15 Sisters Who Shape How We Use Technology

Joy Buolamwini, Ph.D., 32, founder of the Algorithmic Justice League and researcher

Early in her career, Dr. Buolamwini experienced algorithmic injustice when a robot she created could not detect her face as a darker-skinned Black woman. This moment sparked her research focus on racial biases in facial recognition systems. In 2021, Dr. Buolamwini became the face of Olay’s Decode the Bias Campaign to call out beauty standard biases that are reinforced by artificial intelligence and to encourage more women to pursue STEM careers. “When we train machines, they become a mirror to our own limitations within society,” Dr. Buolamwini told Allure. “We have to keep moving toward broader representation.”

Portrait of woman in tech

Mae C. Jemison, M.D., 66, physician, engineer, educator and entrepreneur

One of the GOATs in the technology space, Dr. Jemison was the first Black woman to travel into space, in 1992. But her impact in the field hasn’t stopped there. She currently leads the 100 Year Starship project — an effort to make human travels beyond our solar system possible within the next 100 years — and has inspired many through her children’s books, foundation, research and teaching. “Make sure that you don’t substitute algorithms for your own critical capacity to think,” Dr. Jemison said during her commencement speech at Washington University in St. Louis in May. “It’s seductive, but it’s dangerous. You have to think through things to understand. Do not give that up.”

Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Ph.D., 42, marine biologist, policy expert and conservation strategist

The marine biologist has been a leading voice on climate solutions related to the sea. Dr. Johnson is the cofounder of Urban Ocean Lab, a think tank for the future of coastal cities, and cocreator of the Blue New Deal, a policy plan to include the ocean in climate policy. Her passion for this work has resulted in various opinion pieces, consulting, a TED Talk and the podcast she cohosts, How to Save a Planet. Dr. Johnson is all about solutions and helping everyday people take action.

Portrait of Marian Croak

Marian Croak, 67, engineer

Croak and the late Patricia Bath became the first Black women to be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame last May. Croak’s research helped advance Voice over Internet Protocol, which allows calls to be made over the internet instead of a landline — that’s essentially what makes remote work using Zoom and Google Chat possible. "At the time I never thought the work that I was doing was that significant and that it would lead to this, but I'm so very grateful for the recognition,” Croak said in an interview with Google.

Sofia Ongele, 22, coder and activist

A self-proclaimed “hacktivist,” Ongele has figured out how to use the power of social media (sis has nearly 300,000 followers on TikTok!) to make real-world impacts. The Fordham University computer science major’s super skill involves creating websites that streamline civil engagement as part of her work with Gen Z for Change, a nonprofit that uses social media to promote social change. In 2018 she developed the app ReDawn, which uses artificial intelligence to connect sexual assault survivors with resources. Ongele’s “hacktivism” includes flooding Starbucks with fake job applications after workers who were trying to create a union were fired, and doing the same to antiabortion websites when the Roe v. Wade draft decision was leaked.

Portrait of women in tech

Lisa Gelobter, 51, computer scientist

Thank computer scientist Lisa Gelobter for the ability to send GIFs to your girlfriends. She developed the animation technology used to create the short clips. Gelobter also worked behind the scenes on some of the familiar platforms we know and love, including Hulu and Shockwave. In 2016 she founded tEQuitable, a platform to address workplace discrimination.

Keshia Knight Pulliam, Arian Simone and Ayana Parsons, cofounders of Fearless Fund

This powerhouse trio came together to support their fellow sisters through the creation of Fearless Fund in 2019. The venture capital fund has invested millions in businesses run by women of color to help close the funding gap these companies often face. “Women of color are the most founded, entrepreneurial demographic,” Simone said at the Embrace Ambition Summit in June 2022. “They are just the least funded.”

Portrait of women in tech

Tiera Fletcher, 27, aerospace engineer

Tiera Fletcher is doing the work to make sure little girls who come up behind her know it’s possible to become a rocket scientist. It was her dream at age 11. This queen is one of the engineers responsible for NASA’s Space Launch System that will send the Orion spacecraft and crew into space, and now she works at Boeing. She and her husband collaborated to form Rocket With the Fletchers, an endeavor to show kids from underrepresented groups what it’s like to be an engineer. She’s also the coauthor of Wonder Women of Science, about the stories of 12 female scientists. Fletcher knows representation matters. “People in the STEM field — we can’t underestimate the impact that we can have on a student,” Fletcher said, according to a recent profile in MIT Technology Review.

Nola Hylton, Ph.D., 65, professor and researcher

An international leader in breast cancer research for the past 20 years, Nola Hylton is responsible for the development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) detection, diagnosis and staging of breast cancer. (According to the American Cancer Society, Black women are 41 percent more likely to die from breast cancer than white women even though we are less likely to be diagnosed with it.) The professor and director of the Breast Imaging Research Group at the University of California, San Francisco, received the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine Gold Medal for her foundational work last May. Put some respect on her name as Dr. Hylton continues to inspire the next generation by serving as a mentor and sponsor in the field.