Digital technology is too often considered a man's world. Contrary to popular belief, there are some very talented ladies out there working on everything from viral media start-ups to mobile community networks.
Today I thought I'd give a little shout out to some of the standout women in tech to keep an eye on:
Belinda Parmar (@belindaparmar)
Author of the book Little Miss Geek and founder of Lady Geek, a company working towards making technology more accessible to women, Belinda's goal is for women to "dream about their 37inch HDTV before they go to bed." With a column in the Huffington Post and a mission to turn women into the newest tech pioneers, Belinda is certainly someone to look out for.
Shikoh Gitau (@shikohtwit)
Built on the principles of Ubuntu (the South African philosophy of humanity and kindness) Shikoh founded the mobile network Ummeli which helps communities in Africa create their own employment opportunities. With a background in computer science, Shikoh views technology as an enabler to help develop the marginalized areas of society.
Leah Busque (@labusque)
Leah is also revolutionising the way we work. The founder and CEO of Task Rabbit, an application that outsources your small jobs to people in the wider community, has pioneered the concept of "service networking" and has raised almost $40 million in funding since the launch of the platform in 2008.
Sarah Wood (@sarahfwood)
Co-founder and COO of video technology company Unruly Media, Sarah and her team work with brands to get their videos watched, tracked and shared across paid, owned and earned media. Voted UK Female Entrepreneur of the Year in 2011 by the Growing Business Awards, Sarah is redefining the way traditional marketing interacts with the growing realm of social media.
Kristen Titus (@kristentitus)
Another women passionate about encouraging girls to take up more technology based professions, Kristen is the executive director of non-profit organisation Girls Who Code. As a former consultant to philanthropy tech companies, she has helped to create a new model for computer science education, working to inspire and equip young women to pursue opportunities in the field of computing.
photo credit: US Mission Geneva via photopin cc