28/04/2022
WOW!
Today is International Day of Girls in ICT - massive shout out to all our wāhine working in tech! 💻👩⚕️ But did you know that IT was not always a male-dominated field?
In 1946, six brilliant women programmed the first all-electronic computer - part of a secret World War II project (including Marlyn Wescoff and Ruth Lichterman pictured below). Without any programming language or tools, they created a computer that could run complicated math equations in seconds. But when the computer was made public, the women were never given credit for their work (echoes of 'Hidden Figures', right?).
For decades, many women were leaders in IT. In 1984, 37% of computer science degrees were awarded to women. But, by 2011, that number had fallen dramatically to 12%. So, what happened?
According to ‘Planet Money’, programming was initially seen as tedious and, therefore, 'women's work'. But when shiny home computers became available, they were marketed exclusively as 'toys for boys’. Computer geek culture began to emerge, with gaming, movies and TV shows all marketed to men.
Gender stereotyping essentially dismantled the place of women in tech. SO THANK YOU ALL OUR WOMEN IN ICT FOR BEING ROLEMODELS TO OUR GIRLS!
For the full story, listen to the NPR podcast ‘When Women Stopped Coding': http://n.pr/1rOiDB6
