Women in Technology Women have played a major role in computing for centuries as well as men. The purpose of this paper is to gain knowledge on women involved in technology who for some reason do not gain as much recognition as do men. There are numerous women within this field worth talking about, but the ones chosen were Ada Byron, Grace Hopper, Evelyn Granville, and Krisztina Holly. The history of each individual will be discussed as well as what form of influence they had in computers. Introduction The revolution of computers had begun centuries ago. It has been the work of many over the course of years to bring computers where they are today. For quite some time it entailed people with bright imaginations to come up with technological inventions. These inventions were then taken and built upon to improve its functionality. Finally, computers were no longer a revolution but an evolution since the 1950’s. During the course of this time many men as well as women had influenced technology. Unfortunately, women have not received the same form of recognition as the men have in this field of study. After carefully researching women in technology, it was observed on how true this was. It was difficult to find the names of women who were influential in computing let alone their biographies. On the other hand, finding men who were involved in this field were numerous. After spending time finding a list of women who were instrumental in computing, it was then narrowed down to four women of interest. The first woman to be discussed is Ada Byron. Following her will be Grace Hopper, Evelyn Granville, and Krisztina Holly. Ada Byron, Lady Love Lace Ada Byron, also known as Lady Lovelace, was born on December 10, 1815. She was the daughter of the famous poet, Lord Byron. Shortly after Ada was born, her mother asked for a separation from Lord Byron out of fear her daughter would become a poet like her father. Because of this, she was taught to be a mathematician and scientist. Ada at the age of 19 was having dinner at her friends’ house when she first heard of Babbage’s idea to invent a new calculating engine. According to Toole, “Babbage wanted a calculating engine that could not only foresee but could act on that foresight” (2000). Ada was very intrigued by his ideas and began a friendship with Babbage shortly after. “Ada predicted that a machine l... ... middle of paper ... ... Each one of these women has had a tremendous role with computer advancement and deserves equal recognition for their accomplishments. It is up to computer science professors and major computer corporations to help get the word out on how women had a part in computer technology and still do. Maybe this will help take away many of the stereotypes and more women would have the desire to follow a career in computer technology. The time has come for major corporations to highlight noteworthy talents and insights of women, which have remained relatively unknown outside the workplace. References Danis, S. (1997). Rear admiral grace murray hopper. Retrieved February 10, 2006, from http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/Hopper.Danis.html Granville, E. (2000). My life as a mathematician, by evelyn boyd granville. Retrieved February 10, 2006, from http://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/granvill.htm MIT. (2002). Krisztina holly engineer, entrepreneur. Retrieved February 10, 2006, from http://web.mit.edu/invent/www/inventorsA-H/holly.html Toole, B. (2000). Ada byron, lady lovelace (1818-1852). Retrieved February 10, 2006, From http://www.cs.yale.edu/homes/tap/files/ada-bio.html
Valarie Thomas was born in Maryland in the month of May of 1943. When she was young, math and science was not encouraged of her, but soon she developed a fascination with the mysteries of technology. At eight years old, she borrowed a book from the library, called “The Boy’s First Book on Electronics.” Although, her father was also interested in electronics, he would not help her with any of the projects that were found in the book. For in the 1950s most parents and schools didn’t deem electronics and other scientific subjects to be a suitable career for women. Valerie attended an all-girls high school. While in high school, she decided to take accelerated math classes, she also continued to work on her technological ability as more of a curiosity.
Santoro, Gene., Top Secret Rosies: The Female Computers of WWII. 2011, Volume 25 Issue 6, p.70, Accession Number: 58110946
Grace Murray Hopper, born December 9, 1906, was a Math professor that enlisted in the United States Navy at the start of World War II. Over the time of her enlistment, Hopper developed several new programming languages, including COBOL, which is still one of the most used programming languages today. Hopper was also one of the first people to coin the term “computer bug”. Over the course of her life, Grace Hopper influenced many people through her service in the military and led a movement in modern electronics through her work.
Occupations in the field of computer science are considered to be “male” jobs. Women are increasingly less likely to enter the field than in years past. However, two of the first people that we were introduced to in our textbook as key people in the history of Computer Science are Ada Augusta and Grace Murray Hopper. The page limits of this paper do not allow the author to adequately describe all of the contributions that Grace made to Computer Science. Instead, you will be introduced to Grace Hopper and how her pioneering work on the Mark I continue to influence women and the world of computer science.
Dr. Grace Murray Hopper was known as a phenomenal computer scientist, mathematician and rear admiral in the United States Navy. She was a strong force in developing programming languages in technology. She is responsible for contributing work to the Harvard Mark I and the Univac I computer and many other components of technology in the 1940’s and 50’s era. Hopper’s skills allowed her to create the compiler for programming languages. Her ideals lead to the creation of COBOL known as common business oriented language. Hopper’s excellent skills help build what is today’s source of technology all around the world. Today, Grace Hopper’s help with programming languages is what helps us to easily use computers. Many of us don’t know the work it takes into building a computer that efficiently works the minute we command it to. The hardest part about a computer is making a computer understand you and you being able to understand it back. Her contributions allow us to play our video games, send emails, and even shop all at our computer.
Lovelace and Hopper are by no means the only women who have made invaluable contributions to the field of computer science. Without Betty Holberton, who "devised the first sort-merge generator, for UNIVAC I" (AWC, "Frances..."), Grace Hopper would never have been able to design the first compiler. A more contemporary scientist, Dr. Anita Borg, has profoundly influenced the field by "designing and building a fault tolerant UNIX-based operating system" ("Short Biography of Anita Borg"), as well as developing a performance analysis method for high-speed memory systems. However, I've chosen to focus on Lovelace and Hopper because they are probably the most frequently mentioned women in computer science, and they represent two critical historical moments in the field: Lovelace helps to bring the first computer into being, while Hopper forges the start of the modern computer age.
The use of computer technology has revolutionized many parts of today’s society. Everywhere one looks there is the use of computers. In most cases, computers are extremely beneficial to many people in various occupations and even in their personal lives. In one way or another, the use of computer technology can be linked to almost every occupation in the world.
This paper analyzes the reason behind the gender gap in computer science. Although there is a low number of women in computer science and related fields, women have made some important contributions. An early contribution came from Augusta Ada Byron back in the early to mid 1800's. She is best known for her contributions to theoretical work. Her work, along with others at that time, is believed to be the foundation for modern computers. She developed the idea of loops and subroutines long before electronic computing existed. In honor of her, the Department of Defense named the high-level programming language Ada after her [11].
interpositions of computers is that their role in directing what we will see or know is so rarely noticed," (247). Throughout this paper, I will examine the advancement of inventions, work ethics, jobs, and how the compu...
Although her work was recognized during her time it was in 1953 when it gained wider recognition after being published in B.V. Bowden’s book named, Faster Than Thought: A Symposium on Digital Computing Machines. As computer science flourished in the 1950’s Ada began gaining fans. Ada has often times been called the first computer programmer. Ada was the first to write a machine algorithm for a computing machine which existed only on paper. This was a remarkable task because not only was she a women but she was a women in the 1840’s a time when women were extremely oppressed. Ada was a visionary she showed the understanding of numbers and realized they could be used to represent more than just quantities as put by her “might act upon other things besides number, were objects found whose mutual fundamental relations could be expressed by those of the abstract science of operations… Supposing, for instance, that the fundamental relations of pitched sounds in the science of harmony and of musical composition were susceptible of [mathematical] expression and adaptations, the engine might compose elaborate and scientific pieces of music of any degree of complexity or extent.”(Klein, 2015). She also realized that a machine that manipulated numbers might also be used to manipulate data represented by numbers. Not only was Ada the founder of
Grace Hopper was a pioneer and not only paved the way for modern computing but also for professional women everywhere. Women in the computer industry are a minority, however Grace Hopper never left that get in the way of her success. When Hopper began women were not even allowed to serve in the Navy but due to World War II the amount of women in the IT world began to change. Women were now running the computers and Hopper took this opportunity to not only contribute to society but also contribute as a strong and smart women figure. Her contribution for women in society have been recognized and honored to the day. Every year there is a conference held in her name called the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference. This conference since 1994, brings together both women (and now men) to address the large gender imbalance in the IT professions (Strawn and Strawn
In many cases, women’s achievements are measured according to male oriented standards. I would like to argue with a more diverse approach to this cause. If humanity is comprised of both men and women, and we are equally dependent on each other for humanity’s survival, why are men and women not viewed as equals? These old attitudes are drilled into us from birth. If boys were taught mutual respect as they grew up, gender equality becomes a natural way of life. In the same way girls would need to be taught to set high goals; that they can reach as high as humanly possible. Unfortunately, typically male values and traditions have, over time, shaped the culture in Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) fields. This has created, in many ways, a hostile learning and working environment for women. From time immemorial, women have been regarde...
Ada Lovelace was the daughter of famous poet at the time, Lord George Gordon Byron, and mother Anne Isabelle Milbanke, known as “the princess of parallelograms,” a mathematician. A few weeks after Ada Lovelace was born, her parents split. Her father left England and never returned. Women received inferior education that that of a man, but Isabelle Milbanke was more than able to give her daughter a superior education where she focused more on mathematics and science (Bellis). When Ada was 17, she was introduced to Mary Somerville, a Scottish astronomer and mathematician who’s party she heard Charles Babbage’s idea of the Analytic Engine, a new calculating engine (Toole). Charles Babbage, known as the father of computer invented the different calculators. Babbage became a mentor to Ada and helped her study advance math along with Augustus de Morgan, who was a professor at the University of London (Ada Lovelace Biography Mathematician, Computer Programmer (1815–1852)). In 1842, Charles Babbage presented in a seminar in Turin, his new developments on a new engine. Menabrea, an Italian, wrote a summary article of Babbage’s developments and published the article i...
With technology rapidly changing as fast as we blink our eyes, it is important for people to learn as much as possible about the computer world if they want to maintain a decent lifestyle because the world we live in revolving around those technologies. As McKee points out, “most jobs now require intelligence and technical skill” (1). Each year, there is something either added or modified to computers, which forces people to learn computer literacy at a steady pace. While some love computers, others despise them. When comparing people’s attitudes towards computers, statistics show a gender gap that proves most females’ attitudes are drastically different from the attitudes of males. Several studies prove that women not only lack an interest in technology, but they also chose not to enroll in computer classes. Since computers and technology play an enormous role in the world today, more technology professionals are needed. It is extremely important for more women to become knowledgeable in these areas. Swain and Harvey argue, “This technology gender gap is affecting half our population and causing it to be unprepared to contribute to the demands of a high-tech twenty-first century” (17). While this may not seem like a serious issue to some, it is an issue that will ultimately lead to a bigger problem if not handled immediately. So why are there so few women in the technology field? To answer that question, I must first find out why are there so few women in the technology and computer classes, considering that this atmosphere is the most common place where the interest for computers is born.
The computer evolution has been an amazing one. There have been astonishing achievements in the computer industry, which dates back almost 2000 years. The earliest existence of the computer dates back to the first century, but the electronic computer has only been around for over a half-century. Throughout the last 40 years computers have changed drastically. They have greatly impacted the American lifestyle. A computer can be found in nearly every business and one out of every two households (Hall, 156). Our Society relies critically on computers for almost all of their daily operations and processes. Only once in a lifetime will a new invention like the computer come about.