Article Title: Women execs fight the silicon ceiling

Excerpt: Because after years of talking about female CEOs in tech, there still aren't many. Quick. Name 10. Meg Whitman doesn't count anymore. Neither does Carly Fiorina. It's a depressing topic made more depressing by the turnout for the panel discussion at the Red Herring North America conference in San Jose. About 10 people showed up — seven women and three guys — to hear the three panelists.

Excerpt: Herscher has been working in or running technology companies for more than 25 years, so she knows what it's like to be the odd woman out. Yes, she has war stories. So do Miriam Tuerk, CEO of Infobright, a Canadian analytic software company; and Leila Boujnane, CEO of Idee, a Canadian company selling image search tools. And they shared their stories at the conference. There was the time years ago when Herscher and her male chief operating officer sat down with a team of journalists. The editor there asked a question. Herscher answered. He asked another. Herscher answered. "No. No. Stop," the reporter finally said. "I don't think you understand. We're here to talk to the executives."

Excerpt: But Herscher sees reasons for optimism. While women's low enrollment in tech fields is worrisome, Herscher says, female CEOs do not have to come from a company's tech ranks. And more important, she says, the atmosphere and attitudes in Silicon Valley companies are far different from when she started out. Women now are more readily accepted as equals, more quickly seen as executive material. "It's getting better," Herscher says, "but we're not done."