10 Women in Tech Who Give Back

The following ten tech pioneers are working to boost the ranks of women in the tech industry:

Leila Janah

• Founder, CEO of Samasource (founded 06/08)

Janah has been very active in the tech industry the last couple years and her hard work has not gone unnoticed. Her company, Samasource, was the proud recipient of the 2012 Secretary’s Innovation Award for the Empowerment of Women and Girls from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Samasource enables poverty-stricken women to earn money and build skills through performing small, computer-based tasks. Janah is also the director of two amazing organizations, TechSoup Global and oneleap limited.

Leila Janah

(photo credit: Ved Chirayath)

Rachel Sklar

• Co-founder of Change the Ratio (founded 06/10)

Sklar not only co-founded Change the Ratio, but is also developing The Li.st, which will serve as an email newsletter to improve visibility, access and opportunity for women in tech. She founded Charitini, a website that promotes social microgiving. Sklar is also an editor-at-large for Mediaite and an advisor at SBNation. Sklar was selected as a member of the Silicon Alley 100 in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Rachel Sklar

(photo source: Wikimedia Commons)

Leslie Fishlock

• Founder of Geek Girl Camp (founded 03/08)

Fishlock founded Geek Girl Camp “…for the average gal, the beginner, the intermediate and even the advanced who wants to be involved. It’s for paying it forward, helping out, having fun and feeling empowered.” Prior to founding Geek Girl Camp, Fishlock was the co-founder and CEO of Genevate, a professional web development company.

Leslie Fishlock

Adriana Gascoigne

• Founder of Girls in Tech (founded 02/07)

Girls in Tech is a global organization that focuses on empowering women in technology and entrepreneurship and is working to engage and educate them as well. Before launching Girls in Tech, Gascoigne was the director of global communications at hi5, a leading social network.

Adriana Gascoigne

Pattie Simone

• Founder of WomenCentric (founded 01/05)

WomenCentric is a free online directory of professional women including speakers, artists, authors, entrepreneurs, executives and job seekers from across the globe. Simone founded Write-Communications.com and co-founded Marketing-Advantage.net. Simone is also an accomplished journalist with over 700 bylines.

Pattie Simone

Carolyn Leighton

• CEO and Founder, WITI (Women in Technology International) (founded 1989)

When Leighton founded WITI it was a global e-mail network for women in any technology sector. Since then it has evolved into an outstanding organization providing women with programs and partnerships empowering them to further grow within the technology sector. Leighton also founded Criterion Research, a research consulting firm for the high tech industry.

Carolyn Leighton

Veronika Sonsev

• Co-founder of Women in Wireless (founded 09/09) and Women Innovate Mobile (WIM) (founded 11/11)

Sonsev started Women in Wireless to help with the promotion and development of women in mobile and digital media. WIM is the first startup accelerator for mobile technology companies founded by women. Before she founded the companies, among other work, her career included an eight-year stint at AOL.

Veronika Sonsev

Mary Gardiner

• Founder of AussieChix, (founded 02/07) Co-founder of the Ada Initiative (founded 01/11)

AussieChix, now OWOOT, was the first and largest organization for women in open source. The Ada Initiative is increasing the number of women participants in open technology and culture through free workshops that assist women in building skills essential to succeeding in the tech industry. Gardiner also founded the first women in Linux mini-conference. Gardiner’s background includes being an open source developer.

Mary Gardiner

(photo source: Wikimedia Commons)

Dr. Sue Black

• Founder of LondonBCSWomen (founded 1999) and BCSWomen (founded 2001)

LondonBCSWomen and BCSWomen are online networks that were founded to increase equality and support for women in tech. Dr. Black is a senior research associate in the Department of Computer Science at University College London. She is also a strategic advisor for ACM-W. Last year, PepsiCo awarded Dr. Black the PepsiCo Women’s Inspiration Award. Recently, she founded The goto Foundation to increase interest in computer science and software development in an effort to build a tech-savvy workforce.

Dr. Sue Black

Marian Mangoubi

• Founder, CEO of Sassy CEO (founded 10/10)

Sassy CEO enables women to share their entrepreneurial experiences in the tech space and their companies’ news. Sassy CEO hopes to increase awareness of women in the online and digital space. Mangoubi also is the cofounder of Where are the Women, a search engine that enables users to find women leaders in various fields.

Marian Mangoubi

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