As a result, many companies have started various initiatives that focus on issues such as gender diversity. Many of these initiatives aim to create workplaces that openly embrace diversity, so all employees feel welcome.
With more STEM occupations appearing as companies expand, creating a diverse workforce is imperative to success. Inspire your company’s change and innovation by checking out these influential black women in tech and their achievements.
Influential Black Women in Tech & Computer Science
Kimberly Bryant
Kimberly Bryant is an influential electrical engineer with experience in the biotechnology industry.
In 2011, Bryant found the nonprofit organization called Black Girls CODE, an organization that empowers girls of color to enter technology fields.
Black Girls CODE dedicates itself to building a new generation of coders by promoting coding programs and classes. A primary goal set forward by Bryant’s team is to provide coding training to one million girls by 2040.
Kathryn Finney
Kathryn Finney’s status as an industry pioneer makes her one of the most influential black women in tech today.
Finney is known for her work in creating digitialundivided, or DID, in 2012. The organization is a social startup with a vision of creating “a world where women own their work.”
One example of the organization’s efforts includes the research initiative #ProjectDiana, named after civil rights activist Diane Nash. This initiative strived to gather data on black women in tech entrepreneurship. As a result, DID shed much-needed light on Black and Latinx female founders in the industry.
Window Snyder
Window Snyder is at the forefront of the continually evolving cybersecurity industry. In the 1990s, Synder worked with the Boston hacker community to expand her skills in security.
As one of the first to specialize in cybersecurity, Synder has worked as a cybersecurity expert for companies like Microsoft, Apple, and Intel. In that time, Synder’s achievements included her work in co-authoring Threat Modeling, a standard manual for application security.
Synder is also known for founding the Blue Hat Microsoft Hacker Conference. Through this event, the engineers at Microsoft engage with hackers to better understand security problems and the cybersecurity industry at large.
Ursula Burns
Ursula Burns is no stranger to technology’s impact and how it has changed how numerous industries function.
From 2010 to 2016, Burns served as the CEO of Xerox. During this time, Burns used her expertise in mechanical engineering to change the face of Xerox. While the company had been limited as a copy and printing company, Burns expanded Xerox’s reach. As a result, Xerox quickly grew as a company focused on document technology and other technological services. Burns is regarded as a leader for black women in tech thanks to the change she brought to Xerox.
Another achievement by Burns that has changed the tech industry is her role as a founding member of Change the Equation. This organization is a nonprofit led by CEOs to support the growth of STEM education in America.
Jessica Matthews
Jessica Matthews’ innovative tech inventions have made her one of the top influential black women in tech.
Matthews co-founded Uncharted Power, a global company that specializes in building and operating renewable power infrastructure. Uncharted Power’s vision is to aid cities in truly becoming smart cities. This vision is powered by the belief that universal access to smart city infrastructure should be a human right.
As a result, Matthews’ organization created the Uncharted System, which utilizes a city’s ground in developing an industrial IoT platform. This invention has streamlined the integration and operation of vital power infrastructures in communities, including power grids, water pipes and even broadband.
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