Women entrepreneurs' stories in technology

Women entrepreneurs influence tech by launching ambitious high-technology businesses, expanding their social networks, and making pitches more relatable to the male-dominated VC industry. A study using data from MIT Venture Mentoring Service found that women with strong human capital were still less likely to pursue their high-growth business ideas full-time. The lessons connect these experiences with women's visibility in technology.

2 articles, 1 video, 1 book · about 52 min of reading and viewing

The reading path

1. Read
   

   the influence of women entrepreneurs in the tech industry · Wikipedia · 36 min read

   For women entrepreneurs seeking venture capital, a study found that men and women get asked different questions during their pitches. Women are asked about prevention and loss, while men are asked about potential gains. The National Association of Women Business Owners helped push Congress to pass the Women's Business Ownership Act in 1988, which would end discrimination in lending and strike down laws requiring married women to obtain their husbands' signatures for all loans. The Act also gave women-owned businesses a chance to compete for government contracts.

2. Read
   

   Blog: Shining a Light on Female Entrepreneurs in Tech · The Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship · 3 min read

   The "She Started It" film focuses on five female entrepreneurs and their experiences, along with empowering the next generation of women tech founders. The five women profiled in the film are out to break the mold. On women's influence in tech, Meghan Smith, Chief Technology Officer for the United States, says, "There have always been women and minorities in all of the areas of technology for all history. It's just the stories are less known. And so, we need to embrace our history and tell it to each other."

3. Watch
   

   Women entrepreneurs, example not exception - Gayle Tzemach Lemmon · YouTube · 13 min watch

   Reporter Gayle Tzemach Lemmon argues that women running all types of firms, from home businesses to major factories, are the overlooked key to economic development. The video presents her argument about women entrepreneurs and economic development.

4. Book
   

   Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet · Bookshop.org

   Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet by Claire L. Evans examines Ada Lovelace's work on the Analytical Engine and tells the stories of Grace Hopper and the six original programmers of the ENIAC. Evans's book explores the development of the Internet through contributions made by women.

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