In honor of International Women's Day we want to recognize three women who are changing the technology industry!
Reshma Saujani is the founder and CEO of Girls Who Code, a national non-profit organization dedicated to closing the gender gap in technology. Girls Who Code is an organization on a mission to build the largest pipeline of future female engineers in the U.S., and they are on track to do just that! The program has grown from 20 girls in 2012 to over 10,000 girls in 42 different states today (which happens to be the same number of girls who graduate with a computer science degree each year). Studies have shown that the biggest drop off of girls in computer science happens between ages 13-17, and the program caters to girls in that age range to encourage girls to stay interested in technology, and to close the gender gap in computing. Learn more about Girls Who Code or watch Reshma Saujani's Ted Talk.
Karen Walker is the SVP and Chief Marketing Officer at Cisco. She has been in the IT industry for over 20 years and has held leadership roles in Europe, North America, and the Asia Pacific region. She's been named as one of the 50 Most Innovative CMOs in the world by the editors at Business Insider for 2016. She also holds a position as a board member for Advancing Executive Women (AWE) in Silicon Valley, and sponsors multiple initiatives to accelerate female leadership within Cisco.
Sheryl Sandberg is the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, and the founder of Leanin.org. Leanin.org is a non-profit organization founded in 2013 dedicated "to offering women the ongoing inspiration and support to help them achieve their goals." The organization was launched after Sandberg released her best selling book, Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead. Since the founding the organization has grown to over 380,000 members. Each year Leanin.org sponsors two national campaigns: Ban Bossy is a public initiative partnered with the Girl Scouts of America to encourage girls leadership. Lean In Together is a partnership with the NBA and WNBA emphasizing "how men benefit from equality and providing practical tips for men to do their part at home and at work."
Written By: Eden Penman, LookingPoint Marketing Coordinator