We’re taking a look at five successful women in tech who continue to shape the future of science, consumer technology, and the web!
Every women’s day, we get the opportunity to reaffirm our gratitude to the amazing women who continue to drive the world forward. Ahead of Women’s Day on the 9th of August, we’re looking at five successful women in tech who have shaped – and continue to shape – the future.
Whether it be in the realm of science, consumer technology, or the web itself, some of the most important advancements of the 20th and 21st century – never mind the greater span of human history as a whole – have been the result of dedicated and passionate women who’ve excelled in their field of choice.
Read: Uber wants to create 1 million jobs for women drivers by 2020
While we sincerely believe every woman around the world deserves an accolade – not just today but, every day – This Women’s Day we’re going to take a look at five women in tech who continue – to steer the future in a brighter direction.
Without further ado, let’s get to it!
Margaret Hamilton
You might well have seen Margaret Hamilton pictured next to the plethora of code she wrote while developing the onboard flight software for the Apollo space program – the same initiative which placed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon.
However, her impact on science and business as a whole extends well beyond that – Hamilton has published over 130 papers, proceedings, and reports concerned with the 60 plus projects she’s been involved in, and is the co-founder of Hamilton Technologies Inc.
Hamilton is credited with being one of the first proponents of “software engineering” – a term which was ridiculed at the time as it was seen to have fallen short of both ‘true’ engineering and hard science.
We thank our lucky stars we had Hamilton to further the discipline, as without her we might not be amidst the technology we are today; Hamilton assisted in developing the core principles in computer programming with colleagues who were, at the time, developing the world’s first portable computer.
Sheryl Sandberg
Sheryl Sandberg is well known as the founder of the Lean In Foundation, but she’s further at the frontier as a successful woman in tech at Facebook, where she serves as Chief Operating Officer.
Sandberg is the first woman to serve on Facebook’s board, having been elected to the board of directors in June 2012.
A successful businesswoman, Sandberg is reported to be valued at over $1 billion USD, and has been listed as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, according to Time.
Sandberg is credited as one of the chief drivers who transformed Facebook from a social network into a thriving business; Sandberg continues to oversee a massive portfolio including marketing, sales, business development, human resources, public policy, and communications.
If there’s a Facebook success story, Sandberg is most likely one of the driving forces behind its financial success. That’s incredibly impressive considering the fact that Facebook’s earnings continue to soar.
Susan Wojcicki
Susan Wojcicki might be one of the most important women in tech, albeit one who’s name you might not have heard before now.
Wojcicki began her journey to the tech frontier at Google, where she worked on some of the first Google doodles. Wojcicki further took part in the development of services we deem invaluable today – such as Google Images – and later became senior Vice President of Advertising and Commerce at the company, taking charge of AdWords, AdSense, and Google Analytics.
Wojcicki later oversaw the purchase of YouTube, which she became the CEO of in 2014. Overseeing the second most used search engine on the web – and the first most used search engine for video – Wojcicki has been listed as Time’s ‘most powerful woman on the internet’.
Leading the way forward among other women in tech, Wojcicki continues to inspire as YouTube develops into a vibrant platform of content creators.
Ruth Porat
Continuing on the Google front, Ruth Porat is a financial executive who serves as the Chief Financial Officer at one of the largest technology companies in the world – Alphabet.
Porat began her tenure as Google’s (later Alphabet’s) CFO in May of 2015. Prior to that, Porat lead a varied and successful career and served as the Global Head of the Financial Institutions Group at Morgan Stanley.
It was once reported that incumbent US President Barack Obama intended to name Porat as the next Deputy Secretary of the Treasury.
Porat’s career has been analyzed in the McKinsey & Company study “How Remarkable Women Lead” , and has previously been named as the “Best Financial Institution CFO by Institutional Investor.
Angela Ahrendts
Since we’ve mentioned two successful women in tech who work magic under Google’s banners, let’s swap sides to Apple to mention Angela Ahrendts, who was named as Apple’s Senior Vice President of Retail and Online stores abroad.
Ahrendts previously served as the CEO of Burberry, where she is credited as having mitigated the brand’s decline in prestige by limiting the number of clothing and accessories carrying the company’s check pattern to just 10%.
In 2012, Ahrendts was listed as the highest paid CEO in the UK, whereafter it was announced in 2014 that she would leave Burberry to join Apple as a member of the Cupertino company’s executive team.
Ahrendts, the only female senior executive at Apple continues to earn more than any other executive at the company, even CEO Tim Cook; a fitting reward for the person in charge of ensuring the company’s products reach consumers in the slickest fashion possible.
Have your say!
What are your thoughts? Would you like to mention a successful woman in tech to further this list? Share your opinion and let us know in the comments below!
Read: Fortune Magazine‘s Most Powerful Women in Technology
Happy Women’s Day!
Follow Bryan Smith on Twitter: @bryansmithSA
