Women have made great strides in many fields in the last several years. Still, out of all the companies in the Fortune 500, only 19 have women in the top spot. The world of technology fares a little better. In fact, there are several women in high leadership positions at some of the world’s largest technology corporations. Here are the five most influential women in the technology field:
5. Virginia Rometty, President and Chief Executive Officer/ IBM
Virginia Rometty became president and CEO of IBM in January of 2012. Her appointment came after a 31-year career at the computing giant. Ms. Rometty has been named one of the “50 Most Powerful Women in Business” by Fortune magazine multiple times.
4. Safra Catz, President/ Oracle
Safra Catz started working at Oracle in April 1999 and joined the board in 2001. In 2004 she became president. In 2011 she also was named chief financial officer. Her president position was changed to co-president when she began sharing the role with Mark Hurd in 2011.
3. Ursula Burns, Chief Executive Officer/ Xerox
Ursula M. Burns is chairperson and CEO of Xerox. Her achievement represented the first time an African-American woman was tapped to run a Fortune 500 corporation. When she accepted the position, it was first time a woman followed another female executive at the top of a Fortune 500 firm. She started working at Xerox more than three decades ago. Her achievements include the landmark purchase of Affiliated Computer for $6.4 billion.
2. Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer/ Facebook
Sheryl Sandberg took on the role of chief operating officer of Facebook beginning in 2008. She joined Facebook from Google where she worked as vice president of Global Online Sales and Operations. In 2012, Time magazine named her as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
1. Marissa Mayer, Chief Executive Officer/ Yahoo!
Marissa Ann Mayer became president and CEO of Yahoo! in 2012. Before taking the top post at Yahoo!, she was an executive for Google. She started her career at Google as employee number 20 after graduating from Stanford with honors. The first female engineer at Google, she had a leadership role in many of the company’s biggest initiatives. Fortune magazine ranked Ms. Mayer number fourteen on the “50 Most Powerful Women in Business” list for 2012.
Every technology company from voice and data corporations to internet Canada firms needs strong leadership. The executives on our list show that women will play an increasingly important role in corporate leadership in the world of technology.
Author Bio: Jennie is an entrepreneur, author and blogger. When she’s not lending her expertise to the business industry, she can be found spending time with her two young sons and wonderful husband.