Are You Following Your Calling?

After reading Judy Douglass’ recent post, Discovering and Living Your Significance, I did a little surfing to look for women in technology.

In case you don’t know, it’s been a topic for some time that girls and women need to be encouraged to explore the STEM jobs (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).  I thought I’d see for myself how women are doing with technology in particular.

One of the first articles I read interviewed Ai Ching who said:

“Do you know what’s the difference between a person who is working versus a person who has actually found THE CALLING in their lives? The working person tries to finish up the codes from 9.00am to 5.00pm, praying that there will not be any bugs or coding issues. The person who finds it as a calling, derives joy in even the most mundane and annoying of tasks.”

Of course, this would be true in any way we serve God, following His plan for our lives:

God has made us what we are, and in our union with Christ Jesus he has created us for a life of good deeds, which he has already prepared for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)

I’ve found my calling in my little tech niche. What I do is a joy. If you’re still looking for your place in God’s plan (I’m not saying it needs to be a role in technology), I recommend The Significant Woman and also another article by Judy: Who’s Keeping You from Doing God’s Will?

So, on to my list…

Women in Technology: 2015

Women are still under-represented in technology, but I found quite an impressive group of global influencers. Read more about them (and others) in the articles linked in the NOTES.

Ai Ching, of Malaysia, is co-founder and CEO of Piktochart  for making infographics online.

Cat Matson, Chief Digital Officer, of Digital Brisbane (Australia).

Cher Wang. According to the GeekTime article, Wang is “a prominent Taiwanese entrepreneur, co-founded HTC in 1997 and has been the chairman of its board since 2007. If HTC doesn’t ring a bell, it should: In the U.S., they manufacture one out of every six smartphones sold.”

Dr. Elizabeth Croft, Associate dean, NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering, The University of British Columbia, Canada

Elyse Allan, President and CEO, GE Canada

Funke Opeke was an Executive Director with Verizon in New York when she decided to return to  her country of Nigeria in 2005. Two years later, she launched Main Street Technologies. According to the IT News Africa article: “The company went on to raise $240 Million to build the pioneer private submarine cable system in West Africa – Main One Cable. The 7,000 km cable runs from Portugal down to Accra, Ghana and Lagos, Nigeria and is delivering wholesale broadband capacity across several countries in West Africa today.”

Ginny Rometty, of USA, is IBM’s President and CEO.

Joanna Shields, Baroness Shields, OBE, Investor and Digital Advisor to the Prime Minister of the UK (dual citizen of USA and the United Kingdom)

Judith Owigar, Co-founder and Operations Director of JuaKali, a directory for blue-collar workers in Kenya available online and through mobile.

Julie Larson-Green, of USA, is Microsoft’s Chief Experience Officer of the “My Life and Work” team.

Juliet Ehimuan, Google’s country manager for Nigeria (Africa’s largest internet-user community).

Kerstin Gűnther, Senior Vice President Technology Europe, Deutsche Telekom Group

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, of India, founded Biocon, which makes low-cost drugs to combat chronic diseases.

Mariela Sporn, of Argentina, founded RealRef, a social platform for former employees to share stories about their work experience at specific companies.

Marissa Mayer, of USA, is president and CEO of Yahoo!

Maxine Fassberge, General Manager of Intel in Israel and Vice President of the Technology and Manufacturing Group.

Neelie Kroes, Netherlands Special Envoy for Startups.  Neelie served as Vice President of the European Commission up until November 2014. She was responsible for the Digital Agenda for Europe.

Rana el Kaliouby, of Egypt, founded Affectiva, helping computers more accurately read facial expressions. Possible applications include wearable technology, advertising, polling, and more.

Sheryl Sandberg, of USA, is Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer.

Silvia Valadares coordinates Microsoft’s global entrepreneurship and innovation programs in Brazil.

Sun Yafang, chair of the Chinese company Huawei, which is the world’s largest telecommunications network equipment manufacturer and also the world’s third largest smartphone manufacturer.

NOTES:

• Judy Douglass’post, Discovering and Living Your Significance, highlights Cru’s The Significant Woman and how it’s helping women discover all who they’re meant to be. The project is expanding to include an evangelistic version and a men’s version.
• Piktochart Co-Founder: Female Entrepreneurs Less Stuck in the Mud when the Going Gets Tough (Tech in Asia)
• Africa’s leading women in tech 2015 (IT News Africa)
• 10 inspiring women in tech from Asia and the Middle East (GeekTime)
• Latin American Startups: 10 Women to Watch (TNW News)
• Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 – Current Winners (Women’s Executive Network)
• Meet the Fifty Most Inspiring Women in European Tech (Inspiring FIfty)