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Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube

NOMINATES

Geetha Murali, CEO of Room to Read

October 2018. Subscribe to WIRED. Plunkett + Kuhr Designers

Geetha Murali’s mother grew up in Chennai, India, in a family in which child marriage was common. When she was 13, she rebelled and went to school instead. “Education became a driving force in her life,” Murali says. “She instilled that obsession in me.” Murali went on to earn two master’s degrees (in statistics and South Asian studies) and a PhD. In 2013, as the chief development officer of literacy nonprofit Room to Read, an education nonprofit , she caught the attention of Susan Wojcicki, who later joined the board. Inspired by her own 9-year-old daughter, Murali shared her picks for budding technologists.

by Hope Jahren

This memoir describes the geobiologist’s relationships with her scientist father and, later, a female coworker. I like that it shows a girl having mentors that are male and female.

Brazen : Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World

by Pénélope Bagieu

A graphic novel in which women rebel against societal norms and conquer their respective fields, from exploration to invention.

Headstrong : 52 Women Who Changed Science and the World

by Rachel Swaby

Swaby shines a light on dozens of pioneers in science and mathematics.