Today, March 8 is International Women’s Day, and the month of March is celebrated as Women’s history month. What does that mean to you? What an opportunity to think about the contributions of women around the world as well as the challenges they face. Lots of women have influenced our lives in many ways. It is obvious that without women, the world of information technology, as well as information security, would not exist. A big thanks to organizations that are challenging the biases and gender inequalities affecting women in information technology as well as other areas.
I would like to mention a few of the women who have influenced information technology and laid the foundation on which many of the technological advancements are built today.
Ada Lovelace: The first programmer
Ada was born in London and lived between 1815 and 1852. She became an English mathematician as well as writer because her Mother, who homeschooled her; insisted that Ada should be taught science and mathematics.
It documented that Ada is the first programmer that ever lived. She wrote notes explaining how a specific engine could transition calculation to computation. The second Tuesday in October is known as Ada Lovelace Day to celebrate the achievements of women in STEM careers.
A woman who designed the very first compiler: Grace Hopper.
She was born in New Your city and lived between 1906 and 1992. Grace attended Yale University, receiving a PhD in mathematics and in 1943, she joined the Naval Reserve, retiring in 1966. It was during her service as a Naval Reserve that Grace joined the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corp in 1949, where she designed a compiler which translated programmer’s instructions into computer codes. In 1957, Grace’s division developed the first English language data processing complier.
A woman developed and implemented codes which led to the development of the battery used in hybrid cars: Annie Easley.
She was an African American woman who was born in Birmingham, Alabama and lived between 1933 and 2011. She attended Xavier University where she majored in pharmacy for about 2 years. Shortly after graduating from University, she met her husband and they moved to Cleveland. There was however no pharmaceutical school nearby, so Annie applied for a job at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), and she was one of four African Americans who worked there. At this role, she developed and also implemented codes which led to the development of the battery used in hybrid cars. Annie has encouraged a lot of women and people of color to study and enter STEM fields.
A woman helped in the development of the first personal computer: Mary Wilkes
She was born in 1937 in Chicago Illinois, and she graduated from Wellesley College in 1959 with a degree in philosophy.
Mary was involved in programming computers such as the IBM 709 and IBM 704. In 1961 Mary joined the digital computer group and contributed to the LINC development of TX-2. She designed and wrote the operators manual for the final console design of TX- 2 and she is known for helping in the development of the first personal computer and also known as the first person to have a PC in her home.
She inspired Steve Jobs’ creation of the first Apple computer:
Adele Goldberg
She was born in 1973 in Ohio and received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Michigan and a PhD in information science from the University of Chicago in 1973.
In the 1970s, Adele was a researcher at the Xero Palo Alto Research Centre (PARC) and was the only women among the group of men who built the Smalltak-80. She presented the Smalltalk system to Steve Jobs who implemented many ideas into the Apple products. As a result, Adele Goldberg is known as one of the famous women in technology who inspired Steve Jobs creation of the first Apple computer. The Apple desktop environment may not look the way it does today, without Adele’s work.
A roman catholic sister and advocate for women in computer science:
Mary Keller
She lived between 1913 and 1985. Mary was an American roman catholic sister. In 1958 she started at the National Science Foundation workshop in the computer science department at Dartmouth College which at the time was an all-male school. After teaming up with 2 other scientists, they develop the BASIC computer programming language. In 1965, Mary earned her PhD in computer science from the University of Michigan. She later developed a computer science department in a catholic college for women called Clarke College. For 20 years she chaired the department where she was an advocate for women in computer science and supported working mothers by encouraging them to bring their babies to class with them. She is known as one of the famous women in technology for being the first woman to receive a PhD in computer science at Clarke University (Clarke College).
These are just a few of the women that have helped shaped the world of information technology over the years and there are still many more. Their contributions and the contributions of many women around the world should encourage every one of us to keep on challenging the biases and gender inequalities affecting women in information technology as well as other areas of life. If you are a woman subjected to some form of biases or gender inequality, please be encouraged by the great work of the women who have helped shape our world and keep your head up because you have a lot to offer our world; You bring both beauty and brains to our world.
Happy international Women’s day and a lovely women’s history month.
Bio source:
www.womenintech.co.uk
en.wikipedia.org