Over the course of a few decades, women have made amazing strides in the tech industry. Some women have truly changed the field and will continue to do incredible work for years to come. Here are just a few of the women who changed the tech field in 2018.
Joy Buolamwini
Joy Buolamwini is a digital activist and computer scientist who is based out of the MIT Media Lab. She is also a founder for an organization called the Algorithmic Justice League. This group seeks to identify biases that exist in artificial intelligence and ultimately holds companies accountable. Her TED talk has been viewed over one million times.
Amy Chang
Amy Chang has already had an illustrious career. With her oversight, Google Analytics was able to launch Accompany in 2016. This is an artificial intelligence app that essentially functions as a personal assistant to top executives all over the United States. Cisco purchased Accompany in 2018, and Chang is now head of Cisco’s Collaboration business.
Perianne Boring
Boring was one of the first people to realize that a new type of network was required in order for blockchain to really make an impact on the economy. She founded the Chamber of Digital Commerce in 2014, which is an association that now has over 200 members from numerous businesses, including Cisco, Microsoft and Wells Fargo. Boring has also spent time working within the United States House of Representatives.
Anne Aaron
Anne Aaron works at Netflix where she is the director of video algorithms. She leads a team dedicated to reducing bandwidth and enhancing streaming quality. The next time you binge-watch your favorite show, you have Anne to thank for the exceptional quality. Her research in this field led the way for other companies to enhance their own video coding.
Ursula Burns
Ursula Burns has already made history as the first African-American woman to serve as head of an S&P 500 company. She was the CEO of Xerox for many years until that company split into two. In 2015 under her guidance, she was able to generate over $18 billion in revenue. In 2017, Burns was named chairwoman of VEON where she continues to be a visionary in corporate evolution.
Sylvia Acevedo
Finally, no list of women in tech 2018 would be complete without Sylvia Acevedo. She knew she wanted to make a difference when she was a child on a Brownies Girl Scout trip. She looked up at the stars and knew she wanted to get into science. She has gone on to work as a rocket scientist for NASA. She has developed algorithms that were used to send spacecraft to the Sun. However, she has not forgotten her roots. She has worked with the Girl Scouts of the United States of America since 2008. In 2016, she became the CEO.
This is only a small sampling of the women who have transformed the tech industry in recent years. There are plenty of others, so there is certainly no shortage of inspiration. If you have a little girl who wants to get into science, then you can teach her about all these amazing women.
