World's First Programmer was a Woman and Software Programming was Meant to be a Woman's Job

But first, a little on why I feel the urge to write about these two uncommon facts even those in the software field are not aware of. I'm a software developer. I love challenging myself and solving problems. I look forward to the design and architecture discussions in my daily meetings. And I truly believe that with the help of technology when used rightly, we can solve the world's problems. Writing on Vocal and sharing it with the world wouldn't have been possible without a group of software developers figuring out solutions to build a scalable product. Without code, it wouldn't have been possible to put a human on the moon. Without the Python code that Katie Bouman wrote, it wouldn't have been possible to capture the first-ever image of the black hole. Yes. My heart swells with pride whenever I see women accomplishing the impossible feats in my field. Because, Gender Inequality is one of the most frequently discussed shortcomings in STEM fields. I look around in my office and I see very few women whom I look forward to having as a role-model. As the career ladder gets higher, the number of women climbing it drops significantly. So how are companies solving the problem of Gender Inequality? Through some of the below initiatives aimed at encouraging the women workforce.

Grace-Hopper Conference:

Have you heard of the admiral Grace Hopper who was also a leading computer scientist? She was one of the pioneering women programmers whose contributions are honored to this day by celebrating the women in computing. Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing is a series of conferences and is the world's largest gathering of women in computing. It happens every year in various locations across multiple countries. It's a big deal for us, women engineers. The companies for which I've worked encourage women to attend, connect and discuss the various aspects of work through these conferences. It is also a notable attraction for recruiters to meet the potential candidates for their companies. So, overall it is a win-win for all the parties involved. I have attended the conference twice through my previous organization, and it is always something I cherish and reminisce about.

'Back to Work' Programs for Women

My previous company has special initiatives for women who find it difficult to get back to work. They organize 'Recharge', a program that targets women who have taken a career break, upskill them with the latest trends in software development, and bring them back to the workforce. It is one of the most widely appreciated initiatives across the company and among women. Many companies are moving towards achieving a good gender ratio through such programs.

Women-only communities within companies

Most of the Silicon Valley companies I've seen have women-only communities that encourage, motivate and give a shoulder to fellow women colleagues. They organize sessions on financial stability, balancing work and parenthood, mindfulness, and other essential programs to excel in different aspects of life. My current company also has a program of delivering mother's milk home after a woman comes to work post her maternity leave. Amazing. Isn't it?

So, women engineers should have been struggling in the field of software since the beginning, right? Go on. Your mind will be blown with the below two uncommon facts.

Uncommon fact #1 : World's first programmer was a woman

Yes. You read that right. Her name is Ada Lovelace, and there's a programming language, 'Ada' named in honor of her. She worked closely with Charles Babbage(You would know him from the elementary school books as the man who invented the computer) on the Analytical Engine, the world's first general-purpose computer. Ada Lovelace was born in 1815 to Lord Byron(the famous poet) and Lady Byron. Her parents split up soon after Ada was born. Her mother being a student of literature, science, philosophy, and mathematics, which was unusual for women in those times, paved the way for Ada to pursue a career in mathematics and science. She didn't want her daughter to make a career out of arts, her father's field of study. Thus born the woman who went on to make history in the field of programming and computing.

Uncommon fact #2 : Software programming was meant to be a woman's job

Since software programming in the ENIAC times(the 1940s) involved logical reasoning with a knack for programming the machines by operating the switches, it was considered the most sought out job for women. Hardware involved operating heavy machinery, making it by default a man's job. So, software for women and hardware for men was the norm in those days. As Janet Abbate, an associate professor in Virginia Tech and the author of the book, 'Recording Gender' says,

Women back then would basically go, ‘Well, if I don’t do programming, what else will I do?

Women programmers back then did not get credit for their work, often sidelined by the upper management consisting of male managers. Women in computing trend started to decrease in the 1960s, with the gender inequality issue beginning to get traction in the recent past.

What now?

If you have a girl child, encourage her to pursue a career in STEM. The resources we have on the internet are abundant. Many of the non-profit organizations such as Girls Who Code, Khan Academy provide free courses for those willing to learn. The possibilities are endless with the career options in STEM. When a grandmother told her granddaughters to date a nerd like Mark Zuckerberg, he responded,