9 Tech Pioneers To Celebrate For Women's History Month

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(Image: geralt via Pixabay)

The start of March marked the beginning of Women's History Month, a time for the recognition and celebration of the female pioneers who shaped our world.

While women have come a long way from the early days of technology, it continues to be a male-dominated industry. A stubborn lack of women in the field has motivated companies to implement initiatives to increase the number of female hires.

Many tech companies, Google and Microsoft among them, have implemented initiatives to hire more minority employees. Despite these types of projects, the number of women staying in tech careers long-term continues to underwhelm.

[Where to work? 10 companies working to boost women in IT.]

Intel, for example, is on a five-year plan to boost its workplace diversity numbers and recently shared an update on its progress. In 2015, its hiring of women reached 35%, an increase of 43% from one year prior.

Slow-moving progress is a shame, not only for women overall, but because organizations with women in top leadership roles can earn higher profits. A study conducted by the Peterson Institute for International Economics found that for profitable companies, going from no female leaders to 30% female leaders increased profits by 30%.

For Women's History Month, we do the same for innovators who influenced the technology we use today.

Who do you think are the most influential women in technology? Did we miss anyone on our list? We'd like to see your thoughts in the comments.

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