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This Thursday, March 8, is International Women’s Day. It’s a day meant to celebrate women’s equality, and the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. To honor this celebration, we’re taking a moment to highlight five of the many inspiring women Trailblazers who’ve used their Salesforce knowledge to drive change and help others. These women are knocking out certifications, helping others cultivate successful careers, and courageously deciding to bring their whole selves to work.

Equality — of all kinds — is core to our business here at Salesforce. And these women are important reminders of why it’s so important. So, as International Women’s Day approaches, we encourage you to take a moment to read these stories and celebrate the important women who inspire you.

 

1. Wendy Braid, the First Salesforce-Certified Woman in the U.S.

Trailblazers are pioneers, and how best to kick off this list of inspiring Trailblazers than with Wendy, the first-ever woman in the U.S. to get certified. Her story with Salesforce began when her company decided to implement the technology, and she was sent to a 5-day training course in San Francisco. From there, she couldn’t be stopped. Wendy overcame her fear of public speaking to become a Salesforce instructor, and was among the first to sign up for a certification exam when they launched in 2008. Today, she has seven certifications and counting. Read her story here.

 

2. Jordan McDaniel, the 1,000th Salesforce Architect

Many successful women choose their path because they’ve been inspired by other women. When Jordan first started learning Salesforce, she badly needed support and inspiration. Not knowing where she could find it, she signed up to attend a local Dallas-Fort Worth Women in Tech meeting. Determined but intimidated, she showed up to find a host of inspiring women she could learn from. “Not only were these women brilliant, but they were beautiful and funny (and they even picked up the bar tab),” she recalls. Read more about how cultivating an all-women support group has helped Jordan be successful with Salesforce, plus she shares her advice for others on a similar journey.

 

3. Tanya Lushchuk, Paving the Way for Women in Ukraine

Working towards gender equality in the workplace is not unique to the U.S. It’s an important issue across our globe. And wherever change is taking place, you can bet a Trailblazer is behind it. Tanya is one of those Trailblazers who, after facing gender discrimination in her career, decided to actively help more Ukrainian women enter the tech industry. She founded her own consulting firm to promote this change and started a #womenintech initiative on Twitter to provide support. Read her story here. 

 

4. Gemma Emmett, Finding the Courage to Bring Your Whole Self to Work

Strong woman leaders don’t only exist in the public eye. Sometimes a woman’s strength is more about being confident in herself. After battling and surviving breast cancer at the age of 29, Gemma found a welcome distraction in Salesforce, eventually becoming both Application- and System Architect-certified, as well as the founder of the Ladies Be Architects community group. But it wasn’t until she started working with a private healthcare insurance company that her professional and personal lives collided. Digging into her inner strength, Gemma found the courage to tell her client about her experience with cancer, and was blown away by how it impacted the course of the project. Read her story on how she discovered the importance of bringing your whole self to work.

 

5. Jessica Murphy, Helping Others by Bringing People Together

Being a Trailblazer is about helping others and making the world a better place. As a self-proclaimed “Admineveloper,” Jessica has done just that throughout her Salesforce career. As someone who entered tech after struggling to find a job in education, she understood what it was like to learn how to code from the ground up. To make the experience easier on others, she’s co-founded not one, but three community groups (Women Who Dev, Phoenix Salesforce Saturday, and SaaSie Tech Social). Read more about how Jessica is helping others learn and network together.

Do you love hearing stories about women Trailblazers and want to learn more? Salesforce has recently partnered with The Mission, a veteran-led new media company, on a new podcast called, "The Story." Launching March 12, Season One celebrates Women’s History Month by featuring the relatively unknown stories of 12 women who’ve changed the world. Learn more here.