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Women In Technology Summit Celebrates 25 Years; Still Struggles With Male-Dominated Industry

SANTA CLARA (KCBS)— This year marks the 25th anniversary of a Silicon Valley conference aimed at getting more women into senior positions in the technology industry.

Hundreds are attending this week's Women in Technology International Summit in Santa Clara to hear success stories from women in tech. One of those was from Puja Jespal, a vice president at Visa in charge of human resources technology.

She said it's not always easy for women to get their voices heard in a male-dominated field.

Women In Technology Summit Celebrates 25 Years; Still Struggles With Male-Dominated Industry

"Primarily because…male egos. Just kidding," she said before laughing. "But there is, I think, a view that women are maybe less technical in some cases or that women have other priorities."

The conference comes just days after Google released new numbers showing that the majority of its employees are white and male.

Carolyn Leighton, founder of Women in Technology, called on tech companies to commit to hiring from a more diverse pool of candidates.

"They don't just say, 'Wouldn't it be nice?' It becomes a requirement and mandate,"

She said it's in companies' best interest to reflect the diversity of their own customer base. The conference goes from June 1-3.

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