Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates are known for their accomplishments of highly-esteemed work in the field of technology. In recent years, men have not been the only ones to rise in the technological world. Sheryl Sandberg, Susan Wojcicki and Safra Catz are women who today are some of the most successful people in the tech industry.

In our day and age, women have been increasingly gaining more and higher positions in the tech and science world and creating somewhat of a balance of both male and female roles in these fields. However, there remains to be a huge gap between women and men in the tech world. In accordance to Forbes, today women hold 24 percent of computer science jobs. Silicon Valley is the center of many global tech companies, but only 11 percent of executive positions in Silicon Valley are held by women.

“The lack of female representation in the tech world is quite disheartening, not going to lie,” senior and member of Girls Who Code Lillian Delgado said. “Although the increase in tech positions has gained momentum throughout these last years, it’s still not sufficient.”

While the percent of female positions are still very low, there are several women who have proven that females can certainly become leaders in the tech world. Sheryl Sandberg is the current Chief Operating Officer of the social media platform, Facebook. Susan Wojcicki has been the Chief Executive Officer of the video-streaming site, YouTube, since February 2014. Since Wojcicki became CEO, the number of female employees at YouTube rose from 24 to 30 percent. Safra Catz has been an executive since 1999 of computer technology corporation, Oracle, and is now the Chief Executive Officer.

Throughout history, there are many female figures that shine as well. Katherine Johnson was a mathematician who made many contributions to aeronautics and space programs through National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

“You look at women such as Katherine Johnson during one of the most crucial moments in space history and how monumental the opportunity was for her,” Delgado said. “With women like her, more women are furthering not only her work, but their own personal skills into what tech means to them.”

Globally, women are slowly taking positions in businesses. According to the Gender Equality and Women’s Development in China, done by the State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China in 2015, approximately 55 percent of Internet businesses have been founded by women. In accordance to AnitaB.org, 34 percent of India’s Information Technology workforce is female.

In recent years, encouragement of young girls to follow scientific and technological paths have increased. Girls Who Code is an organization started by Reshma Saujani that teaches young girls computing, coding, and programing skills.

“It’s kind of amazing to see society not only investing in the potential of women, but implementing coding clubs in schools for young girls who are interested in furthering their tech ability,” said Delgado. “STEM programs also offer scholarships for women pursuing a career in technology, which also assists the financial ability of the female applicant.”