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Surrounded by inspiring women leaders in technology

I feel very fortunate that in my current role I’m surrounded by inspiring women leaders in technology. Susan Hauser, our Corporate Vice President of the Enterprise and Partner Group, is just one example of a female force at Microsoft. So much so, she was recently profiled in the Seattle Times. And I’m excited that Toni Townes-Whitley has just joined Microsoft as our Corporate Vice President of Worldwide Public Sector. In fact, in the two years since I’ve been here, four leadership roles in the org chart above me have been filled with women. This includes my direct boss on the marketing side, Heather Rosenberg, Director of Public Sector Marketing (her role, like Toni’s and mine, also covers the private sector in health industry as well).

It hasn’t always been this way during my career in health IT. I’ve often been either the only woman, or one of very few, sitting down to a meeting with my colleagues. No surprise, given the statistics about how few women are in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers.

Although women fill close to half of all jobs in the US economy, they hold less than 25 percent of STEM jobs, according to a US Department of Commerce report. This despite the fact that STEM jobs pay more than non-STEM jobs and that, according to the report, the gender wage gap is smaller in STEM jobs than in non-STEM jobs.

There are number of theories about why fewer women go into the STEM workforce. Among the possible contributing factors are a lack of female role models and gender stereotyping—a point that really hit home with me when I saw this Verizon commercial. It shows the ways that we may limit girls’ futures by steering them away from interests in the STEM arena and directing them “not to get their dress dirty.”

Another example of cultural cues: When I recently went to buy some books for my children, I noticed that the boys’ section was filled with books about building, science, and the like; while the girls’ section was largely populated with books about princesses.

We need to change the statistics and the stereotypes.

For these reasons and more, I plan to continue to share stories about women who inspire me and are breaking stereotypical molds for girls like my daughter—whether it’s women leaders here at Microsoft or the women I meet in my travels who are playing crucial roles in healthcare. I’ll also share more about why I love my job in health IT. So keep checking back here at the Microsoft Health blog. And please share your stories as well via email, Facebook, or Twitter.