Meg McCarthy has been named as one of the world's 100 female leaders in the Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) sector by STEMconnector. The executive vice-president of Innovation, Technology and Service Operations at healthcare company Aetna has been hailed for her role in advancing education and careers for women in STEM fields.

The IBM Hursley development laboratory has played host to nearly 100 Year 8 girls from different schools to help encourage the study of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects. A two-day camp, called think.IT, took place at the site near Winchester and saw the different schools mixed into several teams. From here, they were given the task of designing and marketing a new brand of product in the Technology in Sport field, before presenting their ideas to IBM executives and inventors.

The top 25 influential women in the UK's IT sector have been named in Computer Weekly's inaugural list, highlighting and celebrating the incredible talent that is driving the country's technology sector forwards.
Jane Moran, the global chief information officer of news provider Thomson Reuters, topped the list that was judged by Maggie Berry, managing director of Women in Technology, and India Gary-Martin, managing director of investment banking technology and operations at JPMorgan, among others, including a reader vote.

It is no secret that programmers who work at start-ups are predominantly men. This is evident on all corners of the Internet: from the naming of some products - which can sometimes make women cringe - to the endless stream of top 100 lists that are often 95 percent men. A group of technology companies hopes to change that. On Tuesday, Twitter, General Electric, Google and eBay announced that they were joining an initiative called Girls Who Code, which they hope will increase the number of young women who become programmers and engineers. They want to create a mentoring and teaching program.

The objective of the ARTEMIS Joint Undertaking is to increase the efficiency of technological development and enhance European competitiveness of the market in the supply of embedded systems technologies. A call for proposals has just been launched under the work programme of the ARTEMIS Joint Undertaking.

A new competition has been launched to help promote information and communication technology solutions that help improve the lives of girls and women. Intel Corporation and Changemakers have unveiled She Will Innovate: Technology Solutions Enriching the Lives of Girls, a competition with three prizes of 10,000 dollars available to the winners. Judges are looking for programmes that help break down barriers to ICT access, accelerate digital literacy and empower women to lead better lives.

A lack of female presence in STEM related jobs may be a contributing factor in the widening IT skills gap and the struggling economy. This is according to Valerie Vaz, the Labour MP for Walsall South, who believes it is not only science that is under threat in the UK, but women in science as well. Speaking in a House of Commons debate on government policy for women in science, Ms Vaz argued that there are not enough women involved in science and that female graduates from STEM subjects find it difficult to find work.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has called for new ways to attract women to study and pursue careers traditionally dominated by men, tackling the issue from school and university age. It suggests that women in technology could have better career and earnings prospects over traditional careers in health and social sciences.

New research commissioned by Dell suggests female entrepreneurs could find India to be the ideal country in which to set up a new business. Preliminary findings show that there is high optimism from women entrepreneurs based in the country, with the average respondent expecting their business to grow by 90 per cent in the next five years. Furthermore, it revealed that eight in ten are looking to hire, with 71 per cent stating that their business is very successful.

The hugely popular Cyber Security Challenge is calling for more women to take part in its national competitions, which could offer new opportunities for talented women developing their technology careers. By partnering with the UK's leading security and government organisations, the competition aims to seek out the best talent in the cyber security sector and nurture promising individuals who can go on to develop their knowledge of the industry. Contestants who perform well through the series of tasks are rewarded with around £100,000 worth of prizes, including the chance to take qualifications that will enable them to apply for IT jobs in cyber security.