33 Must-Know Facts About Women In Tech [Infographic]

Are the 8 biggest technology firms in the world finally starting to realize that women have something to offer the technology industry as well? In 2015 LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo!, Ebay, Apple, Google, and Microsoft are collectively hiring women at a rate 238% faster than men. A new infographic from Coupofy explores this data and the current women in tech landscape as a whole, with some surprising and not so surprising results.

Although it’s above the global average, Silicon Valley is not the most female-friendly tech hub in the world. That honor goes to Chicago and Boston, who claim 30% and 29% of their tech startups are founded by women respectively. As a whole the United States is at 18% while globally 20% of all tech businesses are created by women.

What’s interesting is that the driving force behind women in tech starting their own firms may be inequality within established companies. Data suggests 30% of women who leave positions in tech companies midway through their careers do so because they don’t feel like they can advance any further and are not paid enough for the long hours they work. 32% go on to either work self-employed or join a tech startup.

With the giants of the industry setting an example, however, perhaps this is all starting to change.

Facebook has a female COO, while YouTube, Yahoo!, IBM, and HP all have female CEOs. Likewise, companies that aren’t in the tech industry itself are still selecting women for their tech-related positions. 6 of the top 15 Fortune 500 companies have female Chief Information Officers, and 17.4% of the entire 500 have female CIOs.

Of course, that doesn’t mean there isn’t still some disparity there. Venture capital firms like Golden Seeds, Forerunner, Illuminate Ventures and others, have decided to use their power to fund only women in tech startups as a way of evening the odds. And it must be working because venture capitalists don’t invest money unless it’s going to make a return.

Some women in tech, however, may balk at the idea of needing a helping hand. Touchscreen pioneer Zhou Qunfei, who founded Lens Technology, now has a net worth of $7.5 billion and is the richest self-made women in the tech industry. Denise Coates, founded online betting site bet365 isn’t far behind with $2.9 billion. And Epic founder Judy Faulkner, who created software for the healthcare sector, has a net worth of $2.6 billion. Women now account for 7% of the 100 richest tech billionaires.

Jenny Lee of GGV Capital is not one of those who only funds women in tech, but as a woman herself she is the largest investor in the entire tech industry. In fact, she is also the first woman to become Forbes’ top overall venture capitalist.

With the top 8 biggest technology companies hiring women in tech at record rates, women making billions founding and investing in tech companies, and non-tech firms recognizing women in tech roles, it might not be long before we speak of a woman in the same breath as Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg.

For more interesting facts about women in tech, take a look at this brand new infographic!