Last month was a time for celebrating the achievements of women around the world while raising awareness and advocating for gender equality. Women’s History Month brought light to stories of incredible women who are paving the way for future generations.
On the heels of Women’s History Month, Logitech continues to shine the light on phenomenal women in STEM to achieve its mission of closing the gender gap in tech. Over the last year, Logitech’s #WomenWhoMaster series has featured female trailblazers who are creating new paths and inspiring the next generation of tech professionals. These women represent people from across the tech industry in leadership, engineering, nonprofit, and community roles. Each story has been unique but there have been a few key themes:
- Women who use technology for positive impact: Finding a job that positively contributes to the world is a central part of career choices for women in the tech industry. Experts like Gabby Llanillo, Nadia Zhuk, Sara Inés Calderón, and Nelly Cheboi demonstrated powerful ways to lead with passion, give back to their communities, and use technology for change
- Women who pave a path for others: Women-friendly communities of support are essential ways to build more career paths in tech and IT. Faiza Yousuf, Kavya Krishna, and Yuko Nagakura are just a few of the leaders making this work happen.
- Women who demonstrate there is strength in diversity: Women, especially women of color, are underrepresented in STEM. Influential voices like Aisha Bowe and Jerelyn Rodriguez showed why it’s so important to include diverse perspectives in male-dominated spaces.
Logitech’s #WomenWhoMaster series has featured numerous women who are mentoring and inspiring the next generation of technology professionals. Encouragement has a big impact on women in tech. A recent Logitech survey found that 96% of women working in tech and IT said their family or friends supported their choice to pursue a career in STEM. The research signals the big role mentors can play in encouraging young girls to consider career paths in the industry, and the most recent #WomenWhoMaster are advocates for that.
Kate Kirwin: Creating a community of mentors
Kate Kirwin is a self-taught coder who knows the right community can make all the difference. When Kate started learning to code at age 20, tech groups were mostly made up of men. In these male-dominated spaces, Kate didn’t feel like she could be herself or learn what she needed to excel as an engineer. That’s when she started She Codes, a community in Australia that teaches women technical skills, creates connections to career pathways, and provides a female-centered learning environment. She Codes offers multiple programs so women can find the right fit for their skill level, interest, and schedules. Mentorship and community are big parts of the programs.
“One important part of how we do things is to have a mix of male and female mentors in our teaching team…Once students leave our community, most of the people they will work with are going to be men so it’s important for students to understand how to work with them. Our male mentors are learning how to work with women too, so it’s kind of fixing the industry from the inside as well.”
Danielle Boyer: Innovation that inspires
Robotics inventor and youth advocate Danielle Boyer founded The STEAM Connection to create a safe space where every child can learn science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) skills. Danielle is especially invested in creating better access to technical education for Indigenous students. She is changing that by mentoring students through her organization as well as creating innovative products like Every Kid Gets a Robot (EKGAR) and SkoBot. Today more than 600,000 kids have received technical education because of Danielle and her team’s efforts.
“One student said I was the first Native woman who builds robots that she’s ever met and that it made her want to do it too. That was a huge encouragement to me to keep doing what I do.”
As we celebrate a year of #WomenWhoMaster, check out all the stories at www.logitech.com.
Ready to help more women and girls make a meaningful contribution to the world through STEM careers? Share the #WomenWhoMaster series on social or submit your own #WomenWhoMaster nominee by tagging them on Instagram with the hashtag or emailing their story to us here.
Women Who Master spotlights women who have made outstanding contributions to STEM fields. The goal of the series is to celebrate those contributions, inspire future leaders, and help close the gender gap in technology.
