10 Black Women Making Major Moves in Tech

These remarkable influencers are shaking up the industry!

Techie Ladies - In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re featuring 10 remarkable individuals who are not only blazing innovative paths throughout the field of technology, but also making a point of ushering in younger generations to create a more diverse and prosperous industry. — Patrice Peck(Photos from Left: Jenna Wortham via Instagram, Jemal Countess/Getty Images for TIME, San Jose Mercury News/ MCT /Landov)

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Techie Ladies - In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re featuring 10 remarkable individuals who are not only blazing innovative paths throughout the field of technology, but also making a point of ushering in younger generations to create a more diverse and prosperous industry. — Patrice Peck(Photos from Left: Jenna Wortham via Instagram, Jemal Countess/Getty Images for TIME, San Jose Mercury News/ MCT /Landov)

Jenna Wortham - As a technology reporter and columnist at the New York Times and staff writer at New York Times Magazine, Jenna Wortham has become known for the best and brightest articles on start-ups and digital culture. Case in point: her two most recent stories spotlight a new web series led by a Jamaican-British millennial and the underground web culture of “shipping.” "As a columnist, Jenna has been a great synthesizer of the ideas, trends, memes, and imagery that swarm through our collective mind, someone who can be counted on to rove widely and perceptively through the digital terrain,” New York Times Magazine editor Jake Silverstein said.(Photo: Jenna Wortham via Instagram)

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Jenna Wortham - As a technology reporter and columnist at the New York Times and staff writer at New York Times Magazine, Jenna Wortham has become known for the best and brightest articles on start-ups and digital culture. Case in point: her two most recent stories spotlight a new web series led by a Jamaican-British millennial and the underground web culture of “shipping.” "As a columnist, Jenna has been a great synthesizer of the ideas, trends, memes, and imagery that swarm through our collective mind, someone who can be counted on to rove widely and perceptively through the digital terrain,” New York Times Magazine editor Jake Silverstein said.(Photo: Jenna Wortham via Instagram)

Jewel Burks - Jewel Burks (center) is the co-founder of PartPic, which facilitates search and purchase of maintenance and repair parts. The Howard University graduate started her career at Google and McMaster Carr Industrial Supply before recognizing an opportunity to create PartPic, a tech solution for problems faced by purchasers of industrial supplies. "It is still frustrating knowing that Partpic has defensible technology, huge market potential, a qualified team and we have had such a hard time with fundraising, but I don’t get discouraged because I have faith we will make it,” Burks told MadameNoire. "I’m also fortunate because I’m in a unique position to participate in and change the narrative about diversity in tech so that it won’t be as hard for the people of color coming up next."(Photo: Jewel Burks via Twitter)

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Jewel Burks - Jewel Burks (center) is the co-founder of PartPic, which facilitates search and purchase of maintenance and repair parts. The Howard University graduate started her career at Google and McMaster Carr Industrial Supply before recognizing an opportunity to create PartPic, a tech solution for problems faced by purchasers of industrial supplies. "It is still frustrating knowing that Partpic has defensible technology, huge market potential, a qualified team and we have had such a hard time with fundraising, but I don’t get discouraged because I have faith we will make it,” Burks told MadameNoire. "I’m also fortunate because I’m in a unique position to participate in and change the narrative about diversity in tech so that it won’t be as hard for the people of color coming up next."(Photo: Jewel Burks via Twitter)

Kathryn Finney - When the White House taps you for the Champion of Change Award, chances are you’re doing something right. Digital Undivided founder Kathryn Finney received the honor in 2013 for her work increasing inclusion in the tech industry. When she’s not finding, supporting, and training urban tech entrepreneurs through her social enterprise, Finney is delivering keynote speeches at #FOCUS100, South by Southwest and other top conferences. She also recently unveiled ProjectDiane, a venture aiming to disrupt pattern-matching in tech by identifying black women founders of tech enabled companies. (Photo: Taylor Hill/Getty Images)

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Kathryn Finney - When the White House taps you for the Champion of Change Award, chances are you’re doing something right. Digital Undivided founder Kathryn Finney received the honor in 2013 for her work increasing inclusion in the tech industry. When she’s not finding, supporting, and training urban tech entrepreneurs through her social enterprise, Finney is delivering keynote speeches at #FOCUS100, South by Southwest and other top conferences. She also recently unveiled ProjectDiane, a venture aiming to disrupt pattern-matching in tech by identifying black women founders of tech enabled companies. (Photo: Taylor Hill/Getty Images)

Shirley Ann Jackson - To call Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson a trailblazer would be an understatement. Among her many pioneering accomplishments, the theoretical physicist is the first African-American woman to receive a doctorate from MIT (in any field) and the first African-American woman to lead a top-ranked research university. As the 18th president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Dr. Jackson has led an extraordinary transformation of the oldest technological research university in the United States. "The advice I give to young people is fundamentally to not let others put limits on who you think you can be, to not put limits on them, and to understand and to believe that all of us have talents and have things to contribute,” she told NPR.(Photo: Jemal Countess/Getty Images for TIME)

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Shirley Ann Jackson - To call Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson a trailblazer would be an understatement. Among her many pioneering accomplishments, the theoretical physicist is the first African-American woman to receive a doctorate from MIT (in any field) and the first African-American woman to lead a top-ranked research university. As the 18th president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Dr. Jackson has led an extraordinary transformation of the oldest technological research university in the United States. "The advice I give to young people is fundamentally to not let others put limits on who you think you can be, to not put limits on them, and to understand and to believe that all of us have talents and have things to contribute,” she told NPR.(Photo: Jemal Countess/Getty Images for TIME)

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Laura Weidman - Through her non-profit Code2040, Stanford Business School graduate Laura Weidman advocates for the recruiting and retaining of young Black and Latino engineers in Silicon Valley. The organization’s flagship Fellows Program, which includes a rigorous application process, has grown from five students to 25 in summer 2014. “We're trying to introduce a new pattern: Here's a new group of students that are really sharp and successful, and it makes sense to invest in them in every sense of the word,” Weidman told Stanford Business. The Root named her one of the 100 Most Influential African-Americans in 2013 and Goldman Sachs named her one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs of 2013.(Photo: Laura Weidman Powers via Twitter)

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Laura Weidman - Through her non-profit Code2040, Stanford Business School graduate Laura Weidman advocates for the recruiting and retaining of young Black and Latino engineers in Silicon Valley. The organization’s flagship Fellows Program, which includes a rigorous application process, has grown from five students to 25 in summer 2014. “We're trying to introduce a new pattern: Here's a new group of students that are really sharp and successful, and it makes sense to invest in them in every sense of the word,” Weidman told Stanford Business. The Root named her one of the 100 Most Influential African-Americans in 2013 and Goldman Sachs named her one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs of 2013.(Photo: Laura Weidman Powers via Twitter)

Erin Teague - Ever heard of Flickr or Tumblr? As the Director of Product at Yahoo, one of the world’s leading Internet corporations, Erin Teague leads a team of engineers in improving the customer’s experience when he creates accounts on these services. The Detroit-bred techie believes that being more often than not “the only one who looks like me” in Silicon Valley has its benefits: "It was the best preparation I could have gotten,” she told San Jose Mercury News. "It helped me recognize that if this was the career that I pursued, I would have a unique voice in the room."(Photo: San Jose Mercury News/ MCT /Landov)

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Erin Teague - Ever heard of Flickr or Tumblr? As the Director of Product at Yahoo, one of the world’s leading Internet corporations, Erin Teague leads a team of engineers in improving the customer’s experience when he creates accounts on these services. The Detroit-bred techie believes that being more often than not “the only one who looks like me” in Silicon Valley has its benefits: "It was the best preparation I could have gotten,” she told San Jose Mercury News. "It helped me recognize that if this was the career that I pursued, I would have a unique voice in the room."(Photo: San Jose Mercury News/ MCT /Landov)

Kimberly Bryant - "When I was first introduced to computer programming […] I remember being excited by the prospects, and looked forward to embarking on a rich and rewarding career after college,” said Kimberly Bryant. "But I also recall, as I pursued my studies, feeling culturally isolated: few of my classmates looked like me.” To remedy this absence, the mother of a young gamer founded Black Girls Code. Since its launch in 2011, the chapter-based nonprofit has taught programming to more than 3,000 young women nationally and earned Bryant a White House Champion of Change award. "Women in general have not been at the core of driving the next economic/jobs revolution in any other industrial revolution we've been through,” she told ComputerWorld. "Giving them the keys to the kingdom is really changing the paradigm.”(Photo: Larry French/Getty Images)

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Kimberly Bryant - "When I was first introduced to computer programming […] I remember being excited by the prospects, and looked forward to embarking on a rich and rewarding career after college,” said Kimberly Bryant. "But I also recall, as I pursued my studies, feeling culturally isolated: few of my classmates looked like me.” To remedy this absence, the mother of a young gamer founded Black Girls Code. Since its launch in 2011, the chapter-based nonprofit has taught programming to more than 3,000 young women nationally and earned Bryant a White House Champion of Change award. "Women in general have not been at the core of driving the next economic/jobs revolution in any other industrial revolution we've been through,” she told ComputerWorld. "Giving them the keys to the kingdom is really changing the paradigm.”(Photo: Larry French/Getty Images)

Nichelle McCall - The college application process can get pretty overwhelming. Luckily, there’s an app for that! To simplify the complicated process, McCall founded BOLD Guidance. The award-winning software platform uses technology and automation to empower students, parents and counselors. "My personal reason stems from growing up in Cleveland where my local high school was on academic emergency, but having the opportunity to attend a college prep school because my mother worked three jobs to send me there,” McCall told digitalundivided. (Photo: Brett Duke, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune) 

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Nichelle McCall - The college application process can get pretty overwhelming. Luckily, there’s an app for that! To simplify the complicated process, McCall founded BOLD Guidance. The award-winning software platform uses technology and automation to empower students, parents and counselors. "My personal reason stems from growing up in Cleveland where my local high school was on academic emergency, but having the opportunity to attend a college prep school because my mother worked three jobs to send me there,” McCall told digitalundivided. (Photo: Brett Duke, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune) 

Kelechi Anyadiegwu - Kelechi Anyadiegwu created the startup Zuvaa because she wanted to bring change to the fashion industry. "As an African-American Woman of Nigerian heritage I grew up with African textiles, they were always an integral part of my culture,” Anyadiegwu said. "Growing up, I often found it difficult to find modern and trendy African Inspired pieces. I created Zuvaa to fill this void.” Dubbed “a global marketplace for African Design,” the online store is aiming to transform the e-commerce space with its rapidly growing social media presence and loyal fans.(Photo: Kelechi Anyadiegwu via Twitter)

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Kelechi Anyadiegwu - Kelechi Anyadiegwu created the startup Zuvaa because she wanted to bring change to the fashion industry. "As an African-American Woman of Nigerian heritage I grew up with African textiles, they were always an integral part of my culture,” Anyadiegwu said. "Growing up, I often found it difficult to find modern and trendy African Inspired pieces. I created Zuvaa to fill this void.” Dubbed “a global marketplace for African Design,” the online store is aiming to transform the e-commerce space with its rapidly growing social media presence and loyal fans.(Photo: Kelechi Anyadiegwu via Twitter)

Corvida Raven - Corvida Raven, the creator of SheGeeks.net, is a lover of all things technology, especially social media, gadgets and mobile devices. Raven credits her mother and aunt for her comprehensive writing style. "They wanted me to break things down and explain it to them so that they wouldn’t have to keep coming back to me for help,” she told In Her Shoes in 2012. "I want my readers to feel the same way, so I take the same approach when writing and speaking.” Outside of blogging, the 20-something entrepreneur speaks at conferences, leads workshops and collaborates with some of the biggest names in business, like Intel, TED and Chevrolet.(Photo: Corvida Raven via Twitter)

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Corvida Raven - Corvida Raven, the creator of SheGeeks.net, is a lover of all things technology, especially social media, gadgets and mobile devices. Raven credits her mother and aunt for her comprehensive writing style. "They wanted me to break things down and explain it to them so that they wouldn’t have to keep coming back to me for help,” she told In Her Shoes in 2012. "I want my readers to feel the same way, so I take the same approach when writing and speaking.” Outside of blogging, the 20-something entrepreneur speaks at conferences, leads workshops and collaborates with some of the biggest names in business, like Intel, TED and Chevrolet.(Photo: Corvida Raven via Twitter)