"The future looks good....IF........young girls are engaged at a young age like boys. High School and adulthood are stop gap measures. To change the culture we need to start in the nursery. And that means getting little girls gaming and exposed to tech as early as possible. Geeks become engineers.....gamers become game devs."

"Never tell your daughter she shouldn't do something in the STEM field because she's 'better at English' or 'should do something more creative.' Be proud of her that she has interests and a focus. Don't talk her out of something worthwhile because you can't see a woman succeeding in that career." – Security Analyst

"Parents, back your girls up. It's not unfeminine to be a techie. I still polish my nails, I still dress feminine (except when I'm crawling around floors fixing networks) and it's actually very profitable to be in this industry (especially security) if you plan on making your own way." – Debbie Mahler, CEO & Owner of Internet Tech Specialists

You will have to work twice as hard to prove that you know what you're talking about, but don't be afraid of that. It can be a very rewarding field and you'll have fun. If you're not having a little fun every day, find another job! – Security Analyst

It is a great career and once you have the respect of your colleagues and peers they will value you and in some cases hold you in higher regard to your other colleagues. Don't let people put you off or tell you, you can't do something based on gender. – Infosec Manager

"You know how people get Gym Buddies, a friend to help hold them accountable by going to the gym together? You could have a Goal Achieving Buddy. You help each other step out of your comfort zones to try new things that will help you achieve your goals. Or maybe a Try New Things buddy to explore things you might not have considered. You might end up finding a new passion!"

Too often people, and I find that especially women, create insurmountable or seemingly unreachable goals for ourselves. We say "I want to become a published author" or "I want to lose 100 pounds" or "I want to learn PHP." Those are all great goals but because they are so BIG they can seem really daunting, and as we start to climb the mountain of our aspirations, we tend to punish ourselves for any missteps. There will be little stumbles and failures along the way, but we can't let those things discourage us. Celebrate every small step forward.

You know how people always say you should look for the forest through the trees? I say, for the big important goals, you should look for the trees through the forest. A forest is big and scary, full of darkness, creatures, spiderwebs, etc. And you won't want to enter the forest at all. But if you just look at the first tree — buying "PHP for Dummies", or signing up for a healthy eating Pinterest board — then it's not so daunting. And you should pat yourself on the back for that first step. Then look at the next tree. Maybe you join a local programming meetup group. Maybe you sign up for a computer class at school. Take your big goal and break it down into smaller, actionable and reachable goals, and check them off your list to see all of the progress you're making. Before you know it, you'll be halfway into that forest and realize it wasn't so scary after all.

Since I've entered this career field, I've noticed a lot more women joining. The more women who come in, the more "normal" it will feel for everyone so they won't have to put up with the stuff I've had to. – Security Analyst

I feel like more women are starting to cultivate an interest in this industry and as we gain momentum and" prove" ourselves we will hopefully see a shift. I think it starts with mentoring, and building up our confidence. – Security Analyst

I think the future has become wide open now for women in tech. I haven't experienced any gender bias in about the last 4 years now. But I've also established myself - finally - in the field. – Debbie Mahler, CEO & Owner of Internet Tech Specialists

"When my male coworkers are discussing a problem that is work-related, I will add something new to the conversation; I get completely ignored. They don't even look in my direction and just keep talking. Then a week later, a man will say the exact same thing I said and they'll go, 'Oh! Right! Good call!'" – Security Analyst

"I had a meeting with a [female] sales manager and three of my [male] directors once…it took about two hours. She only spoke once and one of my fellow directors cut across her and said 'What Anne is trying to say Roger is…' and I think that about sums it up. He knew better than Anne what she was trying to say, and she never got anything said."

"Your colleagues wait for you to prove yourself in order to accept you, whilst they could take for granted that a male colleague is capable until he might prove otherwise." – Christy Wyatt, CEO at Good Technology

"I still to this day hear other tech workers say they don't want a female boss." – Christina, Quality Engineer

"Being a woman a lot is expected of you from society, you are held responsible for childcare and taking care of the home. If the child is sick the mother will usually have to take time from work. It is also expected that you support your husband's career progression rather than your own." – Information Security Manager

"Unless organizations find ways to help employees balance work-life priorities—and encourage both male and female employees to pursue those options—it will be impossible to achieve gender parity." – Bain & Company report

"Women look at computers and see more than machines. They see the culture that has grown up around them and they ask themselves if they belong." – Sherry Turkle, MIT Professor

"The females that survive our industry are some of the smartest and toughest career women around." – Erin Jacobs