO of TechSesh, an upcoming website that provides gadget and app reviews along with the latest tech tips. Her major goal is to make the field of technology simple and accessible to average people so that they can achieve better results in the tech domain.
Erika Baker ( Slack)
Erika is one of the leading founders of the famous Project Include, that aims to make the modern workplace inclusive by accepting women, and other minority representatives. She has played a major role in making the tech environment more gender-neutral and helped corporate organizations forge a culture that is based on inclusive solutions. Erika is currently a senior engineer at Slack and has mentored many company groups on ways to make lasting changes in a successful manner.
Gail Carmichael ( Shopify)
A knowledgeable computer scientist, active blogger, and educationist, Gail is currently working as the External Education Team Leader at Shopify. She has transformed the work environment of Shopify by innovating many methods that make learning computer science more interesting and engaging. Gail is an avid advocate for encouraging women in all-industrial sectors and has founded the prestigious Carleton Women in Science and Engineering Institute. She also acts as a consultant to many organizations and holds team-coaching sessions for diverse groups of tech managers.
Safre Catz (Oracle)
An independent and self-made woman leader, Safre Catz has been with Oracle for a long time – over 20 years. She is now the co-CEO of Oracle. Safre has been a leading figure of inspiration in the tech industry and has successfully navigated Oracle through over 85 acquisitions. Safre is heavily involved in innovation at the workplace and keeps coming up with new initiatives to make transformational changes. She is a well-established thought leader and has undertaken numerous important projects that have proved her worth as a radical path-breaker.
Leslie Harris ( Future of Privacy Forum)
Leslie Harris has assumed the position of President and CEO of the Center for Democracy and Technology in the past. She has undertaken some complex and challenging projects in the tech field. Leslie is now serving as Senior Fellow at the Future of Privacy Forum where she is making a remarkable difference by making many positive changes in the environment. She used her strong legal and technology background to forge work philosophies that help organizations strengthen tech frameworks. Leslie also coaches work teams to achieve better productivity and motivation in their personal and professional lives.
Gwynne Shotwell ( SpaceX )
A top female rocket scientist, Gwynne has gained worldwide recognition in the field of aerospace technology. Currently, she is the President of SpaceX, where she handles the daily operations with ease and proficiency. Gwynne has overseen complex projects such as space launches and spacecraft preparations that have been large scale and challenging. She is an inspirational female leader with multiple capabilities and skillsets.
Aarthi Ramamurthy (Lumioid)
A leading woman leader in the tech space, Aarthi has a master’s degree in software engineering and is an expert in the field. She has held important positions in giant corporations such as Project Manager at Microsoft, and Product Manager at Netflix. Aarthi even explored entrepreneurship for a while before her current position as CEO at Lumoid, a tech startup that allows users to try out video gear and electronic equipment before buying it. She is a figurehead for women leaders all over the globe and is well recognized for her passion in the technological industry. Aarthy also consults with various companies in the tech sector and collaborates on innovative projects by providing valuable insights.
Claire Boonstra (Operation Education)
A famous graduate of the prestigious Delft University, Claire is the founder of Operation Education that aims at transforming the traditional educational experience by infusing technology in learning methodology. Though she has over two decades of experience in the technology, media and engineering field, Claire has moved towards the education domain with the objective of making a positive difference in the sector. She is an influential woman leader who has made a remarkable contribution to the technology arena with her innovative thinking and farsightedness.
Kimberly Bryant (Black Girls Code)
One of the most influential women in the technology education domain, Kimberly is the founder and CEO of the Black Girls Code. She leads the non-profit organization that is aimed at making technology an integral part of education. Kimberly focuses on teaching girl children technological programs such as mobile applications, and computing. She has also done a lot of pioneering work in STEM skills – Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. A strong advocate of gender inclusion at the workplace, Kimberly believes that empowering women at an early age through education is the key to a radical transformation in the sector.
Dara Treseder (FileMaker, Inc)
A senior marketing manager in Silicon Valley, Dara is an innovative thinker and influential businesswoman. She is currently holding the position of senior global head of demand generation at a subsidiary of Apple known as FileMaker, Inc. Dara is responsible for driving transformation changes in areas that she is passionate about such as women’s professional issues and public health. She is also heavily involved in grooming young business leaders and has held training sessions for over 1000 entrepreneurs in various growth markets around the world.
Angela Ahrendts (Apple Retail)
After a successful career in the fashion industry for over three decades, Angela forayed into the field of technology and retail. She is now essaying the role of a Senior Vice President at Apple Retail. Angela is using her vast experience in digital marketing to enhance the aesthetic appeal of Apple marketing to make it more profitable. She has helped Apple with research activities, team projects, and partnership development. A leading figurehead amongst women leaders, Angela is an inspiration for many young professionals worldwide.
There has been a dramatic increase in the number of women in the workforce in the past few years. The female gender is a force to be reckoned with; hence it is high time that modern companies change their human resource policies to make them more inclusive of diversity.
Women leaders are changing the information technology industry with their immense drive, dedication, and knowledge. Women who are breaking glass ceilings in the workplace continue to inspire many young professionals to perform better and overcome any obstacles in their path. It is important to recognize the topmost leaders in the tech field so that other growing leaders can also hear their stories, and push themselves harder to achieve success in whatever field they choose!