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June is National Women in Science and Technology Month. Who knew right?! But there are still few women entering the ranks of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

For the last few years Fast Company has published a list of the most influential women in technology. If you missed it check it out here. So it’s not like women aren’t doing great things it’s just that few women choose to walk the road in these areas for a variety of reasons.

A presentation in 2010 called Why So Few? from the American Association of University Women noted that

Girls’ achievements and interests in math and science are shaped by the environment around them

Bias, often unconscious, limits women’s progress in scientific and engineering fields.

I know I certainly got ignored as an undergraduate when I was a Computer Science major. I was the only female in a class of 15. I eventually switched to the Business school to study Management Informations Systems. There were still more men than women but the professors didn’t act like you didn’t exist there.

It’s interesting to note that:

Women in “male” jobs are viewed as less competent than their male peers.
When women are clearly competent, they are often considered less “likable.” – Why So Few?

How obnoxious is that?! We need to fix this. We as women need to let our children, our sisters…any female we can influence that being smart and studying Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics is fun and exciting. And we need to let our little boys and men know that smart women aren’t less feminine or likable because they work in traditionally male jobs.

I like knowing how things work. Always have. I would have been bored out of my mind in a more “traditional” job. I get to play all day with technology. I get to shape experiences online that people actually want to use. Who doesn’t like that! Science, Math, Engineering and Technology all require creativity and a sense of wonder.

Frankly, anyone who says programming isn’t creative doesn’t know any great programmers.

I truly love the beauty of coding, it is the ultimate puzzle, moving from specs to beta code, the thrill of cleaning up buggy code all make me inordinately happy. Having worked in small companies where my coding skills have been stretched to include Systems Administrator duties I have to say give me code please. – AW

Someone I know sums it up quite well:

I often joke that working in design and technology is a little bit like adult play land. I got into it, because it is always changing so it allows me to continue learning and exploring the world with curiosity and wonder. Also, it is wonderful to realize that working with other smart people, design and technology that we can help empower others to accomplish their goals.
- Anonymous

The best part of being a girl geek is getting to play all day. Work isn’t a chore. Sure people can sometimes be annoying but that goes with any career. Being perceived as a geek in high school certainly isn’t easy but frankly that rubbish goes away as an adult. Geeks rule the world and make all the dough. ;)

1. 15 inch Mac Book Pro – which I bought this summer. Getting rid of my Windows PC was not that much of a sacrifice and re-learning a few things on my new computer has been fun rather than frustrating. Hands down the easiest shopping experience I’ve had thus far buying a new computer. Apple really knows what they are doing to be sure. I highly recommend their personal shopping service. One-on-One classes were worth the investment as well.
2. Logitech Trackball – I like this device so much I bought two. One I keep at home and the other I take to work. I’ve freelanced at different companies this year and I’ve taken it to pretty much every gig I’ve had.
3. My Book External Hard Drive – because it takes up little desk space. Looks more like a book than a hard drive. Super fast and super quiet.
4. OmniFocus – I consider this task management overkill but well worth it. I have tried quite a few organizational software. None I’ve stuck with for longer than a few weeks or months. But this software I’ve been using the longest. In combination with my mind-mapping software it helps keep me focused and on task with what I need to accomplish. I love that I can add context to the things I need to do. I don’t think I’ve mastered every feature yet but I will given time.

The Losers

While this post is about the wins with the technology I’ve had; I can’t end without mentioning the worst technology purchase I made in 2010. Hands down it has to be getting a Blackberry.

I probably use about 10 % of the features of the device. The browser is beyond slow so much so that I have pretty much given up on using it. I use my iPod Touch for my appointments and pretty much staying on top of everything.

Switching to Vonage was also a bad decision. Dropped calls. Horrible reception, almost like talking on a mobile. And let’s not forget the ridiculous fees to change plans or cancel the service. Good riddance to bad rubbish as they say.

What new toy is on my list for 2011?

Besides a new mobile phone, I’m not sure yet. Technology is changing so fast by the time I make up my mind there will be some new gadget I want to get!

Forrester’s Social Technographics® classifies consumers into six overlapping levels of participation

The six participant types are the following:

• Creators – responsible for generating content on the web. They blog, tweet and create YouTube videos
• Critics – respond to what others post. They review products and services.
• Collectors – organizers of content for themselves and others. They might use sites like digg.com, RSS, tags, etc.
• Joiners – have profiles on social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook.
• Spectators – don’t actively participate in the conversation but read blogs. Listen to podcasts. Read product reviews.
• Inactives – ignore it all! online interaction just isn’t their thing.

These profiles are important to note to make sure your message is getting heard. If the clients I wanted to serve for example didn’t actively use Facebook then setting up a Facebook fan page would not be a good strategy for my business. An email newsletter would probably be better to get my message to the right people.

Check out the tool below to create a consumer profile and to see if your strategy aligns with the research.

The categories they recognize that people are making great strides in are

• Nanotechnology
• Internet
• Biotechnology
• Energy
• Software
• Hardware
• Telecom

The Innovator of the Year is Kevin Fu, 33 whose work focuses on computer security. He is an assistant professor of computer science and a software engineer. His work is primarily focused on RFID - which is becoming increasing common in everything from credit cards to electronic keys.

A couple of the projects that stood out for me were:

Andrea Thomaz – an assistant professor of interactive computing, 33: She’s working on robots that learn the way people do. Her robot Simon is on the cover of Technology Review. Robots have potential to help in lots of areas like helping people with disabilities, in hospitals and the elderly.

Jeffrey Bigham – assistant professor in computer science, 28: He working on a free service Web­Anywhere to help blind people navigate the web.

José Gómez-Márquez, 32 – won the Humanitarian of the Year Award. His work is focused on creating medical devices for poor countries.

This year’s innovators are definitely working on some very fascinating projects. I’m amazed at some of the things people are working on. I can’t wait to hear more about these projects or read next year’s issue of Technology Review.