WOMEN IN COMPUTING

From Ada Lovelace to the codebreakers of WWII, John Croucher discusses the role of women in computing

What are some of the earliest examples of women in computing? Have they been there since the beginning?

Even in what might be viewed as the beginnings of computing, women are involved. One of the earliest was NicoleReine Étable de la Brière (1723-1788), born in France, an expert in astronomy and advanced mathematics. For her amazing achievements, the asteroid 7720 Lepaute and the lunar crater Lepaute are named in her honour. Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) was the first person to see the enormous potential of Charles Babbage’s device, sensing that his Analytical Engine had the capacity to be programmed rather than simply perform basic operations. Her name is honoured in the Lovelace Medal, awarded since 1998 by the British Computer Society, and since 2008 in an annual competition for women students. Ada Lovelace is now widely regarded as being the world’s first computer programmer and her method as the first computer program.

Why, historically, was computing a field open to women as opposed to other fields of science? 

During World War II, women comprised the vast majority of computer programmers in the US and UK. The war opened up the field for a number of women, including those termed ‘human computers’, doing manual calculations of things such as firing tables for guns and ballistic missile trajectories. This was typified by the amazing code-breakers at Bletchley Park, a British government cryptological establishment. Two of those involved were Mavis Batey and Ann Mitchell.