I’ve spoken about this twice now at a fantastic program here in NYC, BridgeUp. They help girls continue their interest in STEM, finding a place that is supportive of their love of science. They educate, help them grow, and send these girls off to college having already completed some college-level courses, ready to tackle any programming assignment their professor throws at them. It’s because of this fantastic program, and the reactions I got while speaking at it, that I decided to write this post here.
Women used to be more prevalent in computer science. In fact, we were the majority. Ada Lovelace published the first computer program, and is credited with being the first programmer. Not the first female programmer, the first programmer. The original “computers” were the women who did rapid calculations on the battlefield, helping commanders position and aim artillery.
Eventually we automated those tasks, and those “computers” started working with the silicon kind. Women dominated computer science. From inventing the first programming languages to sending us to the moon.
But women were pushed out of the industry when it became a consumer good. Suddenly, businesses needed computers. They needed programmers. And the men who were bosses felt more comfortable hiring men for these high paying positions than women. Eventually, they pushed women out of the industry almost entirely. When computers started entering the household, they were advertised to young boys. In just a decade or two, hundreds of years of computing were lost to the boys.
Growing up, a young girl might not want to go into STEM. She might not think it’s a welcoming place for women. She might be scared off by stories of Uber or Riot Games. When she looks for role models, she’ll find few in the modern era.
But there’s hope. Women’s contributions to computer science, both in the past and today are gaining attention. Programs to reintroduce women to computers have been successful. Role models for young girls pop up every day. Sometimes, I think it’s important to just see a woman coding, just let those young girls know that their gender does not define their role in life. Biology does not dictate who they are, what they can do, or what they’re allowed to like. Video games are fun. Computers are fun. Programming is fun. That fun does not require a person to be of the male gender.
So, with that, I think it’s important to talk about how we get started in programming. It’s not enough to show young girls that they will have other female peers, but also light the path from curious about programming to software engineer.
So here’s my story.
Continue reading “How I Got Into Software Engineering (And You Can Too!)”
