Written by: BY JAMES RISLEY

Peggy Johnson has done a lot to change the face of Microsoft in year-and-a-half she’s served as executive vice president of business development. She’s behind theacquisition of a handful of cross-platform apps that have made Outlook one of thebest mobile productivity apps around. She helped forge partnerships with Cyanogenand Dropbox and many others, in a move emblematic of the changing culture at Microsoft.

A former Qualcomm executive, she wasSatya Nadella’s first big hire as Microsoft CEO. But on Tuesday night, she wasn’t talking about Microsoft’s broader corporate strategy. Instead, she was making the case to change the tech industry to better accommodate women as consumers.

“We all have to think about the emerging markets. And you probably have given a lot of thought to the largest emerging markets, China and India,” Johnson said. “But I think what gets lost is that a bigger emerging market is, surprisingly, women. Women themselves are an emerging market. There are more and more women entering into the workforce themselves. More and more of them are making more money.”

Johnson spoke at the Hack for Her Summit, which is billed as “a Microsoft-led movement that brings together men and women of diverse backgrounds and skills” with the goal of creating “products and services that women and girls love.” The event, held at the Impact Hub in Seattle, featured speakers talking about subjects including overcoming the status quo of male-centered design with more thoughtful considerations for all buyers.

The Microsoft exec said designing for women is a smart business decision.

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