Three women changing the face, and style, of app development

As more women come into the industry we’ll find app stores filling up with products for women, explains Jess Erickson

Smartphones are an integral part of our everyday life and an estimated 1.5 billion people around the world use them, feasting on a plethora of applications nestled in the many app stores and market places of the internet. These apps transform the smartphone into a tool, a Swiss army knife of knowledge, aid, and guidance. All with the swipe and tap of a finger.

The people that make up this “tech” industry have been predominantly male for many years, but we’re finally seeing more women develop applications for hungry smartphone users. Through initiatives such as Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In, as well as my own Berlin Geekettes organisation, more women are becoming interested in the zeros and ones and that’s great news for other females around the world. Here’s why.

Women suffer from painpoints that only other females know how to approach and solve. And an increasing number of female developers are administering these prescriptive tools through smartphones. My fellow geekette Jennifer Wong, when five months pregnant, realised that everything surrounding her pregnancy (such as clinical information or journalling) would be much more useful if it were on her mobile phone.

“I took a look at the App Store,” she said, “and couldn’t find anything to address my needs, so I created it instead.” Her application, BabyBump, was the result. She took a problem facing many women and coded the solution, but it was her personal experience that led her to realise the market for this.

Putting personal experience into technological development also led to the development of Circle of 6, an app that helps prevent domestic violence before it happens. Users can form a trusted circle of friends and family and reach out to them in one tap during a potential crisis. “I had an experience with a stalker in college and several people close to me experienced sexual violence over the years,” comments Christine Corbett, co-founder and CTO. “Motivated by the philosophy to use tech for good, I jumped at the chance to combat these issues with technology.”

Both of these examples are a precursor to something much bigger: the rise of women in the tech industry as a whole. Many women, such as those above, have created companies out of their ideas. Clue is an app for women that helps keep track of menstruation cycles. Their team is based in the heart of Berlin and is backed by Hoxton Ventures. “I wanted to have a method for family planning that was high-tech,” explains Ida Tin, co-founder & CEO. “Since then I have come to realise that female health needs to be digitalised, and that’s what we’re working on.”

It’s one thing noting the importance of female app developers in solving female problems, but it’s quite another thinking of the diversity of ideas the female gender can bring to males too — if only they had the confidence and motivation to pursue a position of leadership at some of the world’s most influential companies. The females above stand as inspiration to those looking to pursue a career in technology, and they’re only the tip of the iceberg.

Jess Erickson is the Founder of Geekettes, an organisation that aims to mentor, educate and inspire women to pursue a career in technology.

Original post in Guardian’s Women in Leadership section: http://www.theguardian.com/women-in-leadership/2013/dec/13/women-changing-face-app-development