Venture capital, a type of private equity where funds finance small, early-stage companies that have high growth potential, has long traditionally been dominated by men. But today women are increasingly playing a major role in Silicon Valley's venture capital, and they have their own unique stories and struggles.

Perhaps the most important female venture capitalist today is Kirsten Green of Forerunner Ventures. Although she was until recently relatively unknown, the 45-year-old has been behind major investments into startups that became successful. Her firm invested in the online retailer Dollar Shave Club and the ecommerce startup Jet.com early on. Their investments paid off well after Unilever (UN  ) bought Dollar Shave Club for $1 billion and Walmart (WMT  ) bought Jet.com for $3.3 billion. As a former accountant and consultant, her time spent in venture capital is still short. The future will tell if her other picks, including apparel startup, Rockets of Awesome, and eyewear retailer, Warby Parker, will have similarly great exits.

© JD Lasica / Flickr.com

Another top venture capitalist is Mary Meeker, partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. She had placed prescient bets on startups like JD.com, Instacart, Slack, Spotify, Facebook (FB  ), Houzz, and Airbnb. She has extensive experience in finance and specializes in Internet and new technologies. A well-known and respected venture capitalist, she is considered one of the most powerful women in the world.

Another important venture capitalist is Anna Miura-Ko, cofounder and partner at Floodgate Fund. She was an early investor in the ridesharing firm Lyft and app development firm Xamarin, which Microsoft (MSFT  ) acquired. Miura-Ko has ties to Stanford University and science and engineering education. She hosts a computer science summer camp at her home.

Rebecca Lynn is another top venture capitalist. A cofounder and partner at Canvas Ventures, she was part of a team that used a new $300 million fund to invest in mentor platform Everwise, sensor maker Luminar Technologies, peer-to-peer lender LendingClub (LC  ), and digital investment manager FutureAdvisor, which was acquired by BlackRock (BLK  ). She has a strong legal background and is also an inventor with several issued patents.

© JD Lasica / Flickr.com

Some other important US venture capitalists include Jenny Lee of GGV Capital and Theresia Gouw of Aspect Ventures. Overall, venture capital remains a male-dominated field, with only 5 to 8 percent of firm partners being women. But a Columbia University study suggests that greater female participation in venture capital firms will improve returns and funding female-run startups.

Yet even in contemporary times, women sometimes face implicit barriers in finance. This month, six women working in Silicon Valley alleged that venture capitalist Justin Caldbeck of Binary Capital made unwanted and inappropriate advances. He apologized publicly and announced an indefinite leave of absence. The episode shows that women still contend with systemic challenges as they try to navigate and succeed in what was once a good old boys' club. But surely as more female venture capitalists invest intelligently, they will help create change.

The author does not hold any positions in any of the securities above.