It’s no secret that there’s a gender disparity in the tech sector. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, only 3% of tech entrepreneurs are female, and only 6% of CEO positions at the top 100 tech companies are held by women. Yet stats also reveal that woman-owned tech companies get a 35% higher investment return than male.
Although gender equality remains a global challenge, glass ceilings are beginning to break. The tech industry is becoming much more self-conscious about its diversity issues and have begun to make positive strides toward fixing them.
As our world continues to be driven by innovations in technology, we need more women driving tech. Closing the gender gap will improve creativity, productivity and performance. Listed below are a few of the women leaders we admire.
![Catherine Bracy speaker [Official]](https://www.chartwellspeakers.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Catherine-Bracy-speaker-Official-254x300.jpg)
Catherine Bracy: helps citizens and governments harness technology to solve community problems.
Esther Dyson: serial “start-up nurturer”, regarded as one of the most influential women in tech.
Lisa Gansky: thought leader on how the internet is transforming traditional business models.
Hung Huang: leading social commentator and media mogul, referred to as “the Oprah of China”.
Aleks Krotoski: journalist and host of the Guardian newspaper’s award-winning “Tech Weekly” podcast.
Elle Luna: former designer at IDEO, and author of “The Crossroads of Should and Must” (2015).
![Julie Meyer speaker [Official]](https://www.chartwellspeakers.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Julie-Meyer-Official-254x300.jpg)
Julie Meyer: leading investor and entrepreneur in digital, high-growth, early stage businesses.
Kathryn Parsons: founder of Decoded (2011), driving the agenda for including coding on the curriculum.
Erin Teague: Yahoo’s Director of Product Management, on Business Insider’s “Silicon Valley 100” (2014).
Genevieve Theirs: founder of Sittercity.com (2001), and active campaigner for greater diversity in tech.
