Women in Technology Still at a Disadvantage

Fast Company published their 2nd annual list of influential women in technology and they're a pretty impressive group. But, read their introductory comments to appreciate that in this field, too, there's more to be done. The emphasis is mine.

The Most Influential Women in Technology | Fast Company: "While [last year] some comments focused on the accomplishments of the women chosen, or suggested others we might have named, many were graphic, sexist, and nasty. Two dozen of the posters were eventually thrown off of Digg by the site's administrators.

It wasn't exactly the conversation about women in technology we'd hoped for. But it wasn't just a flamefest, either. Among the arguments put forward was that a women-only list was in itself sexist. We certainly wish the need for such a list had long passed, but women in tech remain at a distinct disadvantage by any metric: average salary, top-management representation, board memberships. Silicon Valley, in particular, remains largely a boys' club. "

I hope younger women read these articles, not to feel victimized, but rather to understand that there's still work to be done.

And, congratulations to all those women who made the list. You certainly deserve recognition for your achievements which range from running companies like Oracle and Yahoo to pure research, from blogging and gaming to using technology to change the world.