Women in technology and data privacy

You’re getting stalked. Harassed. Doxxed. The social media platform says: “This doesn’t violate our policies.” Tracy Chou heard that one too many times—so she stopped reporting and started building. Tracy was a Stanford-trained software engineer. A second hire at Quora. A founding engineer at Pinterest, shipping everything from infrastructure to growth. Quietly brilliant. Head down. Crushing code. Then, in 2013, she published one blog post asking a simple question: “Where are the numbers?”—a challenge to tech companies to reveal how few women were in engineering roles. It went viral. Tracy went from backend engineer to accidental face of diversity in tech. But visibility came at a cost. Trolls. Stalkers. 10,000 password reset requests. Conspiracy theorists claiming she was married to James Comey. Real-life threats. Real-life fear. She reported it. Platforms shrugged. So she did what Silicon Valley loves to preach but rarely practices: she built the product she needed. Block Party was born in 2018—not as a startup idea, but as self-defense.   What started as a Twitter anti-harassment filter has grown into a powerful browser extension used across 9+ platforms. It deep cleans your social media, locks down privacy settings, and gives users back control of their data. Because Tracy knows: what starts online rarely stays there. Venmo. Strava. Instagram. We’re bleeding personal information by default. And for women, activists, and marginalized communities—that can be life-threatening. So Block Party does the hard part: scans your accounts, flags your risks, and helps you wipe your data trail before someone weaponizes it. And she’s not stopping there. She’s advocating for legislation that would force platforms to open their APIs. Why? So third-party tools like Block Party can exist without permission. She wants a future where people can build their own feeds, filters, and safety nets—not beg corporations to care. In Tracy’s world, privacy isn’t a product feature—it’s a fundamental right. Stanford Terman Scholar. TIME Woman of the Year. Forbes 30 Under 30. Co-founder of Project Include. She’s graced the covers of WIRED, The Atlantic, and MIT Tech Review. And yet, had you heard her name before today? In 2025, I’m sharing 365 stories of women entrepreneurs in 365 days—because the women reshaping tech, safety, and society deserve to be celebrated every day. 💡Follow Justine J. for more #femalefounder spotlights.

When it comes to discussing women in the history of computer science, posts often focus, with varying degrees of historical accuracy, on a few now well-known figures: Ada Lovelace, Grace Hopper, and Margaret Hamilton... I have therefore decided to start a daily series highlighting lesser-known figures who nonetheless greatly deserve to be brought into the spotlight. --- Day #9 : Cynthia Dwork born on November 12, 1958 is a computer scientist whose research has profoundly impacted the fields of privacy-preserving data analysis, cryptography, and distributed computing. Cynthia Dwork earned her Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Princeton University in 1979. She went on to pursue her Ph.D. in computer science at Cornell University, where she worked under the guidance of the renowned computer scientist John Hopcroft, completing her dissertation in 1983. Her early work includes the development of non-malleable cryptography, which ensures that encrypted messages cannot be tampered with without detection, a key requirement for secure communication. She was also a pioneer in lattice-based cryptography, devising the first lattice-based public-key cryptosystem. This work is considered a cornerstone in cryptographic research, as it is resistant to attacks by quantum computers. Moreover, Cynthia Dwork introduced the concept of proof-of-work, which has since become a critical component of modern applications like blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies. In the field of distributed computing, Dwork's research addressed the challenges of ensuring reliability in systems with failures. Her early work established fundamental principles for designing fault-tolerant systems, enabling distributed systems to function correctly even in the presence of errors or adversarial conditions. Dwork is perhaps best known for her role in inventing differential privacy alongside her collaborators. Introduced in 2006, this mathematical framework has become the gold standard for privacy-preserving data analysis. Differential privacy enables researchers and analysts to extract meaningful insights from data without compromising the privacy of individuals within the dataset. Cynthia Dwork has received numerous prestigious honors, including election to the National Academies of Engineering and Sciences, the Gödel Prize, the IEEE Hamming Medal, and the ACM Paris Kanellakis Award, recognizing her groundbreaking contributions to cryptography, distributed computing, and differential privacy. If you're interested in the series, you can subscribe to the hashtag : #HeroinesOfComputing #womenintech #womeninscience

In episode 246 of “The Data Diva” Talks Privacy Podcast, Debbie Reynolds talks to Aparna Bhushan, In episode 246 of “The Data Diva” Talks Privacy Podcast, Debbie Reynolds talks to Aparna Bhushan, a co-host of the Rethinking Tech podcast and a seasoned data protection and governance attorney licensed in both the U.S. and Canada. Together, they explore the critical intersection of geopolitics, tech policy, and data ethics. Aparna shares her professional journey from startups to global corporations and international organizations, such as UNICEF, where her passion for ethical and practical data governance took root. The conversation examines the fast-paced and often contradictory dynamics facing governments, companies, and users in the digital age, highlighting how the collapse of traditional rules has left many institutions struggling to find direction. Debbie and Aparna discuss how companies are navigating conflicting global regulations, the growing risks of consumer backlash, and the real-world consequences of poor data decisions, such as the fallout from GM’s data broker scandal and the potential sale of sensitive genetic data in the 23andMe bankruptcy. They also address the dangers of regulation lag, scope creep, and public distrust in platforms that mishandle personal data. Aparna shares her perspective on the emerging global impact of the EU AI Act and the regulatory vacuum in the U.S., arguing that proactive privacy strategies and consumer trust are more valuable than merely checking compliance boxes. We dive deep into the complexities of age verification laws, questioning the practicality and privacy implications of requiring IDs or weakening encryption to protect children online. They emphasize the need for innovation that respects user rights and propose creative approaches to solving systemic data challenges, including Aparna’s vision for AI systems that can audit other AI models for fairness and bias. To close the episode, Aparna shares her global privacy wish list: a more conscious and intentional user culture, and a renewed investment in responsible technology development. This thoughtful and wide-ranging conversation is a must-listen for anyone interested in the ethical evolution of data governance in a rapidly shifting global landscape. Audio and full transcript here: https://lnkd.in/g4BK87YX Subscribe to “The Data Diva” Talks Privacy Podcast, now available on all major podcast directories, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, and more. Hosted by Data Diva Media Debbie Reynolds Consulting, LLC #dataprotection #dataprivacy #datadiva #privacy #cybersecurity #GlobalPrivacy #TechPolicy #PrivacyCompliance #GDPR #CrossBorderData #EthicalTech #PrivacyStrategy #TrustAndTransparency #DigitalRights #CorporateGovernance #PrivacyEducation #WomenInTech #PrivacyPodcast #EmotionalIntelligence #StorytellingInPrivacy #MentorshipMatters #PrivacyCulture