Trend 4: More executive women joining Internet startups

Although women web leaders are emerging from diverse walks of life, many of them fall into one of two categories: young, newly minted MBAs and seasoned corporate veterans. Twenty-something female MBAs are starting web companies and obtaining venture capital like never before. Not content to spend their careers climbing the corporate ladder in hopes of someday getting the keys to an executive corner office, they're appointing themselves CEO, going after funding, and launching their own companies. Venture capital doors are swinging open for young entrepreneurs with a viable Internet business plan in one hand and an MBA from Stanford, Harvard, Wharton, or the like in the other. When compared with their senior counterparts, who've likely run into more barriers during their careers, this younger set of women entrepreneurs seems to be relatively unencumbered by notions of a glass ceiling and gender bias -- an indication that the business climate is now more woman-friendly.

But more experienced women leaders are joining Net companies too. Women have been in technology and related fields long enough now to work their way into powerful positions in corporations and other organizations, such as VC, accounting, and law firms. Many women from this generation of seasoned executives are in the leadership pipeline and being wooed away from their traditional corporate jobs by the wild ride proffered by Internet startups. They're leaving corporate America and migrating to startups with increasing regularity. Meg Whitman of eBay, Julie Wainwright of Pets.com, Anne Perlman of Moai Technologies, and Radha Ramaswami Basu of Support.com are just a handful of examples of CEOs who have joined Internet companies as proven executive managers.

Previous | Next