But it's getting better.

I've always been interested in Technology. When I was a little girl in the 80's, I was disappointed to see Radio Shack advertising computer use for boys. It made me feel left out or like my interest in programming wasn't welcome.

I was home-schooled and graduated early so I was still pretty young when I began college. As a young teen in college, I was told flat out by a fellow male computer science student that I couldn't be a computer major

because, "girls weren't smart enough." I had no idea what to say to him. I was very upset. We were the only computer moderators in our UNIX computer lab. A week later, he infected our network with a virus he accidentally downloaded. He panicked and didn't know what to do. My female computer science professor (Mrs. Goombi from Haskell Indian Nations University who would later tell me I was her first student to pass Binary coding) asked me to help as I had become pretty reliable with security. I eradicated the virus and felt vindicated over his inane remark regarding my intelligence. I never had to say a word to defend myself, my actions said it all.

In my 20's, I quickly found out that if I used a feminine gamertag and/or a microphone while playing an MMO, that male players would either hit on me or bully me, some even going as far as saying women weren't welcome. If I told them I didn't have a microphone and used a unisex name, I would be sent messages asking what gender and age I was but I always ignored the requests. Without my voice or username giving my gender identity away, I was treated like the incredibly talented gamer I was and given a host of compliments, rather than sexual offers or sexist insults.

Girls reaching equality in Technology has been an uphill battle for many decades. But I am thrilled to say we've made magnificent advancements in this area. My daughters will hopefully never know the challenges I faced. And I hope that companies will continue to portray women as leaders in tech, rather than only assistants to men in tech. If you are a business owner, I encourage you to keep gender equality in mind when choosing graphic design or images. Mix it up, keep it 50/50. I am personally mindful to show women and men equally in all professions when using visuals online.

Kudos to us for making huge strides. Let's keep it up!