The Role of Women in Programming

What Would Happen If The AI Industry Overlooks Women's Contributions? "A recent New York Times article released a list of people 'behind the dawn of the modern artificial intelligence movement' – and not a single woman was named. It came less than a week after news of a fake auto-generated woman being listed as a speaker on the agenda for a software conference. Unfortunately, the omission of women from the history of STEM isn’t a new phenomenon. Women have been missing from these narratives for centuries. In the wake of recent AI developments, we now have a choice: are we going to leave women out of these conversations as well – even as they continue to make massive contributions to the AI industry? Doing so risks leading us into the same fallacy that established computing itself as a 'man’s world'. The reality, of course, is quite different. A More Accurate History: Prior to computers as we know them, 'computer' was the title given to people who performed complex mathematical calculations. These people were commonly women. English mathematician Ada Lovelace (1815–1852) is often referred to as the first computer programmer. She was the first person to realize computers could do much more than just math calculations. Her work on the analytical engine – a proposed automatic and fully programmable mechanical computer – dates back to the mid-1800s. By the 1870s, a group of about 80 women worked as computers at the Harvard Observatory. They catalogued and analyzed copious amounts of astronomic data for astronomer Edward Charles Pickering (who exploited the fact they’d work for less money than men, or even as volunteers). By the late 19th century, increased access to education meant there was an entire generation of women trained in maths. These woman computers were cheaper labour than men at the time, and so employing them significantly reduced the costs of computation. During the first world war, women were hired to calculate artillery trajectories. This work continued into the Second World War, when they were actively encouraged to take on wartime jobs as computers in the absence of men. Women continued to work as computers into the early days of the American space program in the 1960s, playing a pivotal role in advancing NASA’s space projects. One of these computers was Katherine Johnson, who was responsible for quality-checking the outputs of early IBM computers for an orbital mission in 1962." #WomenInSTEM #GirlsInSTEM #STEMGems #GiveGirlsRoleModels https://lnkd.in/eDkSmjdG

Programming was first introduced to me in my undergrad at an all-women's college. I loved solving logical problems, but I quickly realized I wasn't going to be the best coder in the room. That distinction belonged to my friend Shaama. She lived in the computer lab, coding with such passion that even the stern "Mother Superior" called her parents to praise her exceptional skills - a rare occurrence usually reserved for troublemakers!. Yet at home, Shama faced resistance. "Why computer science?" her family questioned her decision. All she could say was, "Why not?" What she lacked were visible role models—women who had blazed the trail before her. Throughout history, brilliant women worked in the shadows, tackling work men often avoided. 𝗔𝗱𝗮 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗺 in the 1840s, envisioning computing capabilities most couldn't grasp. During WWII, 𝗝𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗝𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝗶𝗹𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀—work dismissed as less important than hardware, their contributions unrecognized for decades. 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗿, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 "𝗤𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲," 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 by creating the first compiler that made programming languages universally accessible. 𝗥𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿 "𝗠𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘁"—though she humbly rejects it, noting the internet wasn't invented by any single person. Her pioneering network algorithms nonetheless became crucial building blocks for how we connect online today. 𝗛𝗲𝗱𝘆 𝗟𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆. Known as a glamorous film star, she secretly invented frequency-hopping technology to prevent Nazi jamming of torpedo signals—foundational to WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS we use daily. The military initially dismissed her work before classifying it as too valuable to implement. 𝗘𝗺𝗺𝘆 𝗡𝗼𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 upended mathematics despite being barred from faculty positions because of her gender. Einstein called her "the most significant creative mathematical genius" of her time, yet she lectured under male colleagues' names. These women didn't merely participate in technological revolution—they drove it forward against systems designed to exclude them. Today, women like 𝗔𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗮 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗴 and "Godmother of AI" 𝗙𝗲𝗶-𝗙𝗲𝗶 𝗟𝗶 continue shaping technology—fighting algorithmic bias and championing human-centric technology. This Women's History Month, let us reclaim this narrative. When we understand that women have always been at computing's cutting edge, we see clearly that technology advances fastest and humanity moves forward when diverse minds contribute. Tag women in tech that inspire you! #womenshistorymonth #womenintech #techpioneers #hiddenfigures

Innovation knows no gender. Reflecting on my journey as an engineer over the past 25 years, from stepping into the workforce to witnessing the remarkable strides women have made today, I am struck by both the progress achieved and the many challenges that persist. When I started my career in the late 90s, women engineers were a handful and today, I'm heartened to see more women not only entering the field but also pioneering innovations and driving meaningful change. ➡️ However, looking at the numbers, in 2023, men outnumbered women in global engineering by 86.3% to 13.7%. And despite the demand for tech skills, women constitute only 28% of engineering graduates globally. In STEM fields, they make up 33% of researchers but hold just 12% of national science academy memberships. ➡️The leaky STEM pipeline begins early and persists over time. It is not just enough to keep feeding the pipeline by increasing the number of female students. It is imperative to work towards breaking gender stereotypes through early investment in reskilling and the promotion of STEM education. Apart from making STEM education more fun and engaging, introduction to female role models and mentors can help change stereotypical perceptions related to these subjects and inspire more girls to choose and work in the area. ➡️I see technology as an enabler here. Achieving equal representation of women in the tech industry requires a collaborative effort from organisations, academia, and government bodies. At the organisational level, tech firms should focus on creating supportive structures that not only attract but also retain and nurture female professionals. Flexible working policies, improved leave and well-being benefits, and support networks serve as key factors in promoting women in the workplace. Investing in training and mentorship programs is essential to equip high-potential women technologists with the necessary skills for leadership roles. Initiatives like involving female employees in the recruitment process, hosting career fairs, and offering internship programs can help organisations move towards a more gender-balanced workforce. The future of engineering is bright, and women are an integral part of that future. By continuing to support and celebrate women in engineering, we are investing in a world where innovation knows no gender, and where the contributions of all are valued and recognized. #InternationalWomenInEngineeringDay 🎉✨

They told her computers would never understand English. In the 1940s, programming meant punching holes into cards and writing raw numerical code. 1s. 0s. Endless strings of symbols. If you were not a trained mathematician, you were locked out. Grace Hopper refused to accept that. While working on the Harvard Mark I and later at Remington Rand, she proposed something radical. What if computers could translate words? What if humans did not have to think like machines? Her colleagues dismissed the idea. They believed computers were built for numbers, not language. They said it was impossible. She built it anyway. In 1952, she helped create one of the first compilers, a program that translated human readable instructions into machine code. It changed everything. Instead of writing pure mathematics, programmers could write commands closer to plain English. Her work directly led to COBOL, one of the first major business programming languages. Governments adopted it. Corporations adopted it. Entire financial systems were built on it. Computers stopped being laboratory machines. They became tools. She also popularized the term “debugging” after a moth was found inside a relay in 1947. But that story is small compared to what she truly did. She altered the relationship between humans and technology. Every modern programming language. Every app. Every website. Every digital system. Exists because one woman refused to accept that machines should only speak numbers. She did not make computers smarter. She made them understandable. #GraceHopper #WomenInTech #STEM

Women’s contributions to tech are often overlooked. Case in point: We call it “software engineering” because of Margaret Hamilton. She coined the term while leading NASA’s software team for Apollo 11, arguing that software should be engineered with the same precision and discipline as hardware. And she proved it. Minutes before the Lunar Module was set to land on the moon in 1969, alarms started flashing on board. The guidance computer was overloaded. Most missions would have aborted. But Hamilton’s design was built for this. Her software was smart enough to know when to ignore non-essential tasks and prioritize critical ones: to keep the mission on track. That’s fault-tolerant computing at its finest. Her work shaped asynchronous programming, modular architecture, and error recovery. These are concepts that power AI, cloud, and distributed systems today. Another inspiring thing about Hamilton? She was a self-driven learner in a time when no formal training for “software engineering” exists. She learned by building. That’s how great engineers should grow: by experimenting, learning, and iterating. On International Women’s Day, let’s celebrate the pioneers who shaped tech, and the women pushing it forward today. Who’s a woman in tech that inspires you? Tag them here so we can give them the recognition they deserve. #SoftwareEngineering #MargaretHamilton #WomensHistoryMonth #InternationalWomensDay

This IWD, my feed is filled with women in STEM. While sharing a few stories with my daughter, I noticed a pattern- they did more than just make things work .. Let’s start with our favorite: Dr. Margaret Hamilton led the software engineering for Apollo 11. Minutes before landing, a computer overload error threatened the mission, but her fail-safe system prioritized critical tasks, ensuring a safe touchdown. She may be known for coining software engineering, but for me, at a time with no GitHub, Stack Overflow, or Copilots, she and her team wrote the code that put man on the moon—all by hand. Including the error-handling code that averted disaster. Two years ago, I had the privilege of attending an in-person talk by Dr. Fei-Fei Li. When she pioneered ImageNet, she didn’t just build an AI dataset—she built it with diversity in mind. She knew AI could inherit human biases, so she pushed for broader, more representative data to prevent biased AI. Grace Hopper made debugging a core practice after finding a literal bug inside a computer, proving that software needs built-in error detection. Marie Curie recognized the dangers of radiation before anyone else and designed safety protocols and portable X-ray units, protecting soldiers and medical staff. The common thread? These women didn’t just solve problems—they built fail-safe systems that protected against failure before it happened. That’s the kind of thinking the world needs today: Not just problem solvers but system thinkers. Not just fixing what’s broken, but asking “What could go wrong?”—and designing solutions to prevent disaster before it strikes. ✨ Especially in #AI #GenerativeAI #IWD2025

Women are being left behind in AI. Here's why I'm building anyway. 🛠️ I almost didn't go to last week's hackathon. I didn't feel like I knew enough. And honestly? I didn't want to fail publicly—worried it would be seen as "proof" that women don't belong in AI spaces rather than just... me learning like everyone else. Then I thought about the 20 year-old guys on YouTube marketing themselves as "AI experts" after building one basic app. And I realized: I know as much as they do. Maybe more. So I forced myself to show up. Out of 40+ participants, only 4 were women. Both winners were women. 🏆 Me with Claudine (my AI job search agent), and Amirah Cummings with her brilliant Brand Content in a Box built on Replit. This isn't a coincidence. And it's not just about one hackathon. Women are being left behind in AI—and the gap is widening: According to Elena Verna's recent blog: * Women make up less than one-third of AI-skilled professionals globally * 33% of women use generative AI vs 44% of men * 57% of women are in jobs likely disrupted by AI vs 43% of men The gap is clear: women are building less but at greater risk The barriers to entry have never been lower. The tools are free or cheap. You don't need to code. You just need to give instructions to a machine that actually tries to follow them. But if we're not in the room building, we won't be in the room deciding how these tools work, who they serve, or how they reshape our industries. That's why I'm building in public—even when it's uncomfortable, even when I'm debugging at 11pm, even when I feel like an imposter. Because women in product, marketing, operations, learning & development, strategy—we need to see each other doing this. Messily. Imperfectly. Successfully. If you've been hesitating to experiment with AI, this is your sign. Start with one small project (build your portfolio website!). Build something imperfect. Share what you learn. Tag me—I want to see what you create. Read Elena's full blog post here: https://lnkd.in/eyzYMDfB #WomenInTech #AI #BuildInPublic #WomenInAI #ProductManagement #AIAgents #GenerativeAI

AI is reshaping the #FutureOfWork. But women are at risk of being left behind.     Despite decades of contributions to computing science, women remain significantly underrepresented in AI leadership roles, with only 12% of executive positions held by women. At the same time, they’re adopting AI tools at work 25% less frequently than men (https://lnkd.in/eeX75-Cp).    This isn’t about interest or ability. It’s about access and training. Research also shows women are more likely to question the fairness and transparency of AI systems, contributing to hesitation and lower adoption rates.     The consequences may be far-reaching. As AI becomes central to decision-making, those who are slow to adopt it risk being excluded from strategic conversations and leadership pipelines. This underscores the need for clear organizational polices on acceptable and responsible AI use and the urgency of upskilling all employees. And when women are part of building or testing AI, the tools themselves can be leveraged to reduce gender biases and barriers that we’ve been trying to solve for decades. Everyone wins.    This isn’t just a tech issue. It’s a leadership one. Closing the AI adoption gap — and ensuring diverse perspectives are involved in creating AI models — is essential to building workplaces of the future defined by inclusion and belonging.    #WomenInAI #WomensLeadership 

There has never been a better time to be a woman in tech. Wait. You're wondering if I've seen the same reports as you. I have. And they're dismal. According to an article published in The Times by Martha Lane Fox, she was told earlier this year by a US tech CEO that the industry "is done with women". She also goes on to note that the percentage of women in tech has not improved in 30 years. Available data suggests this percentage actually dipped in the 1990s through the 2010s and although it has improved somewhat since then, it still remains lower today than it was 30 years ago. Now, the tech industry is going all in on AI, with very few women with a seat at the table to influence what is developed, why it is being done, and how. And the same biases we’ve faced are being embedded into systems and amplified in ways that will fundamentally reshape our society. This is precisely why we need more women in AI, and why now is the right time. The stakes are simply too high for AI to be developed and controlled by a narrow few. If we don’t act now, while AI is still in its early phase of expansion, we risk being locked out of what is perhaps the most transformative technology of our generation. #womenintech #womeninai #responsibleai