The Role of Women in Programming

What Would Happen If The AI Industry Overlooks Women's Contributions? "A recent New York Times article released a list of people 'behind the dawn of the modern artificial intelligence movement' – and not a single woman was named. It came less than a week after news of a fake auto-generated woman being listed as a speaker on the agenda for a software conference. Unfortunately, the omission of women from the history of STEM isn’t a new phenomenon. Women have been missing from these narratives for centuries. In the wake of recent AI developments, we now have a choice: are we going to leave women out of these conversations as well – even as they continue to make massive contributions to the AI industry? Doing so risks leading us into the same fallacy that established computing itself as a 'man’s world'. The reality, of course, is quite different. A More Accurate History: Prior to computers as we know them, 'computer' was the title given to people who performed complex mathematical calculations. These people were commonly women. English mathematician Ada Lovelace (1815–1852) is often referred to as the first computer programmer. She was the first person to realize computers could do much more than just math calculations. Her work on the analytical engine – a proposed automatic and fully programmable mechanical computer – dates back to the mid-1800s. By the 1870s, a group of about 80 women worked as computers at the Harvard Observatory. They catalogued and analyzed copious amounts of astronomic data for astronomer Edward Charles Pickering (who exploited the fact they’d work for less money than men, or even as volunteers). By the late 19th century, increased access to education meant there was an entire generation of women trained in maths. These woman computers were cheaper labour than men at the time, and so employing them significantly reduced the costs of computation. During the first world war, women were hired to calculate artillery trajectories. This work continued into the Second World War, when they were actively encouraged to take on wartime jobs as computers in the absence of men. Women continued to work as computers into the early days of the American space program in the 1960s, playing a pivotal role in advancing NASA’s space projects. One of these computers was Katherine Johnson, who was responsible for quality-checking the outputs of early IBM computers for an orbital mission in 1962." #WomenInSTEM #GirlsInSTEM #STEMGems #GiveGirlsRoleModels https://lnkd.in/eDkSmjdG

Programming was first introduced to me in my undergrad at an all-women's college. I loved solving logical problems, but I quickly realized I wasn't going to be the best coder in the room. That distinction belonged to my friend Shaama. She lived in the computer lab, coding with such passion that even the stern "Mother Superior" called her parents to praise her exceptional skills - a rare occurrence usually reserved for troublemakers!. Yet at home, Shama faced resistance. "Why computer science?" her family questioned her decision. All she could say was, "Why not?" What she lacked were visible role models—women who had blazed the trail before her. Throughout history, brilliant women worked in the shadows, tackling work men often avoided. 𝗔𝗱𝗮 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗺 in the 1840s, envisioning computing capabilities most couldn't grasp. During WWII, 𝗝𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗝𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝗶𝗹𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀—work dismissed as less important than hardware, their contributions unrecognized for decades. 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗿, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 "𝗤𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲," 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 by creating the first compiler that made programming languages universally accessible. 𝗥𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿 "𝗠𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘁"—though she humbly rejects it, noting the internet wasn't invented by any single person. Her pioneering network algorithms nonetheless became crucial building blocks for how we connect online today. 𝗛𝗲𝗱𝘆 𝗟𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆. Known as a glamorous film star, she secretly invented frequency-hopping technology to prevent Nazi jamming of torpedo signals—foundational to WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS we use daily. The military initially dismissed her work before classifying it as too valuable to implement. 𝗘𝗺𝗺𝘆 𝗡𝗼𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 upended mathematics despite being barred from faculty positions because of her gender. Einstein called her "the most significant creative mathematical genius" of her time, yet she lectured under male colleagues' names. These women didn't merely participate in technological revolution—they drove it forward against systems designed to exclude them. Today, women like 𝗔𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗮 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗴 and "Godmother of AI" 𝗙𝗲𝗶-𝗙𝗲𝗶 𝗟𝗶 continue shaping technology—fighting algorithmic bias and championing human-centric technology. This Women's History Month, let us reclaim this narrative. When we understand that women have always been at computing's cutting edge, we see clearly that technology advances fastest and humanity moves forward when diverse minds contribute. Tag women in tech that inspire you! #womenshistorymonth #womenintech #techpioneers #hiddenfigures

In 1946, the U.S. military unveiled a 30-ton machine called ENIAC to the press. In one of the famous photos from that day, a woman stood beside it adjusting cables and switches. Reporters assumed she was a model hired to make the computer look futuristic. She was Betty Snyder (later Holberton), and she helped invent modern programming before "software engineer" was a profession anyone recognized. During World War II, the Army was drowning in artillery calculations. A single trajectory could take 40 hours of hand math, and they needed thousands. So they recruited women with math backgrounds across Philadelphia to work as human "computers," solving equations in rooms full of mechanical calculators. Then came ENIAC. The hardware was extraordinary: 18,000 vacuum tubes, thousands of switches, a power draw that dimmed neighborhood lights, enough heat to turn the basement into an oven. But once the engineers finished it, they hit a problem no one had solved. How do you tell a computer what to do? No operating system. No language. No keyboard. No manuals. That challenge was handed to six women: Betty Snyder, Jean Jennings, Kay McNulty, Marlyn Wescoff, Ruth Lichterman, and Frances Bilas. They studied wiring diagrams, mapped logic by hand, rerouted cables, flipped switches, replaced dead tubes, and figured out how to make a machine execute a sequence of instructions. They were wiring software into hardware and inventing the discipline as they went. As someone who spent 15 years writing code before moving into media I love this story. I debugged systems at 2 AM, wrestled with infrastructure, tried to make machines behave logically. It is humbling to realize my whole career, and the entire modern software industry, rests on pioneers like Betty who had to invent the concepts I took for granted on day one. One detail I love. Before the unveiling, Betty realized reporters would never grasp invisible calculations happening inside vacuum tubes. So she and a colleague bought ping-pong balls, cut them in half, and placed them over the neon indicator lights. When ENIAC ran, the lights flashed dramatically across the panels. The press was mesmerized, and the "electronic brain" became front-page news the next morning. After the demonstration, the Army held a formal dinner for the engineers and officers. The six women who programmed the machine were not invited. For decades, historians looking at the old photos assumed the women beside ENIAC were models posing for the cameras. It took nearly 50 years for most of them to receive any meaningful recognition. Today, software engineering is one of the most influential professions on earth. AI, cloud, cybersecurity, every modern digital experience traces back to foundational work like this. Betty Snyder Holberton did not just stand next to the first computer. She taught it how to think.

They told her computers would never understand English. In the 1940s, programming meant punching holes into cards and writing raw numerical code. 1s. 0s. Endless strings of symbols. If you were not a trained mathematician, you were locked out. Grace Hopper refused to accept that. While working on the Harvard Mark I and later at Remington Rand, she proposed something radical. What if computers could translate words? What if humans did not have to think like machines? Her colleagues dismissed the idea. They believed computers were built for numbers, not language. They said it was impossible. She built it anyway. In 1952, she helped create one of the first compilers, a program that translated human readable instructions into machine code. It changed everything. Instead of writing pure mathematics, programmers could write commands closer to plain English. Her work directly led to COBOL, one of the first major business programming languages. Governments adopted it. Corporations adopted it. Entire financial systems were built on it. Computers stopped being laboratory machines. They became tools. She also popularized the term “debugging” after a moth was found inside a relay in 1947. But that story is small compared to what she truly did. She altered the relationship between humans and technology. Every modern programming language. Every app. Every website. Every digital system. Exists because one woman refused to accept that machines should only speak numbers. She did not make computers smarter. She made them understandable. #GraceHopper #WomenInTech #STEM

Women’s contributions to tech are often overlooked. Case in point: We call it “software engineering” because of Margaret Hamilton. She coined the term while leading NASA’s software team for Apollo 11, arguing that software should be engineered with the same precision and discipline as hardware. And she proved it. Minutes before the Lunar Module was set to land on the moon in 1969, alarms started flashing on board. The guidance computer was overloaded. Most missions would have aborted. But Hamilton’s design was built for this. Her software was smart enough to know when to ignore non-essential tasks and prioritize critical ones: to keep the mission on track. That’s fault-tolerant computing at its finest. Her work shaped asynchronous programming, modular architecture, and error recovery. These are concepts that power AI, cloud, and distributed systems today. Another inspiring thing about Hamilton? She was a self-driven learner in a time when no formal training for “software engineering” exists. She learned by building. That’s how great engineers should grow: by experimenting, learning, and iterating. On International Women’s Day, let’s celebrate the pioneers who shaped tech, and the women pushing it forward today. Who’s a woman in tech that inspires you? Tag them here so we can give them the recognition they deserve. #SoftwareEngineering #MargaretHamilton #WomensHistoryMonth #InternationalWomensDay

This IWD, my feed is filled with women in STEM. While sharing a few stories with my daughter, I noticed a pattern- they did more than just make things work .. Let’s start with our favorite: Dr. Margaret Hamilton led the software engineering for Apollo 11. Minutes before landing, a computer overload error threatened the mission, but her fail-safe system prioritized critical tasks, ensuring a safe touchdown. She may be known for coining software engineering, but for me, at a time with no GitHub, Stack Overflow, or Copilots, she and her team wrote the code that put man on the moon—all by hand. Including the error-handling code that averted disaster. Two years ago, I had the privilege of attending an in-person talk by Dr. Fei-Fei Li. When she pioneered ImageNet, she didn’t just build an AI dataset—she built it with diversity in mind. She knew AI could inherit human biases, so she pushed for broader, more representative data to prevent biased AI. Grace Hopper made debugging a core practice after finding a literal bug inside a computer, proving that software needs built-in error detection. Marie Curie recognized the dangers of radiation before anyone else and designed safety protocols and portable X-ray units, protecting soldiers and medical staff. The common thread? These women didn’t just solve problems—they built fail-safe systems that protected against failure before it happened. That’s the kind of thinking the world needs today: Not just problem solvers but system thinkers. Not just fixing what’s broken, but asking “What could go wrong?”—and designing solutions to prevent disaster before it strikes. ✨ Especially in #AI #GenerativeAI #IWD2025

Just remember: we landed a man on the moon because of a woman. The Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969 remains one of humanity’s most extraordinary achievements, and at its core was Margaret Hamilton, a trailblazing software engineer. As the director of the Software Engineering Division of MIT Instrumentation Laboratory, Hamilton and her team developed the onboard flight software crucial for guiding the lunar module safely. At a time when computer technology was still in its infancy, the task was monumental. The Apollo Guidance Computer had only 72 kilobytes of memory, a stark contrast to the vast storage capacities of modern devices. Hamilton’s dedication to precision was vital in an era when programming was done with punch cards fed into room-sized computers. Her team’s work on error detection and recovery became lifesaving during the mission. Just moments before the lunar module’s descent, alarms went off, signaling an overload in the computer. Thanks to Hamilton’s foresight in designing resilient software, the system prioritized critical tasks, allowing Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to land on the moon. This moment highlighted the importance of her pioneering contributions to software engineering, a term she helped coin. Reflecting on the success of the mission, Hamilton recalled the overwhelming realization of their achievement. At just 32 years old, she had not only cemented her place in history but also laid the foundation for modern software engineering practices. Her work has inspired generations, demonstrating the power of innovation, perseverance, and collaboration. Today, Margaret Hamilton is celebrated as a symbol of ingenuity and determination, reminding us of the critical role of women in STEM fields.

🚨 We’re not just losing women in tech — we’re losing innovation, and future leadership. BILLIONS of £££s. Thanks to my friend Rav Bumbra for highlighting The Lovelace Report —— which launched at the House of Commons by WeAreTechWomen and Oliver Wyman. 💡 Key insights from the report: • 40,000–60,000 women exit UK tech roles every year • 80% of women in tech are currently considering leaving • 90% want to lead, yet only 1 in 4 believe it’s achievable • Over 70% hold additional qualifications, yet only 14% feel they’re progressing • Replacement and retraining alone costs another £1.4–2.2 billion As someone who has dedicated years to making cybersecurity more inclusive, this report lands with weight — but also with clarity. It’s not women who need fixing. It’s the system. This isn’t a pipeline problem. It’s a systemic failure to retain and progress women in tech — which is costing the UK £2–3.5 billion a year. That number is staggering, but it represents more than financial loss — it reflects lost innovation, stalled careers, and cultures that aren’t serving the people they claim to include. The Lovelace Report lays out a clear and urgent blueprint for change. We must: ✅ Redesign career frameworks to be inclusive by default ✅ Tackle structural barriers to progression ✅ Build cultures where women thrive — not just survive 🔗 Read and share the report: https://lnkd.in/es-235TF Let’s ensure our daughters — and every woman entering tech today — finds not just opportunity, but longevity, leadership, and equity. 📢 Please pass this on to your teams, tech leaders, and HR partners. Progress only happens when we act together. #WomenInTech #TheLovelaceReport #InclusiveLeadership #TechForGood #Cybersecurity #RetentionCrisis #EquityInTech #INSecurityMovement #JaneFrankland

The latest research from The Wharton School about women in tech careers confirms what many of us in the field already know: early rejection in STEM roles disproportionately drives women out of tech, not because of a lack of talent, but due to the absence of support, inclusion, and visible opportunity. Why should businesses care? * Workforce development: The tech talent gap is real, and it's widening. Supporting women through career transitions and mid-level advancement is no longer optional. It’s essential to keep projects moving and teams competitive. * Higher performance & innovation: Research consistently shows that companies with greater gender diversity report higher revenue, profitability, and innovation outcomes. * Retention = ROI: Losing qualified women early in their careers means restarting recruitment, retraining, and onboarding repeatedly. Retaining and developing existing talent is far more efficient and cost-effective. At Women in Technology (WIT), we have a strategic focus on data-driven programming that not only supports women from the classroom to the boardroom but also helps businesses future-proof their talent pipelines and drive long-term performance. We believe that bringing women into tech is just the start! The key to unlocking exceptional performance and lasting growth for companies lies in retaining and nurturing these talented professionals. #WomenInTechnology #RetentionMatters #CommunitiesofInnovation #TechTalentPipeline