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The most influential women in tech history

Tech is a notoriously male-dominated space. According to a recent Statista survey, more than 90% of software developers identified as male as of 2021, and fewer than 6% identified as female. But don’t let these disheartening stats fool you. Despite being underrepresented in STEM professions, women have made some massive contributions to technology over the years.

For Women’s History Month, we wanted to highlight a few of these influential women, and showcase how their contributions to the world have changed things for themselves, those who came after them, and society at large.

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Annie Easley, 1933-2011

Annie Easley poses for a picture at NASA.
NASA

Computer scientist, mathematician, and rocket scientist

Annie Easley worked for the Lewis Research Center (which is now referred to as the Glenn Research Center). She also worked with NASA and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) that came before NASA. One of Easley’s most notable accomplishments was her work on the Centaur project, which helped make future space travel possible.

Her work contributed to the 1997 Cassini Probe, and she also worked to help other African Americans register to vote. She even studied battery-powered vehicles long ago, back before companies like Tesla and Rivian were well-known names.

Ada Lovelace, 1815-1852

A painting of Ada Lovelace.
Donaldson Collections/Getty Images

Creator of the first computer algorithm

Ada Lovelace made her mark on the world in the mid-1800s, during a time when it was not only highly uncommon for a woman to learn STEM disciplines, but computers as we know them today didn’t even exist yet.

Lovelace was fascinated with the brain and by other science and technology disciplines. In 1833, she met a man named Charles Babbage, who had created an early computing machine called the Analytical Engine. Lovelace translated one of Babbage’s lectures into English and added notes. In her notes, she included an algorithm that allowed Babbage’s engine to compute Bernoulli numbers and, as it turns out, this was the first time a computer algorithm had ever been published.

Because of her published algorithm, Lovelace is often considered to be the first ever computer programmer.

Hedy Lamarr, 1914-2000

Hedy Lamarr, inventor of frequency hopping.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The mother of Wi-Fi

When some people think of Hedy Lamarr, they often think only of a beautiful actress. But there’s so much more to Lamarr than meets the eye. Hedy, along with another inventor (named George Antheil), developed a radio-based torpedo guidance system that was immune to jamming. Initially, few people took the actress seriously, and her patent eventually expired without being used in the real world. However, Lamarr and Antheil’s technology went on to eventually be used in many of our essential technologies today, including Wi-Fi and GPS.

In 2014, Lamarr and Antheil were inducted into the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame.

Reshma Saujani, 1975-present

Teach girls bravery, not perfection | Reshma Saujani

Founder of Girls Who Code

Girls who Code is an organization committed to diversity and inclusion in tech. The organization has served almost a half a million girls, and reached 500 million people since its inception.

Reshma Saujani is the founder of Girls Who Code, but she’s also an activist and attorney, working to close the gender pay gap. With all of the young women Reshma has helped, she absolutely deserves a spot on our list of the most influential women in tech.

Susan Wojcicki, 1968-present

Susan Wojcicki speaks onstage during the Youtube session at the Cannes Lions Festival 2018.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Former YouTube CEO

Since it hit the scene in 2005, YouTube has fundamentally changed the way we consume content on the web. It has allowed regular people to become stars, influencers, and helpful tutors on everything from relationship advice to cosmetic tips.

Susan Wojcicki was previously a senior vice president at Google and was one of the company’s early employees, but the Harvard grad eventually became the CEO of YouTube in 2014. She’s an inspiration to young women everywhere based on her hard work, tenacity, and success in the tech industry.

Radia Perlman, 1951-present

A headshot of Radia Perlman.
Baylor

Creator of the spanning tree protocol

Radia Perlman attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the late 1960s and early ’70s. During this time, few women were in these STEM programs, so it’s quite impressive that she managed to make her mark.

Perlman’s work has made a significant impact on the tech field — particularly on how networks move data and organize themselves. Her most notable creation is the spanning tree protocol (STP): A set of rules for network design that helped improve the internet. Others have expanded on the technology since Perlman invented it, but it was her creation that paved the way for the modern, ultrafast networks that we enjoy today.

Karen Sparck-Jones, 1935-2007

A portrait of Karen Spärck.
University of Cambridge

Computer scientist

Karen Sparck-Jones was a self-taught computer programmer during a time when there were very few female programmers in the field. Her most notable contributions centered around inverse document frequency and index-term weighting — two big concepts that helped create the modern search engines we have today.

Each time you Google search a recipe, ask Google what the best Thai restaurant is, or search which robot vacuum you should buy, Sparck-Jones’ work helps ensure that the search results you see are helpful.

Erika Rawes
Former Smart Home Evergreen Coordinator
Erika became a professional writer in 2010, and her work is published all over the web on sites ranging from USA Today to…
Zoox recalls robotaxis after Las Vegas crash, citing software fix
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Amazon's self-driving vehicle unit, Zoox, has issued a voluntary safety recall after one of its autonomous vehicles was involved in a minor collision in Las Vegas. The incident, which occurred in April 2025, led the company to investigate and identify a software issue affecting how the robotaxi anticipates another vehicle’s path.
The recall, affecting 270 Zoox-built vehicles, was formally filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Zoox said the issue has already been addressed through a software update that was remotely deployed to its fleet.
Zoox’s robotaxis, which operate without driving controls like a steering wheel or pedals, are part of Amazon’s entry into the autonomous driving space. According to Zoox’s safety recall report, the vehicle failed to yield to oncoming traffic while making an unprotected left turn, leading to a low-speed collision with a regular passenger car. While damage was minor, the event raised flags about the system’s behavior in complex urban scenarios.
Establishing safety and reliability remain key factors in the deployment of the relatively new autonomous ride-hailing technology. Alphabet-owned Waymo continues to lead the sector in both safety and operational scale, with services active in multiple cities including Phoenix and San Francisco. But GM’s Cruise and Ford/VW-backed Argo AI were forced to abandon operations over the past few years.
Tesla is also expected to enter the robotaxi race with the launch of its own service in June 2025, leveraging its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software. While FSD has faced heavy regulatory scrutiny through last year, safety regulations are expected to loosen under the Trump administration.
Zoox, which Amazon acquired in 2020, says it issued the recall voluntarily as part of its commitment to safety. “It’s essential that we remain transparent about our processes and the collective decisions we make,” the company said in a statement.

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Mitsubishi’s back in the EV game—with a new electric SUV coming in 2026
mitsubishi bev 2026 momentum 2030 line up

Mitsubishi is officially jumping back into the U.S. electric vehicle scene—and this time, it’s not just dipping a toe. The company confirmed it will launch a brand-new battery-electric SUV in North America starting in summer 2026, marking its first fully electric model here since the quirky little i-MiEV left the stage back in 2017.
The new EV will be a compact crossover, and while Mitsubishi is keeping most of the juicy details under wraps, we do know it’ll be based on the same next-gen platform as the upcoming Nissan Leaf. That means it’ll ride on the CMF-EV architecture—the same one underpinning the Nissan Ariya—which supports ranges of up to 300+ miles. So yeah, this won’t be your average entry-level EV.
Designed in partnership with Nissan, the new model will be built in Japan and shipped over to U.S. shores. No word yet on pricing, battery size, or even a name, but Mitsubishi has made it clear this EV is just the beginning. As part of its “Momentum 2030” plan, the company promises a new or updated vehicle every year through the end of the decade, with four electric models rolling out by 2028. And yes, one of those might even be a pickup.
Mitsubishi says the goal is to give customers “flexible powertrain options,” which is marketing speak for: “We’ll have something for everyone.” So whether you're all-in on electric or still into gas or hybrid power, they're aiming to have you covered.
This mystery EV will eventually sit alongside Mitsubishi’s current U.S. lineup—the Outlander, Outlander PHEV, Eclipse Cross, and Outlander Sport—and help the brand move beyond its current under-the-radar status in the electric world.
In short: Mitsubishi’s finally getting serious about EVs, and if this new SUV lives up to its potential, it might just put the brand back on your radar.

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Toyota unveils 2026 bZ: A smarter, longer-range electric SUV
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Toyota is back in the electric SUV game with the 2026 bZ, a major refresh of its bZ4X that finally delivers on two of the biggest demands from EV drivers: more range and faster charging.
The headline news is the improved driving range. Toyota now estimates up to 314 miles on a single charge for the front-wheel-drive model with the larger 74.7-kWh battery—about 60 miles more than the outgoing bZ4X. All-wheel-drive variants also get a boost, with up to 288 miles of range depending on trim.
Charging speeds haven’t increased in terms of raw kilowatts (still capped at 150 kW for DC fast charging), but Toyota has significantly improved how long peak speeds are sustained. With preconditioning enabled—especially helpful in colder weather—the new bZ can charge from 10% to 80% in about 30 minutes. Also new: Plug and Charge support for automatic payment at compatible stations and full adoption of the North American Charging Standard (NACS), meaning access to Tesla Superchargers will be standard by 2026.
Under the hood, or rather the floor, Toyota has swapped in higher-performance silicon carbide components to improve efficiency and power delivery. The AWD version now produces up to 338 horsepower and sprints from 0–60 mph in a brisk 4.9 seconds.
Toyota didn’t stop at just the powertrain. The exterior has been cleaned up, with body-colored wheel arches replacing the black cladding, and a sleeker front fascia. Inside, a larger 14-inch touchscreen now houses climate controls, giving the dash a more refined and less cluttered appearance. There’s also more usable storage thanks to a redesigned center console.
With the 2026 bZ, Toyota seems to be responding directly to critiques of the bZ4X. It’s faster, more efficient, and more driver-friendly—finally bringing Toyota’s EV efforts up to speed.

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