It is a well-known fact that the technology industry is mostly dominated by men , but now , thanks to a new blog by a young female computing student , women in tech have finally been given a platform through which their amazing achievements are being recognized . Stanford computer science student Lea Coligado , 21 , created Women of Silicon Valley , a blog based on the people-profiling website Humans of New York , in order to showcase the talents and stories of tech 's best and brightest women working within the industry . 'Over the past couple years , I 've come into contact with some awesome women in tech through Stanford or work , and I kept thinking to myself , why have I never heard of them before ? ' Lea told BuzzFeed . Girls on top : Stanford computer science student Lea Coligado features talented women in the tech industry , such as Postmates exec Sara Mauskopf , on her blog Women of Silicon Valley . Relatable : Many of the subjects featured on the blog talk on subjects that many women in the industry will have had to deal with . Looking up : The blog has attracted attention from the best in the business , including women-in-tech advocate Tracy Chou , a software engineer at Pinterest . The blog , like the one that inspired it , features photos and stories of subjects in the industry , often accompanying them with inspirational quotes . In the description for the blog , Lea says that the goal of the project is 'to celebrate these living - and thriving - examples of female success , these rebels against the numbers and the gender norms . ' In her 'Letter from the Editor ' , Lea also describes how an internship she completed at Facebook was viewed as a 'give away ' by one of her classmates – who suggested that anyone would be able to secure one of the highly sought-after positions if a woman had been offered one , despite applauding a male friend for being given the very same job . She recounts other moments of horrific sexism she has experienced while working in various offices - from shameless come-ons from married colleagues to blanket , patronizing statements of 'women do n't code ' told directly to her by colleagues . The brains behind it all : Lea Coligado , 21 , created the blog after experiencing the bias against women in the industry first-hand . Underrepresented : The Women in Silicon Valley blog aims 'to celebrate these living - and thriving - examples of female success , these rebels against the numbers and the gender norms ' Quotables : The women featured on the blog open up about their own experiences of subtle - and less subtle - sexism in the office . It was after such experiences that , Lea says , she realized the importance of having idols in the industry . Speaking in more detail to Buzzfeed , she added : 'As a woman who 's worked in almost entirely male environments , I know being able to look up to someone is crucial for getting through rough patches , for feeling a sense of belonging to your work . ' The idea has already attracted some big names , including some of the most vocal advocates for women in tech like Tracy Chou , who joined social media giant Pinterest , where she still works as a software engineer , back when it was still a start-up . Tracy herself has also made strides in bringing awareness to the gender disparity in tech . Inspired : The blog 's goal is to is to inspire women to continue on in computer sciences , because it is more possible to succeed than some may think . All together : The blog encourages women to be proud of their own achievements and encourage others in similar circumstances . In a blog post last year on Medium the engineer wrote : 'The actual numbers I ’ ve seen and experienced in industry are far lower than anybody is willing to admit . This means nobody is having honest conversations about the issue . ' With that in mind , Tracy created a GitHub spreadsheet in which tech companies could reveal their demographics to world , and over 200 companies have self-reported on their diversity since . But the numbers do n't look good when it comes to some of the world ’ s most well-known tech companies . Dropbox records that only 26 of its 275 software engineering employees are female , while Etsy records 19 of 149 and GitHub shows only 10 out of 160 . In her quest to raise awareness , and with names like Tracy 's in her corner , Lea is hoping to one day feature the likes of Facebook 's Sheryl Sandberg , Marissa Mayer , and Laura Weidman Powers , the CEO and co-founder of non-profit tech-focused organisation CODE2040 . ' I want women who are sitting on the fence about Computer Science to get as inspired as I was by these role models , ' Lea told Buzzfeed . 'And hopefully , to see that at its heart tech is exciting , immensely powerful and so , so worth it . '
Lea Coligado , 21 , a Stanford computer science student , is the creator of the blog showcasing talented women in tech . The profiling blog has already attracted women from big hitting tech companies like Silicon Valley and Postmates . The blog 's inspiration , Humans of New York , was started by New York photographer Brandon Stanton and features street portraits accompanied by quotes from the subjects .