her code: the increasing role of women in the high-tech sector

July 21, 2009 - New research released today by Orange in Silicon Valley documents the growing role of women in leadership positions in some of the technology and communication industry's largest and most innovative companies plus their growing influence in the technology sector as a whole. 

The study, Her Code: Engendering Change in Silicon Valley, was conducted as a series of interviews in the first half of 2009 with women aged between 12- 60 years-old who were entrepreneurs, directors, product managers, marketing and communications executives, and includes profiles of many diverse and prominent women, trends data, and a chronology of the most significant careers of Women in Tech. It was undertaken as part of Orange Labs San Francisco’s research program and ecosystem outreach, reflecting the site's dual mission as an R&D center and a presence for the Group within the world's most innovative territory. 

 key findings from Orange’s report
Across the board, women are demonstrating new influence at the executive suites of all of the major technology companies in Silicon Valley, including Google, Intel, Cisco, Adobe, Yahoo! and Oracle.
The traditional under-representation of women in the technology sector is being reversed with the next generation of Girls in Tech, who are prolific users of and contributors to social media platforms invented in Silicon Valley and now in use all over the world.
This 'third generation' of Women in Tech – coinciding with the emergence of Generation Y as a profound influence on the workforce – is already demonstrating a complete lack of intimidation about being in the technology workforce.
More fundamentally, the content creation tools that come built into new devices and the social web, on sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and now the iPhone, are creating a new paradigm for producing computer 'code', making Girls in Tech a powerful source of world-changing innovation.
Women in Silicon Valley are rethinking what Work/Life Balance means and redefining how companies approach the needs, of women in particular, at different stages of their careers and personal life.

find out more
download the entire study "Her Code"                                                                                   
download the press release