Computer Programming and the Role of Women - By Jenny Wang

As technology is occupying an important role in present-day society, it is impossible to ignore the growth of interest in computer programming among teenagers. Many are contemplating the idea of exploring this field but only few know what they are getting into as computer programming is extremely intricate. Computer programming is the central portion of software development, translating abstract concepts into solutions for human needs. It is the process of writing series of algorithms in a programming language that a computer receives as instructions to follow and to execute. The task of a software engineer, also known as a programmer or a coder, is to design codes that allow a computer to understand what to perform next.

The history of computer programming is complex. The idea of an electric tabulating system, a system that could read data, was first introduced by an American inventor, Herman Hollerith, in 1889. Then, in 1937, John Vincent Atanasoff created the first electronic digital computer. Nonetheless, programmable computers only appeared during the Second World War in the United States. Colossus computers were then designed to decrypt ciphers sent by Germany and women were the ones operating those machines. It is not until 1957, that a high-level computer programming language was commercially released.

As a result, computer programming is the outcome of contributions and innovations made by many great minds. Yet, the roots of computer programming can actually be traced back to 1843, in England where a sequence of commands to perform on a computing device that can calculate the Bernoulli numbers was published. Thus, the first and simplest form of the computer program was born. As surprising as it might sound, a woman was responsible for this discovery and her name is Ada Lovelace.

Ada Lovelace is an English mathematician and noblewoman born in 1815. Although she lived a short life, passing away at the age of 36, Lovelace made numerous contributions to modern mathematics. Meanwhile, she is also the first person to believe that computing systems can accomplish much more than just simple calculations. As previously mentioned, her work within the computer science has made her the first computer programmer.

Presenting Ada Lovelace is essential not only to understand the history of computer programming but also to acknowledge the role women have played in this particular field. It is enlightening for aspiring female computer programmers to see how much women have accomplished within a world dominated by a male demographic. In fact, women pioneered computer programming and were the backbone of the industry until the last seven decades. Therefore, saying there is a complete lack of female representation in computer science would be an exaggeration. Marissa Mayer, Grace Hopper, Frances Spence, Ruth Teitelbaum are all inspiring figures who are proving the role of females in this field. However, it is fair to say that these names are much less known and recognized by most of us than names such as Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates.

Despite the gender issue in computer programming, it continues to interest young men and women not only because a promising future awaits this field as new technologies are growing and they require programming, but also because it is a career of innovation and discoveries.

-Jenny Wang