16 Canadian Women in Tech You Should Be Following

March 8^th is International Women’s Day and in honour of the day, we would like to highlight some Canadian women that are making a difference in the Canadian tech community and we think you should be following.

This list is not an exhaustive list. There are so many amazing women out there doing fantastic work in technology and advancing the industry across the country. Let us know in the comments who else you would like to see on this list!

Rita Orji

Associate Professor, Dalhousie University
Twitter | LinkedIn

Read about our recent work in the news:

While the long-term emotional impacts of the #COVID19 -pandemic are yet to be fully understood, new research from @DalhousieU is providing useful insight into how social isolation is affecting emotional well-being.https://t.co/CjBpsA9w9T

— Prof. Rita Orji, PhD (@ritapurity) March 2, 2021

A computer science professor, Orji is also the Canada Research Chair in Persuasive Technology at Dalhousie University. She designs interactive systems and persuasive technologies, particularly to benefit under-served populations.

Tanya Janca

Founder, We Hack Purple
Twitter | LinkedIn

Alice and Bob Learn Application Security will teach you to build secure software! Get it from Wiley.https://t.co/Wnaq9bJ0fO pic.twitter.com/jhNKJcUI7T

— Tanya Janca (@shehackspurple) March 3, 2021

Tanya Janca has dedicated her work to helping others create secure applications. She is a best-selling author of Alice and Bob Learn Application Security and founded We Hack Purple, an online learning academy and weekly podcast that teaches how everyone can create secure software.

Denise Williams

CEO, First Nations Technology Council
Twitter | LinkedIn

I am so proud to be in community with all of you. I feel powerfully connected to our collective vision and it’s never felt more important. @FN_TechCouncil @SFU @SFUBeedie @fdnPETF https://t.co/kpeI1GpUgd

— Denise Williams (@quwutsunn) April 17, 2020

Through her role as CEO of the First Nations Technology Council, Williams is working to ensure that Indigenous peoples have the tools, education and support to thrive in the digital age.

Huda Idrees

Founder and CEO, DOT Health
Twitter | LinkedIn

“Technology and Canadian healthcare don’t mix well”
C’est vrai! Technology and healthcare don’t mix well period. #health #tech ?? https://t.co/odR4TNN5k7

— Huda Idrees (@hidrees) September 22, 2018

DOT Health provides secure and easy access to health records. She is an advocate for building a more equitable world and her work has been featured in the Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, Vogue and many other publications.

Saadia Muzaffar

Founder, TechGirls Canada
Twitter | LinkedIn

https://twitter.com/ThisTechGirl/status/1362035516259065856

Saadia Muzaffar is a tech entrepreneur, author, and passionate advocate of responsible innovation, decent work for everyone, and prosperity of immigrant talent in STEM. With TechGirls Canada, Muzaffar aims to remove barriers for women, including women of color, LGBTQ+ women, refugees, indigenous women, and women of all abilities, looking to have careers in STEM.

Eva Wong

Co-founder and COO, Borrowell
Twitter | LinkedIn

A good reminder about why it's important to check and monitor your credit score on a regular basis – with @Borrowell making it free and easy there is no excuse not to!https://t.co/vqZeIsI35m

— Eva Wong ????? (@eva_toronto) January 5, 2021

Eva Wong is one half of Borrowell, a fintech company helping people make great decisions about credit to achieve their financial goals. As one of the few women founders of a fintech company, she has helped Borrowell achieve rapid growth and great success while building a diverse and gender-balanced team.

Jill Binder

Founder and Chief Consultant, Diverse In Tech
Twitter | LinkedIn

This is going to be a great year for stepping into what's next!

-Intrigued about speaking at #WordPress events and identify from an #underrepresented group?

-Event organizer in #Magento and want to be more welcoming and #diverse?

Several workshops:https://t.co/UbSTuipCEF

— Jill Binder (she, her) (@jillbinder) February 16, 2021

Jill Binder’s work at Diverse In Tech encourages tech conferences and companies to have more diverse voices on stage and in meetings. Binder is also the Leader of the Diverse Speaker Training group in the WordPress.org Community Team, which encourages individuals from underrepresented groups to speak at WordPress events.

Janelle Hinds

Founder, Helping Hands
Twitter | LinkedIn

Many youth feel left out of conversations about the pandemic and recovery. An amazing group of youth organized this event. Thank you to @DaskoWard1 @iamIqraKhalid @RasWard2 and @rubysahotalib for taking time to engage in these conversations. #YouthEngagement #ONyouth #ONpoli https://t.co/xHTjzrC3l2

— Janelle Hinds (@MobileAppQueen) February 25, 2021

Hinds combines her experience in tech with her passion for youth civic engagement to build Helping Hands, a platform to connect youth to meaningful volunteer opportunities while learning valuable skills for their future careers.

Mahsa Kiani

Data Scientist Consultant
Twitter | LinkedIn

AI is a promising method for accelerating drug repurposing for human diseases, especially emerging diseases, such as COVID-19.https://t.co/IIqUxtdtgi #AI

— Mahsa Kiani (@mahsa_kiani) September 19, 2020

Mahsa Kiani is a full stack data scientist with over fifteen years of experience. She is passionate about solving real-world problems using technology in particular data science, AI, and big data. She is also a founding member of MyData, an NGO helping individuals take control over their personal data.

Tamar Huggins Grant

Founder, Tech Spark
Twitter | LinkedIn

Educating the next generation of entrepreneurs. That's what I'm about.

— Tamar Huggins (@tamarhuggins) January 28, 2021

Tamara Grant launched Tech Spark after realizing the importance for BIPOC youth to see other people of colour as leaders in the tech industry. Through culturally relevant and equitable tech education, Tech Spark empowers these underrepresented youth and provide them with opportunities to make meaningful contributions to Canada’s tech ecosystem.

Janet Bannister

Managing Partner, Real Ventures
Twitter | LinkedIn

Enjoyed working on this article with @dteten. The business case for diverse teams is clear. We have found at @realventures that having a diverse investment team results in a diverse portfolio of founders.https://t.co/8FK9dWsN6t?

— Janet Bannister (@jebannister) February 28, 2021

As Managing Partner at Real Ventures, one of Canada’s largest venture capital firms, Bannister works with founders to help them build large, sustainable businesses. She previously launched Kijiji.ca, growing it to be Canada’s largest classified website, and helped transform eBay from a website for collectables to a mainstream marketplace.

Vivian Chan

Chief Channel Officer, Nextech AR Solutions
Twitter | LinkedIn

Respect and gratitude to all the educators and tech teams! How will we innovate #Education in the Fourth Industrial Revolution? Here's another clip from @proactive_ca’s "The Year Ahead" livestream featuring @Nextech_AR and @stevedarling #AR #EdTech #VR pic.twitter.com/PWBNp24sOJ

— Vivian Chan (@redthreads8) March 3, 2021

Over the course of her career, Chan has been involved in the launch monetization, sales, and marketing management for three different waves of disruptive technologies — Analytics, Cloud, and AR/VR. Currently, as Chief Channel Officer at Nextech AR Solutions, she helps to bring people together on their virtual experience platform which combines virtual events with augmented reality.

Lauren Robinson

Executive Director, Female Funders
Twitter | LinkedIn

2020 was a wake up call for many businesses and the catalyst for corps to think seriously about adoption of new biz models to accelerate innovation and growth ? Great to share perspectives for @the_logic's 2021 Venture Capital Outlook. https://t.co/V9oHAuBcW6 cc/ @HighlineBeta

— Lauren Robinson (@LR_ventures) January 4, 2021

Through Female Funders, Robinson is demystifying angel investments and empowering female leaders to become investors. She is also a partner at Highline Beta, a startup co-creation company that identifies industry opportunities and helps launch and co-invest in new startups to address those opportunities.

Christine Renaud

CEO, e180
Twitter | LinkedIn

?????And I'll be hosting a virtual #braindate: During + After #COVID19 – Who are the populations most in need of virtual communities? @SkollFoundation https://t.co/lE9kEOFtHh https://t.co/r36goaq6bU

— Christine Renaud (@christinerenaud) March 31, 2020

As the head of e180, a social enterprise aimed at transforming education into a self-directed, collaborative and experiential experience, Renaud is changing how people connect and learn. Through their flagship platform, Braindate, conference attendees can have a knowledge sharing conversation on any topic.

Jill Tipping

President and CEO, B.C. Tech
Twitter | LinkedIn

Calling all #BCTech companies! If you're challenged by Covid, @wearebctech can help, whether keeping staff motivated working remotely, training up your business development team, back office productivity or raising capital. contact hello@wearebctech.com or DM me. #techresiliency

— Jill Tipping (@jilliantipping) December 8, 2020

As the President and CEO of B.C. Tech, Jill Tipping is a champion and advocate for the technology industry in B.C. She aims to make the province a place for tech companies to thrive. Her position makes her a pivotal figure in driving the growth and direction of tech industry in B.C in the future.

Melissa Sariffodeen

Co-founder and CEO, Canada Learning Code
Twitter | LinkedIn

Looking for a fun family weekend activity?! ?? https://t.co/0m43OrN2Zn

— Melissa Sariffodeen (@melsariffodeen) February 13, 2021

Melissa Sariffodeen is an advocate for providing Canadians with the skills, confidence, and opportunities to become builders of technology. Her role as the co-founder and CEO of Canada Learning Code has allowed her to do that. Over the years, the organization has provided over 600,000 Canadians the opportunity to learn computer science concepts.

Who have we missed? Let us know in the comments.