Partly this is a problem of prominence, partly a problem of support. Yet, as Don Dodge points out, there are plenty of outstanding women leaders for us to follow as role models. Here is a list of smart women leaders on Twitter. Where possible I have added their blogs.

Go beyond the obvious, read their tweets, see what they are thinking about. Read their websites and take a look at the topics, the challenges and the opportunities  that face us all.

Twitter	Blog
@Sarahcuda	Blog	Sarah Lacy, author of several books and writer for Techcrunch
@MarissaMayer		VP of products at Google
@Padmasree		Padmasree Warrior, CTO at Cisco
@Caro		Caroline McCarthy – writer at Cnet
@JolieOdell	Blog	Jolie O’Dell, writer at Mashable
@GinaTrapani	Blog	LifeHacker , blogger, techwriter
@Missusp	Blog	Christine Perkett, Boston based PerkettPR agency
@Mollydotcom	Blog	Molly Holzschlag – open web, blogger, conference speaker
@Caterina	Blog	Caterina Fake, founder of Flickr and Hunch
@XeniJardin	Blog	Editor at Boing Boing, contributor to Wired Magazine
@Halley	Blog	Halley Suitt, exec at Communispace
@ShiraLazar	Blog	CBSnews, Media personality, always at tech conferences
@Alexia	Blog	Alexia Tsotsis – writer at Techcrunch
@Jhurwitz	Blog	Judith Hurwitz, Consulting Group – digging into the world of software
@ElizaBrooks	Blog	Elizabeth Brooks, formerly VP of marketing at Napster
@Sarah_Ross		Head of Digital at Katalyst Films, formerly at Yahoo
@GigaStacey	Blog	Stacey Higginbotham – writer at GigaOm
@Zephoria	Blog	danah boyd – researcher, writer, Microsoft
@InaFried		writer at Cnet
@Edyson		Esther Dyson, conference organizer, Angel Investor
@Megan		Megan McCarthy – TechMeme and MediaGazer
@AriannaHuff		Arianna Huffington, Huffington Post
@Kabster728		Katie Boehret, writer at Wall Street Journal
@CharleneLi	Blog	Charlene Li, founder of Altimeter Group
@JessiWrites		Jessi Hempel, formerly at BusinessWeek, now at Fortune
@Cshipley	Blog	Chris Shipley, longtime at DEMO, founder of Guidewire Group
@Pistachio	Blog	Laura Fitton, founder of oneforty.com
@MaryjoFoley		Writer for ZDnet, follows Microsoft
@Christine	Blog	Christine Herron – First Round Capital
@KaraSwisher	Blog	Writer and provocateur at BoomTown and All Things D

Nina Nets it Out: These days you don’t need to look far to find the great thinking, analysis and approaches of women leaders. Here is a list of great blogs to read and interesting Twitter conversations to follow.

As with most conferences, it is not always about the mainstage. For example, SAP ran a Women’s Executive Leadership Breakfast event where attendees were treated to a conversation with Jeanne Ross, the director of MIT Sloan School’s Center for Information Systems Research. Tara Degler writes that rather than leading in with a raft of presentation slides, Jeanne shared her story – leaving the audience with three important actionable insights:

1. Work smarter – It is one thing to be busy – but quite another to be “productive.” When you multiply this across your organization, the effect can be profound.
2. Empower your people – Make sure that each and every role in your business is professionalized. Provide the structure to help make your teams successful and give them the power to achieve.
3. Create the space for unlearning – Old habits die hard, so when you want to transform your business and they way that people work, remember that it takes time to unlearn.

But how do you apply this thinking to your own situation? Are you working smarter? Are you empowering yourself? Are you able to unlearn?

Take a look at this brief interview with Shari Temple from Aidmatrix where she talks about the challenges of finding a mentor. While things have changed over the last 20 years, one of the most important steps we can take is (as Art Petty says), ask for a mentor. After all, as this breakfast demonstrates, there is no dearth of women leadership talent.

Nina Nets It Out: It’s great to attend events and be inspired by those you hear and those you meet. The challenge is taking your learnings back into the office with you. If you don’t have a mentor, think about reaching out to someone you respect. It could change your career.

As Claire Cain Miller reports in the New York Times, there are clear correlations between having women on the board of a corporation and out-performing your competition:

In a study analyzing the relationship between the composition of corporate boards and financial performance, Catalyst, a research organization on women and business, found a greater return on investment, equity and sales in IT companies that have directors who are women.

But this issue is not so simply solved. It is not a question of talent – for there are certainly many gifted and driven women entrepreneurs. The problem is supply.

From my own experience, for every job that I advertise, the number of women applying seems to fall. So while the skill base of women continues to grow – capturing around 60% of associate, bachelor and masters degrees, these numbers don’t translate to a ready pool of women business leaders. Certainly not in contrast to the numbers of men.

It can’t be just me noticing this.

I have a feeling that the problem is not one of capability – but one of visibility. We need to trumpet our successes. We need to showcase our expertise. And perhaps, most importantly, we need to encourage others to do the same.

Nina Nets It Out: When it comes to women leaders, we need to feed both ends of the funnel. We need to increase the size of the pool and we need to showcase those who are achieving success. Please share your successes in the comments below.

Founder and CEO of Skire, a construction and software business, Massy has shown the tenacity, imagination and passion to make her business successful. Along the way she has helped build and nurture the careers of dozens of her employees and become an integral part of the way that many Fortune 1000 companies manage their large scale construction projects.

Like Ada, Massy’s mathematical skills opened the door way to opportunity. She moved to Canada from Iran at age 18 to study at McGill University. From there she went to UC Berkeley to attend graduate school. But it’s not just her background or her experience that makes Massy inspirational. It’s her passion.

I have been fortunate to have met with Massy on a number of occasions and met her for lunch recently. When she speaks of her life and her experience – of the way that she focuses on people, their expertise and their abilities – it is clear that she not only inspires trust but also confidence. She drives business from what could be called a “people-centric” view. She restlessly seeks innovative ways of working with her teams and her clients – and empowers them to deliver.

It seems to me that on a day honoring women in technology and science, that it is only befitting that Massy Mehdipour’s name be counted among the greatest and most inspiring women leaders in technology today.

Nina Nets It Out: Massy Mehdipour is a remarkable woman and a worthy addition to a growing list of women technology leaders. Who would you add to this impressive list on Ada Lovelace Day?

But if we have learned anything from the last century, it is this – that change is possible. As Ann Veneman, UNICEF Executive Director points out:

Education is one key to better lives for girls, their families and their communities. Expert studies estimate that every extra year a girl spends in secondary education lifts her income by more than 15 per cent. Better educated girls have better employment and health prospects and, as they grow to womanhood, they pass these benefits to their children.

I have been a strong believer in the power of education for years. As a member of the board of Reading Partners, I see the benefits first hand. I see the benefits in my community, and as a business woman, in the intelligent, educated young women who are starting their careers. But most of all, I see the benefits that education brings these young girls and their families.

At Reading Partners, we see (on average) students jump an entire grade level in reading skills after only 30 hours of tutoring. The impact of this is immediate and lasting. It changes the students perspectives of themselves, and it changes that way that they relate to the world, their families and communities. It opens the door of opportunity, and it sets in train, a process of ongoing learning which benefits future generations (with mothers teaching and supporting the education of their children).

Programs like these exist all over the world. And somewhere, there is a young girl in need of a better education. She may be living in your neighborhood, or in a country on the other side of the planet. But if you can only do one thing this International Women’s Day – find a way to support a young girl’s education. The world will be a better place for it.

But rather than waiting for the structural impact of women’s workforce participation to take effect at senior levels, women are, instead, taking matters into their own hands. Support networks and groups are being formed such as Women 2.0, Young Women Social Entrepreneurs and the Blogher network – complete with mentoring opportunities, professional networking events and conferences – and all this effort is now beginning to bear fruit.

Research by Cindy Padnos, managing director of Illuminate Ventures, indicates that the performance of women in the enterprise – especially in startup businesses – has significant benefits. Not only are the high-tech companies that  women build more capital-efficient than the norm (with higher revenues and less committed capital), there are fewer failures:

As the global economy regenerates, new business models are needed to stimulate economic and job growth. Investors seeking to reinvigorate bottom-line performance and to favorably impact the entrepreneurial strength of our economy would be wise to support strategies that enable high-tech start-ups that are inclusive of women entrepreneurs.

But what it the opportunity for leaders? First, we need to acknowledge that we are not facing a recession – but a reset (as John Hope Bryant suggests). Next we need to look to those women in our management ranks who are already leaders in their fields. We need to support them and mentor them in the way that the grass roots social networks are doing. And we need to actively plan for their success and succession.

Nina Nets It Out: The statistics are starting to tell the tale – but despite clear economic and professional benefit, there is still a dearth of senior roles available for women. Smart business leaders will proactively support the transition of women leaders into more senior roles – and those that do will reap the rewards.

Just a generation ago, women were largely confined to repetitive, menial jobs. They were routinely subjected to casual sexism and were expected to abandon their careers when they married and had children. Today they are running some of the organisations that once treated them as second-class citizens.

However, the number of women who are actually running or leading these organizations are few and far between. Despite a resounding correlation between business performance and the number of women holding management and leadership positions, women remain substantially under-represented in such roles – with only 2% of the top jobs in the US and 5% in the UK being filled by women.

Orit Gadiesh and Julie Coffman wonder if there is something more systemic to this situation and are running a survey to investigate. You can participate in this survey here – with the results being presented at this year’s World Economic Forum at the end of January 2010.

Nina Nets It Out: In a time where expertise and experience is prized – where talent is scarce and will continue to be so, organizations with a pool of talented women will likely outperform their competitors. It’s time that we understand and begin to grow this vital two percent.

With more and more men forced to stay home, more and more women are bringing home the bacon. Women are more likely than ever to head their own families. They’re doing it all—and many of them have to do it all. When they work, it’s no longer just for “the little extras.” Their income puts food on the table and a roof over their heads, just like men’s income always did.

Even a quick glance at the Shriver Report signals the widespread changes that have occurred in just a generation. Between 1975 and 2008, the “traditional” family structure (a working husband only) has more than halved, from 52% to 21%. This has impacted families and women in particular in a myriad of ways – generating political, policy and organizational challenges around flexible working hours, child care, opportunity, equal pay and family care. At the same time, it is clear that women are reaping the benefits of education – women now receive 62% of college associate’s degrees, 57% of bachelor’s degrees, 60% of all masters degrees, half of all professional degrees and just under 50% of all PhDs – a stunning turnaround since 1970, especially at the upper end where women received fewer than 10% of professional and doctoral degrees.

Yet despite these indicators, and despite the fact that we have women in the high ranking public positions of Secretary of State and Speaker of the House, it seems that appearances are, in fact, deceiving. In her New York Times article, The Mismeasure of Women, Joanne Lipman suggests, “… Somewhere along the line, especially in recent years, progress for women has stalled. And attitudes have taken a giant leap backward.”

Rather than focusing only on the statistics – on the numbers, the gains, the incremental improvements, we need to look, as Joanne Lipman suggests, to changes in perception, alterations in behavior and how this creates the conditions for a change in the way this nation thinks of, and engages, its women citizenry. We need to take the same approach within our organizations – looking at what Jo Miller calls the “shadow organization” – the networks of relationships that hold and carry influence, and create action across the enterprise regardless of hierarchy – and actively put in place plans to promote our achievements and influence the way that they are perceived and even valued.

For sure, we have made progress, but better jobs, more pay and greater opportunity is one thing. Respect is another. Our challenge as leaders is to shift the conversation around the topic of women. After all, if you want profits, you have to smash the glass ceiling. It’s time to put the numbers to work – our numbers, the numbers that lie behind Maria Shriver’s report – and we’ll all be better off for it.

Nina Nets It Out: Women have made significant gains in the last 30-40 years. But for all the statistics, there are still inequalities – cultural inequalities which threaten to undo the good work of a generation. Leaders, as the custodians of organizational culture, have an important part to play in transforming both the perception and reality of women in business.

Both Lynda Gratton of London Business School and Rosabeth Moss Kanter edge up a place in the rankings, and Tammy Erickson and Barbara Kellerman enter the list for the first time.

But surely there are more women out there that you admire. I know there are some impressive women on my personal admiration list. What’s yours? Who would you add – and why?

Nina Nets It Out: Last year I hoped to see more women on the Top 50 Thinkers list. I got my wish – but only just. Who else would you add? Let me know – and remember you can also VOTE for your favorite Top 50 Thinker (or add a new name to the list for next year).

I strongly encourage readers to click over and to explore not just the set of questions that arose from the office politics webinar, but to delve further into the Women’s Leadership Coaching site.  The webinar series is an excellent way to hear from various industry professionals on topics that are very relevant to those in the workforce.

And in case you missed my discussion with Jo, you can find it here.