Can you believe people used to think programmers were nerdy guys coding in basements? SO yesterday! Today, women are slaying Silicon Valley like total bosses and becoming the fierce new faces of tech. We are DONE playing second fiddle, letting brogrammers control the industry, and making less ££ than blokes in black t-shirts and trainers…The future of STEM innovation is wearing heels!
Even though we still only make up under 30% of the workforce, women are charging ahead full speed. More of us are earning STEM degrees, launching kickass start-ups and becoming influencers. We are coming for those good old boys’ clubs in a major way! Forget everything you thought you knew about women in technology, because the women of today are trailblazing whole new paths in the industry! From silent breast pumps to digital dating apps and graphic design empires, female founders are absolutely killing the start-up game right now.
We're talking crazy innovative companies that are totally transforming their fields. And the brilliance and determination of the women behind these businesses demonstrate exactly why the future is female when it comes to cutting-edge technology and services.
Mumble’s Top 3 Female Tech Disruptors
3. Take it from girls like Whitney Wolfe Herd- girl power swipes right!
Don't follow the rules, write your own.
When it comes to the online dating game, Whitney Wolfe Herd knows playing by old school rules doesn't cut it for the modern woman. So, in 2014 she ditched the bro-centric scene at Tinder where she was a co-founder and launched a totally revolutionary app of her own - the viral sensation known as Bumble!
The pioneering swipe-right platform officially puts ladies in charge by letting us make the first flirty move every time. Whitney's buzzy biz has radically reinvented digital courtship putting female power first thanks to practical yet super fun features. With over 100 million users, this phenomenon is still just taking flight! But beyond the interface, what makes Whitney such an inspiring innovator comes from overcoming struggles in starting Bumble despite naysayers. Shortly after launching, she faced a lawsuit from Tinder parent company Match for stealing secrets, which was eventually settled. Yet resilient Whitney powered on with optimism and self-belief, focusing on her vision of an equitable dating platform created by women for women. Thanks to her tenacity, today 1 in 5 dates now start on Bumble, and she's led the way for tons more fempowered tech. You GO girl!!
So, whether using Bumble to make romantic connections, BFF meet-ups or climb the career ladder - let it be a reminder of courage in the face of adversity. Dream BIG and never let the honey stop flowing ladies!!
2. Meet The 30-year-old tech CEO turning online design on its head, Melanie Perkins.
It took 100+ rejections over 3 yrs (& some faith!) to give life to design platform Canva.
Think mastering graphic design requires special software and skills only professionals can handle? Melanie Perkins is single-handedly smashing that stereotype with her viral sensation start-up Canva. What began merely 5 years ago as a passion project between Melanie and her partner Cliff has skyrocketed into a leading online design platform with over 10 million users across 179 countries.
So, what exactly sparked this rapid success? Canva's simple drag-and-drop interface allows anyone to create sleek graphics, presentations, social content and more - no confusing tools or design background required. Whether you're a social media manager, teacher, student or small business owner, finally making visual content creation easy and approachable was long overdue.
While the numbers speak for themselves, Melanie's story offers inspiration too. At just 30 years young, she now helms a company worth over 1 billion dollars that shows no signs of slowing growth. But it wasn't always unicorns and rainbows - Melanie was told "no" for funding by over 100 sceptical investors in Canva's early stages. Through sheer resilience and belief in her vision, Melanie never gave up. Her unwavering perseverance sets an empowering example for young entrepreneurs everywhere.
Canva is still just getting started on its mission to truly democratise design. So, the next time you craft a birthday invite, class project or professional report using Melanie's trendsetting tools, remember there is power in turning no's into yes’s with consistent passion and grit. Keep shining bright, Melanie! We can’t wait to see what’s next.
1. How about Tania Boler, PhD - the English health heroine improving women's wellness.
As a woman in tech you have to have the skin of a rhino.
When ambitious entrepreneur Tania Boler launched Elvie back in 2013, she envisioned much more than just another women’s lifestyle company. Tania set out on a mission to develop innovative products addressing some of the most intimate issues affecting women’s health and wellbeing around the world.
After giving birth herself, Tania realised just how lacking support was for new moms struggling to adapt. And she witnessed first-hand how uncomfortable, noisy and disruptive existing breast pump options proved for an already delicate postpartum period.
Fuelled by passion for innovation with empathy, London-based Tania assembled an all-star squad of engineers, designers and health experts to reimagine essential devices through a female-focused lens. With extensive background spearheading women’s health research and advocacy, Tania knew too many ladies suffered needlessly from conditions like incontinence or injuries from childbirth in silence — issues she wanted solutions for! Their ingenious Elvie Trainer, for example, empowers women to strengthen their pelvic floors via app-connected biofeedback. While Elvie Pump offers the world’s first silent wearable breast pump for seamless expression.
Thanks to savvy sister CEOs like Tania wielding expertise with empathy, the future is looking brighter for all womankind! We can’t wait to see what else Elvie has in store supporting our health and bodies through smarter technology. Girl power for the win!
The message is clear, ladies in STEM - no more asking for permission or waiting your turn. We ARE the future of science, computing, medicine and beyond. So, own your brilliance by being unapologetically you!
If pay gaps and discrimination happen, watch out! The future belongs to us, forward-thinking females! It's Ladies Night every night in 2024. Let's lift each other up and keep charging ahead one start-up at a time. Cheers to the female tech disruptors in the making!