In honor of #InternationalWomensDay, we put together some of our favorite quotes from some seriously talented and motivational women in engineering. Take notes and get inspired!
As an engineering school dedicated to #ChangeTheRatio in the tech industry, we know the importance of following and getting inspired by diverse leaders in engineering and tech. Women, gender diverse individuals, and their allies joining the tech industry now can look up to these leaders in engineering and learn from their quotes. Working in an industry where your demographic is underrepresented can be hard, but motivation from people in the same situation can be exactly what you need to keep going.
Learn how to excel and grow in your career, getting through any challenge that stands in your way. The following powerful and profound quotes from women in engineering are sure to motivate you to reach for your goals no matter what society sees fit.
#1 – Ginni Rometty, first woman CEO at IBM
“People are their first word critic, and it stops them from getting another experience because I could be better, if I was just ready yet, if I had one more thing. And that’s not it…You always have to do something that puts you in a zone you don’t know. Someone once told me growth and comfort do not coexist. And I think it’s a really good thing to remember.”
#2 – Rebecca Garcia, Technical Head of Product at Next Caller
“It’s so easy for us to get caught up in negative patterns, versus seeing what positive change you can make. Especially for women and minorities, we need to learn to see challenges as stepping-stones instead of hurdles. They really can bring you experience and closer to your goals.”
# 3 – Michelle Haupt, Operations Engineer at NASA
“One thing I always tell young girls: Never let anybody tell you you can’t do it. Growing up, they’d look at me like, ‘Really?’ Even when I did my college visit, I had someone tell me most people change their minds after the first year. I never gave up. Even when I was having teachers tell me, ‘Just take a break from math, you can take this class next year,’ I said, ‘No, I’m going to take it now.’ I kept pushing for it.”
#4 – Jean Bartik, Programmer at ENIAC
“I was told I’d never make it to VP rank because I was too outspoken. Maybe so, but I think men will always find an excuse for keeping women in their ‘place’. So, let’s make that place the executive suite and start more of our own companies.”
#5 – Megan Smith, Former CTO of the United States of America
“If you can find something you’re really passionate about, jump on that. If you’re passionate about (something) and you bring your talent, you’ll be unstoppable.”
#6 – Lauren Mosenthal, CTO at Glassbreakers
“Life is a series of building, testing, changing and iterating.”
#7 – Carla Meninsky, engineer for Atari
“I was a bit of an artist, and somewhere along the way had gotten the idea that computers could be used for animation and artists, because in-betweening was so tedious…Of course, everyone thought I was nuts.”
#8 – Radia Perlman, AKA “Mother of the Internet”, IEEE fellow, inventor of Spanning-Tree Protocol
“The world would be a better place if more engineers, like me, hated technology. The stuff I design, if I’m successful, nobody will ever notice. Things will just work, and will be self-managing.”
# 9 – Marissa Mayer, Co-founder Sunshine Contacts, former CEO of Yahoo, and former engineer at Google
“People ask me all the time, ‘What is it like to be a woman at Google?’ I’m not a woman at Google, I’m a geek at Google. And being a geek is just great. I’m a geek, I like to code, I even like to use spreadsheets when I cook.”
#10 – Kimberly Bryant, Founder and CEO of Black Girls Who Code and electrical engineer
“Being able to push against that paradigm and push girls to the forefront, particularly girls of color, is going to make a tremendous difference in the industry in the years to come.”
Are you ready to get started with your career in tech? Check out Hackbright Academy’s 12 week immersive software engineering program. Hackbright Academy is an engineering school for women in San Francisco dedicated to closing the gender gap in the tech industry.
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