It’s common knowledge that the technical world is male-dominated. From the cultural belief that Computer Science is a “subject for boys,” to the assumptions and discrimination women experience in the field, it can be challenging for women at every stage of their careers to thrive in tech. Nevertheless, many high-performing women persist and succeed as leaders despite the gender biases pitted against them. Pratima Rao Gluckman—a female leader in tech herself—embarked on a project to collect stories of the leadership journeys of such women. These stories and more inspired Gluckman to write Nevertheless, She Persisted: True Stories of Women Leaders in Tech (Friesen Press, May 20, 2018) for which she interviewed nineteen female executives about their encounters with bias, their influences and inspirations, and their strategies for success.  Some of the highly successful women we meet include:

Telle Whitney, Former CEO & President the Anita Borg Institute for Women & Technology on why she co-founded the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing.

Annabel Liu, former Vice President of Engineering at LinkedIn who urges women to manage their reputation and communicate their achievements, knowledge, and passion.

Jennifer Anderson, Engineering Leadership at Uber on how to be a gentle, thoughtful, and effective leader when you don’t possess the personality traits that are valued in the world of tech such as assertiveness and aggressiveness.

Alaina Percival, CEO of Women Who Code on why the curriculum in secondary schools and colleges needs to be changed to encourage women to study math and science.