Women in Computing

Women have always been critical to computing. Ada Lovelace created the first computer program in the early 1800s. The image in this artifact shows Margaret Hamilton, who programmed the onboard flight protocol for the 1969 Apollo 11 mission. Though women have contributed to the development of the field since its inception, they have continued to be underrepresented through the modern day.

Since WWII, women had become an increasing proportion of the workforce - albeit, in fields that were traditionally perceived as "female." In the 1940s, computing fell into this bucket; coding was perceived as clerical work. However, beginning in the 1960s, computing and computers began to be redefined as "male." The 1980s release of video games targeted toward male audiences solidified this perception. Women began to use home computers less than men, and computing fields became dominated by men.