Communications of the ACM
Where Are The Women In Forbes '30 nder 30'?
Credit: Forbes
In 2011, even Barbie can be a Computer Engineer. Just don't expect her to make it to Forbes' Top 30 under 30.
In row after row of the "Technology" section of this influential list of business leaders, young faces beam at us. Their credentials are impeccable. But with only three exceptions, these top 30 are young men.
Perhaps Forbes is not entirely to blame. Research on women's careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Medicine (STEM) demonstrates that female contributions tend to be consistently undervalued. They face a range of structural inequalities. Young women in computing are often given the more routine tasks of coding instead of the visionary work. Small wonder that few of them stick around to see the rewards of their labor.
In my work at NASA I am surrounded by brilliant young women engineers. They are busy flying the Cassini spacecraft around Saturn and building the next generation of Mars Rovers. If Forbes' editors cannot find the top 30 women in technology, then clearly they, computer science deans, VC firms and angel investors alike, are all, still, missing half the story.
From Forbes
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