Former YouTube CEO, Susan Wojcicki Dies at 56, One of the Most Influential Woman In Silicon Valley
The Mother of Five Stressed the Importance of Work-Life Balance
Susan Wojcicki, former You Tube CEO, has died after a two year battle with lung cancer according to her husband, Dennis Troper. In a Facebook post, Troper shared, "It is with profound sadness that I share the news of Susan Wojcicki passing. My beloved wife of 26 years and mother to our five children left us today after 2 years of living with non-small cell lung cancer."
Wojcicki was one of the most influential females in Silicon Valley and a staunch advocate for many causes including the expansion of paid family leave. She emphasized the importance of finding a work life balance in a 2013 MAKERS interview, saying "It is important to be able to have that balance in your life. And for me I've been able to accomplish that by saying I'm not doing email from 6-9 and I'm with my family during that time."
Wojcicki fought for gender equality in the workplace and getting young girls and women interested in STEM.
In a blog post on Google, CEO Sundar Pichai wrote: "Susan was also deeply passionate about education. She realized early on that YouTube could be a learning platform for the world and championed "edutubers" — especially those who extended the reach of STEM education to underserved communities."
Despite challenges, Wojciki believed Silicon Valley offered ample opportunity for women.
"If you have a great idea and everybody is coming to your website it does not matter where you are from you could be an alien from the moon and the VC's will still invest in your company because you'll have a great idea," said Wojciki. "There are so many opportunities. I wish that more women would come into tech and see those opportunities."
