Susan Wojcicki’s death from an undiagnosed lung cancer on Aug. 9, 2024, marked the end of an important era in tech leadership. She broke the glass ceiling in a male dominated industry, and played a key role in Google’s success developing AdSense, and leading the $1.65 billion acquisition of YouTube.
As YouTube’s CEO, she completely transformed it into a global phenomenon and creator hub.
Wojcicki’s story inspired women in tech, proving that determination and vision can shatter barriers and drive innovation.
Locally, women such as Saratoga parent May Wang, founder of Zingbox, are following in Wojcicki’s footsteps and driving equity and inclusion in the tech industry. While a lot of progress has been made, stories like Wojcicki’s are a reminder that more work needs to be done to ensure women have equal opportunities to be leaders in the tech world. According to Fortune magazine, only about 10% of Fortune 500 companies have female CEOs as of June 2024.
Early life and starting out in the technology industry
Susan Diane Wojcicki was born in Santa Clara on July 5, 1968. Her father, Stanley Wojcicki, was a physics professor at Stanford and her mother, Esther Wojcicki, was a journalist and later teacher and journalism adviser at Palo Alto High School, where she advised The Campanile newspaper and taught English for more than 30 years; her family was a strong foundation and support that allowed her to build her education upon.
Susan Wojcicki started her first ever business selling “spice ropes” at age 11. Going door to door with a friend, she marketed her products and quickly turned a profit, showcasing her entrepreneurial spirit from a young age. She studied at several elite academic institutions, including history and literature honors at Harvard University (1990), economics M.A. from UC Santa Cruz (1993) and business M.B.A. at UC Los Angeles (1998). Before she joined Google, she was employed at Intel Corporation, Bain & Co. and R. B. Webber & Co., companies that were stepping stones for her future career at YouTube.
Wojcicki was introduced to the co-founders of Google — Larry Page and Sergey Brin through mutual contacts she had established. She married Brin in 2007 until they divorced in 2015.
She joined Google as the 16th employee in September 1998 as its first marketing manager and contributed early on by renting out her own garage space to Google in Menlo Park as an office, which served as Google’s headquarters for some time before they expanded.
During her time working with Google, Wojcicki created the company’s first virtual marketing program, led development for the company’s famous Google Doodles and launched the image search program along with engineer Huican Zhu.
In 2003, a team under the leadership of Wojcicki created AdSense, one of the earliest and most successful digital advertising applications that effectively displayed relevant ads through user-friendly algorithms. By 2005, AdSense was reeling in about 15% of Google’s total revenue, effectively cementing Wojcicki’s legacy as an influential and successful businesswoman in the technology world.
In 2006, Wojcicki demonstrated her strategic excellence by suggesting Google purchase YouTube, an up-and-coming video sharing platform at the time. She saw the benefits and potential of user-generated video content and looked into ways to further advance current Google services with YouTube. This ultimately led to the purchase of YouTube for $1.65 billion; although critics were initially uncertain about the purchase’s value, Wojcicki was able to turn those views around with her effective leadership.
During her time at Google, Wojcicki was known for having a keen eye for new, upcoming trends and persuading leadership to take action to reap benefits from these trends. Her remarkable ability to analyze current events drove the expansion of Google, bringing novel opportunities to the startup. Later on, these skills would prove useful during her term as YouTube’s CEO.
Becoming CEO of YouTube
In February 2014, Wojcicki became the new CEO of YouTube. Her role at YouTube was driven by a conviction that technology would improve daily lives, spark creativity and connect people across the world. YouTube would serve as a platform for all her future plans to engage the world with technology.
As YouTube’s CEO, Wojcicki faced challenges in balancing user demands with corporate goals, particularly during the rise of content moderation controversies and changing digital media landscapes. Even under scrutiny, she successfully introduced programs like the Partner Program, which enabled creators to monetize their content and made YouTube a global hub for creativity.
Wojcicki also established various other expansionary programs including YouTube Music, YouTube Premium, YouTube Kids, YouTube Originals and many other projects. These programs diversified YouTube’s content and allowed creators to thrive on the market by monetizing their videos. Incidentally, this led to YouTube being the second most visited website in the world in 2020 — second only to Google — making it a core of entertainment and education.
Another one of Wojcicki’s major achievements was her pivotal role in transforming YouTube’s user experience. She spearheaded initiatives to simplify the platform’s interface, enhance video controls and refine search algorithms, making personalized recommendations more effective and accessible. Under her leadership, YouTube retained high user engagement, enabling the platform to dominate emerging competitive markets and solidify its global prominence on the World Wide Web.
While the accomplishments of women like Wojcicki and others are significant, their success stories are still exceptions in a tech industry that remains largely male-dominated, with only roughly 20% of the workforce being female. Despite the progress made, many women continue to face substantial barriers ranging from unequal pay to limited opportunities for advancement to representation at higher levels.
“Rarely are opportunities presented to you in a perfect way,” Wojcicki said at John Hopkins University commencement speech. “Opportunities — the good ones — are messy, confusing and hard to recognize. They’re risky. They challenge you.”
Throughout her career, Wojcicki inspired many young women to dedicate themselves to a life of tech. Her breakthroughs under Google and YouTube serve as a reminder that anybody can be proficient in their field if they put their heart into it. In fact, her influence in tech can even be seen and felt here in Saratoga.
Wojcicki serves as an inspiration
An example of female leadership in the tech industry comes from Saratoga parent May Wang. Holding a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University and a BS in Physics from Peking University, Wang has always been fascinated by data and technology.
Wang founded cybersecurity company Zingbox Inc. in 2014, developing the world’s first AI-based solution to secure smart devices. Around the same time, the Internet of Things (IoT) — the collective network of connected devices and the technology that facilitates communication between devices and the cloud — faced growing concerns over security, especially after several high-profile hacking incidents targeted smart devices in critical infrastructure.
After running her company for five years, she began gaining significant traction in the market and attracting larger customers such as Palo Alto Networks, who later acquired her company in 2019. She is now serving as the CTO of IoT there.
Her motivation to pursue STEM was heavily influenced by her aunt, computer scientist Xia Peisu, who led the development of China’s first computer after earning her PhD from the University of Edinburgh.
“Inspiration runs in my family — my aunt, who played a significant role in my upbringing, is celebrated as the ‘Mother of Computer Science in China,’” Wang said. “Growing up with such a remarkable role model, I developed an unwavering belief that women are just as capable as men in achieving anything they set their minds to.”
Over the years, there have been significant efforts and initiatives aimed at promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace, particularly to create more opportunities for women. For example, nonprofits like Women Who Code train women in technical aspects, equipping them with skills such as coding to thrive in the tech industry. In addition, Google’s Startup Accelerator for Women has supported numerous female entrepreneurs in building sustainable businesses and Apple’s 50%+ Women in Leadership Commitment has resulted in more equitable representation in key decision-making roles. While gradual progress has been made, Wang believes there is still a long way to go.
Balancing work and career ambitions with familial responsibilities is also incredibly challenging under the current systems. Schools are operating as they did 50 years ago, based on the outdated assumption that mothers stay home to care for children. For example, most schools still operate on schedules that end around 3-4 PM, leaving working parents, often mothers, with limited options for managing childcare during the gap between school dismissal and standard work hours
“With only about 180 school days a year, parents must dedicate a significant portion of their time to their children’s education and development. Balancing career ambitions and family responsibilities is especially difficult because the years most crucial for career growth often coincide with the demanding phases of raising children,” Wang said. “Without adequate support systems or access to affordable childcare, many mothers are forced to prioritize family over their professional aspirations.”
While the stories of women like Wojcicki and Wang serve as inspiration, they’re also a reminder of how much still needs to be done to level the playing field in tech leadership. Circumstances are improving towards equal opportunity, but barriers persist in terms of representation in higher leadership, balancing work and family life or just getting a seat at the table. By continuing to promote diversity and equity, people can give more women in STEM the chance to access resources necessary to grow and inspire future generations.
“It’s encouraging to see more women represented in fields like finance, operations, human resources, marketing, sales and legal,” Wang said. “However, women continue to be underrepresented in leadership positions within core technical functions — the backbone and driving force of high-tech companies. This disparity underscores the urgent need for focused efforts to bridge the gap and ensure equity in these pivotal roles.”
