Women in tech can change the face of technology

Vivek Wadhwa is a director of research at the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University and is currently working on a book called, “Innovating Women: The Changing Face of Technology.” In the upcoming book he discusses the issues, and the need for women entrepreneurs in Tech as reported by MSNBC.com

Wadhwa states that currently most of the resources in tech are being spent on smartphone applications since they have become the most popular and easiest way of reaching people. This, however, is helping more men than women. But, big-venture capital success rarely comes with these and till date billions have been spent in such ventures.

Currently, more women than men in the U.S. are graduating in fields like health sciences, biology, education, social/behavioral studies and arts and humanities. The potential here is immense and needs to be tapped.

With diverse education teamed with innate feminine traits such as empathy, women tend to be very competent at design- which is critical to the success of any tech product. Wadhwa says, “In design school, they teach that the best designs come from empathy—when the designer can feel the needs of the product’s user. Women have a big advantage here too—their maternal instincts provide them with an abundance of empathy. If you combine all of these advantages with a desire to do good, you have a powerful combination.”

Chair for women in science and engineering>

Wadhwa argues that even though women are traditionally discouraged from pursuing fields such as science and mathematics, research shows that women entrepreneurs get a 35% higher return on investment, and bring in 12% higher revenue than men-owned companies, when backed with venture capital.

In this way, women are armed with all the necessary skills to change the current trends in tech. Yet, they still lack encouragement, face prejudice and find it difficult to access the required capital. But with these out of the way, they are bound to change the tech world for the better.

ORIGINAL SOURCE: MSNBC

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/why-women-entrepreneurs-are-the-future-tech