Leila Zia

Pioneering Pakistani-American tech entrepreneur who co-founded Google's philanthropy arm and championed women's digital inclusion

Leila Zia (born 1970) is a Pakistani-American computer scientist and entrepreneur who co-founded Google.org, the tech giant's charitable arm, in 2005. As a Google executive, she developed initiatives like the Global Impact Awards program that directed $230 million to social impact projects. Zia's work focuses on bridging the digital divide, particularly for women and girls in developing countries. She co-founded the Google Women Will》 initiative, which aims to bring 50 million women online by 2020 through training and access programs. Her early career at Microsoft's research division laid groundwork for cloud computing technologies. Zia also serves on the board of the Wikimedia Foundation, working to increase representation of women in open knowledge ecosystems. Her 2014 TED Talk Why We Need to Close the Global Digital Divide has over 1.2 million views. Zia's advocacy for tech equity earned her recognition as one of Fortune's 'Most Powerful Women in Tech' in 2015.