Megan Smith - 9to5Google

Talking Schmidt: I’m happy for you Megan, but men have the most valuable input on gender equality in tech

Mike Beasley Mar 16 2015 - 4:43 pm PT

Eric Schmidt spoke today on gender equality in the tech industry at SXSW along with United States Chief Technology Officer (and former Google exec) Megan Smith. During the panel, Schmidt was kind enough to chime in on a number of topics, such as which questions he thought Smith should answer, and his thoughts on the Raspberry Pi.

Schmidt’s frequent interruptions were highlighted by an attendee who questioned the executive on his behavior during the panel. Without responding to the woman’s concerns about cutting off Smith, Schmidt did agree that the lack of women in the industry is “a tragedy.”

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White House confirms Google VP Megan Smith as new Chief Technology Officer

Jordan Kahn Sep 4 2014 - 8:26 am PT

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Google X VP Megan Smith

As previously rumored, the White House confirmed today that Google executive Megan Smith will be its next Chief Technology Officer alongside former Twitter lawyer Alexander Macgillivray as its new Deputy U.S. CTO. President Obama said the following about the new hires in a statement (via The Washington Post):

“Megan has spent her career leading talented teams and taking cutting-edge technology and innovation initiatives from concept to design to deployment. I am confident that in her new role as America’s Chief Technology Officer, she will put her long record of leadership and exceptional skills to work on behalf of the American people. I am grateful for her commitment to serve, and I look forward to working with her and with our new Deputy U.S. CTO, Alexander Macgillivray, in the weeks and months ahead.”

Smith was previously a vice present at Google X, Google’s division for experimental projects like its self-driving cars and recently unveiled Project Wing drone project.

Google: Twice as many women attending I/O conference this year since last year

Zac Hall Jun 25 2014 - 7:26 am PT

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Screenshot via Google I/O microsite

With Google I/O kicking off today at 9 am PST/12 pm EST, Google VP Megan Smith tells USA Today that the number of women attending Google’s developer conference has more than doubled since last year’s conference.

She says women will make up 20 percent of the 6,000 software developers. Last year just 8 percent of Google I/O goers were women, a statistic that Smith says is typical of most tech conferences.

“Twenty percent is not 50 percent, which is where we want to be,” she said. “But the trajectory is good.”

Google is also making efforts to increase the stage presence of women on stage and leading sessions, according to Smith, with 25 percent of Google representatives being women this year compared to 16 percent a year ago.

The company recently released data showing that only 30 percent of its employees are women as it expressed it is not where it wants to be in terms of diversity as a company.