It's a common notion that technology is a field dominated by men, but the truth is that technology and programming are not bound by gender—they're for everyone. A quick look online reveals countless women who have made remarkable contributions to the field of technology.
Here are some inspiring women who have made it big in tech:
1) Ada Lovelace (1815 – 1852)
Ada Lovelace, born in 1815 in London, is considered a pioneer of programming. She is best known for her work interpreting Charles Babbage's analytical engine, a foundational concept in the evolution of computers. The Ada programming language was named in her honor.
2) Grace Hopper (1906 – 1992)
Grace Hopper was a trailblazing computer scientist and US Navy officer. She developed the first compiler for a programming language and played a key role in creating COBOL, one of the first high-level programming languages.
3) The ENIAC Programmers
Six women—Kathleen McNulty, Jean Jennings, Frances Snyder, Marlyn Meltzer, Frances Spence, and Ruth Teitelbaum—were the first programmers of the fully electronic ENIAC computer. Despite their groundbreaking work, they initially received little credit.
4) Edith Clarke (1883 – 1959)
The first female electrical engineer and professor of electrical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. She developed the Clarke calculator, which solved complex equations involving hyperbolic functions significantly faster than previous methods.
5) Evelyn Boyd Granville (1924 – )
One of the first African-American women to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics. She contributed to NASA’s space missions by computing rocket trajectories and orbit paths, later becoming a dedicated educator and advocate for women in tech.
6) Sister Mary Kenneth Keller (1913 – 1985)
Among the first Americans to receive a Ph.D. in computer science. She worked on the BASIC programming language and helped found the computer science department at Clarke College to promote accessible tech education.
7) Carol Shaw (1955 – )
Regarded as the first female video game designer. She created popular games like River Raid and 3-D Tic-Tac-Toe for Atari Inc., shaping the early days of video gaming.
8) Janese Swanson (1958 – )
Founder of Girl Tech, a company that aims to make technology more accessible and appealing to girls. She started her career in tech sales, later earning advanced degrees before launching Girl Tech to support girls in STEM.
9) Radia Perlman (1958 – )
Known as the "Mother of the Internet," Radia invented the Spanning-Tree Protocol (STP), a critical part of network infrastructure. She holds over 100 patents and made significant contributions to routing and network protocols.
10) Parisa Tabriz (1983 – )
Known as Google's "Security Princess," Parisa leads global security for Google Chrome. Inspired by her own website being hacked in college, she now works on cybersecurity, advocating for safer, privacy-respecting internet technologies.
“There is no demand for women engineers, as such, as there are for women doctors; but there is always a demand for anyone who can do a good piece of work.” – Edith Clarke
These remarkable women show that determination, intelligence, and innovation transcend gender. Their stories continue to inspire a new generation of engineers, coders, and creators.