Where Are All the Women in the Chip Sector?: Catherine Thorbecke

At a massive semiconductor trade show in Tokyo last week, I watched robots shoot hoops and play table tennis and witnessed an impressive lineup of executives share their visions on everything from quantum computing to artificial intelligence.

More than 1,000 companies representing nearly every facet of the supply chain gathered to show off their latest technologies to an estimated 100,000 attendees. But as I walked over from the local train station amid a sea of men in suits, I wondered where all the women were.

It’s not unusual for the semiconductor industry, and tech sector in general, to feel like a man’s world. That’s why I ...