Pioneering Breakthroughs in Computer Technology by Women:

Undeniably it is a New Era of digital communication and the Internet Revolution has begun.
What’s happening in today’s Technology world every day? Technology is seen as the guy’s thing. Men definitely dominate this field. When you think of a computer programmer, you would think of a young man in their twenties to early thirties.

One of the most significant accomplishment in modern technology happened in 1946. Even most of the computer science majors Stanford University do not know about the American women pioneers who created Modern technology in the 1940’s.

Jean Jennings Batrik with her Team of five other Mathematicians created the first all purpose computer called ENIAC, Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer. It was 150 feet wide and had 20 banks of flashing lights. ENIAC was capable of calculating 5000 additions and 1000 multiplications in one second.

None of the Women Pioneers were recognized or edified publically. This tends to be what happened to many great women whose accomplishments were monumental in this modern history.

Women, Technology and commuter Programming:

In 2012 only 18 % of Computer science undergraduates were women. It was a quite dramatic drop from 1985, when women comprised of 37 % of them. At a PhD level, only a few women participate compared to men. A recent conference held at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) only 10 % were female computer scientists.

In 1961, Grace Hopper, a math professor found a way to program computers using words instead of numbers. This was the first user friendly computer.
She created a language program called COBOL. Became know as “the Queen of Software.”

The first programmers in Silicon Valley were women. The number of women grew rapidly in this field. But around mid 1980’s this began to change. In 1984 small home computer came about. Ads for personal computers were targeted at boys. By the mid-90’s Carnegie Mellon was 93 % men.

Why So Few Women in Computer Programming Today ?

In 1984 small home computers were invented and they were targeted against boy at home. Major advertizing TV campaigns always depicted men and boys playing with new small computer devices.

Naturally boys seemed to be more adept with computer skills than girls. Many computer science colleges admitted more ‘capable’ students.

Young female students who started in Computer Science, generally dropped out of the introductory courses. This gender disparity became more pronounced as the courses become more advanced.

A field research definitely showed low-confidence of the women. They felt this was the reason that there is such a wide gap between male and female participation in this field.

Recent surveys show many large tech companies only have few women employees in programming and technical positions. Google had highest rate of 17 %.

Many studies and a newly published book ‘The Confidence Code” have shown that women’s self-confidence is lower compared to men’s in business and work places.

Today in 2014 and 2015, I have personally witnessed that Entrepreneurs in Internet Marketing field is dominated by men. Mostly men have been creating courses and mostly men teach. Mostly men are creating new programs and Internet Marketing system.

Women Pioneers in Computer Programming and Modern Technology:

1. Ada Lovelace:

Ada Lovelace is like a grandmother of computer programming. She was born in England and lived from 1815 to 1852.

Her lifelong friend and a Mathematics professor, Babage left a memoir describing a calculating machine. In translating this and embellishing her own mathematical ingenuity. The notes she attached to his memoir described the first algorithm to be carried out by a device. Her notes anticipated future development of computer.

2. Jean Jennings Batrik and ENIAC Team of 6 Women:

Jean Jennings Batrik was born in Missouri. Majored in mathematics. At age 20 began to work for the US government’s project in Philadelphia.
as a new employee of the Army’s Ballistics Research Labs. There were over 80 women calculating ballistics trajectories (differential calculus equations) by hand. Her job title was called “Computer”.

Later in 1945, Bartik jumped at the chance and was hired for a secret computer job for the Army. She became one of the original six programmers of ENIAC, the first all-electronic, programmable computer.

She joined Frances “Betty” Snyder Holberton, Kathleen McNulty Mauchly Antonelli, Marlyn Wescoff Meltzer, Ruth Lichterman Teitelbaum and Frances Bilas Spence on this unknown journey.
Bartik and the other women had to teach and lean by themselves ENIAC’s operation from its logical and electrical block diagrams, and then figured out how to program it.
The engineers were working on ENIAC’s 40 panels still under construction, and its 18,000 vacuum tube could not spear preparing manuals or give classes. They created their own flow charts, programming sheets, wrote the programs and entered them on the ENIAC using a challenging physical interface, which had hundreds of wires and 3,000 switches. It was an unforgettable, wonderful experience.

“On February 15, 1946, the Army revealed the existence of ENIAC to the public. In a special ceremony, the Army introduced ENIAC and its hardware inventors Dr. John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert. The presentation featured its trajectory ballistics program, operating at a speed thousands of time faster than any prior calculations. The ENIAC women’s programming worked perfectly – and conveyed the immense calculating power of ENIAC and its ability to tackle the millennium problems that had previously taken a man 100 years to do. ENIAC calculated in 20 seconds the trajectory of a shell that took 30 seconds to reach its target: literally faster than a speeding bullet!”

These women worked late into the night before the public day. But the Army never introduced the ENIAC women. Their role was no recognized at all. Their names did not make into the newspapers. All the dignitaries went out to dinner. These women were not invited.

No one gave them any credit or discussed that day their critical role in this groundbreaking project. Their faces were the only part of them that became part of the beautiful press pictures of the ENIAC.

3. Grace Hopper (BOD. December 9, 1909):

In 1961, Grace Hopper, a math professor found a way to program computers using words instead of numbers. This was the first user friendly computer.

She created a language program called COBOL. Became know as “the Queen of Software.”
She has been considered as a leader in the software development concepts. She helped to change primitive programming techniques to the use of sophisticated compliers. When she presented to the Corporation head very sophisticated business accounting system and proposed to do it in English language, she was told it was impossible.

“The computers don’t understand English.”
This was the objection given.

The first programmers in Silicon Valley were women. The number of women grew rapidly in this field as described earlier till in the mid 1980’s.

She has received many awards and has been recognized.

The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing is scheduled in October, 2015 in Houston, Texas.

Recognition At Last for the ENIAC Women:

For forty years, the ENIAC women, their roles and their pioneering work were forgotten and their story lost to history.

I remember reading about these women in New York Times in 1980’s as something happed and the Industry needed to have these women participate once again.

Almost half a century later Jean Jennings Batriks was awarded and interviewed. Her words are finally getting memorialized.

At this award ceremony, she was personally presented and interviewed.

Jean Jennings Batriks summarized her view on life:

Yesterday is gone. I live every moment. Choose to be happy.

On technology:

There will always be people who think outside of the box.

The Blogger’s Thoughts:

There are only few photographs of this amazing ENIAC TEAM available, together as a team.
Very scant stories of other women other than Batrik.

(This project might have been one of the military secrets… but that isn’t the reason for lack of interviews by the media immediately after the War.)

Their amazing stories and the power of a teamwork were never taught as part of curriculum in Computer Science
No major books are published.
Only Walter Isaacson, who wrote Steve Jobs’ biography recently began to discuss these women and their work in “The Innovators: How A Group Of Hackers, Geniuses, And Geeks Created The Digital Revolution.”

Today women’s place may be much more secure and they will be able to publish their work, team effort more fully. For one thing it is easier to take photos and videos today. They will be able to blog daily. Women can now tell their stories by writing blogs.

Certainly as a woman, you owe it to yourself to encourage and teach other women and a younger generation of women through telling of your stories.

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