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Today is International Women's Day!

Remembering 5 notable women who have driven innovation in the Tech Industry.

Today is International Women's Day! On this important occasion, we're looking back at the history of women in tech and highlighting notable women who have driven innovation and led change in the technology sector.

In the mid-twentieth century, the tech industry was dominated by women. Programming, computer design, computer maintenance, innovation, even computerized “war machines," used to decrypt enemy communications, were traditionally feminized careers.

The origin story of the early electronic computing industry is filled with contributions from women. It is undeniable that women have left a lasting mark on the industry and continue to make important contributions. To celebrate this rich history, we're highlighting 5 notable women in tech.

Grace Hopper

December 9, 1906 to January 1, 1992

Computer Scientist and United States Navy Rear Admiral

Grace Hopper

"We're flooding people with information. We need to feed it through a processor. A human must turn information into intelligence or knowledge. We've tended to forget that no computer will ever ask a new question." (Photo: Computer History Museum).

Grace Hopper was a computer scientist and naval officer. She received a master’s degree (1930) and a Ph.D. (1934) in mathematics from Yale. She is considered to be one of the first three modern “programmers” and is best known for her trailblazing contributions to the development of computer languages.

She was one of the first programmers of the Harvard Mark I, a general purpose electromechanical computer that was used in the war effort during the last part of World War II, she was a pioneer of computer programming and invented one of the first compiler-related tools, a translator-like program that transforms computer code written in one programming language into another programming language.

Moreover, she popularized the idea of machine-independent programming languages, which led to the development of the Common Business-Oriented Language, COBOL, an early high-level programming language designed for business use. COBOL is still in use today in business, finance, and administrative systems for companies and governments.

After the war, she continued to serve in the military, rising in rank to Rear Admiral, and working in the advancement of computer technology. She has received numerous accolades for her contribution to the computer sciences. Grace left behind an inimitable legacy as a brilliant programmer and pioneering woman in male-dominated fields.

Jean Bartik

December 27, 1924 to March 23, 2011

Computer Programmer and Software Pioneer

Jean Bartik

Jean Bartik, left, working on the ENIAC, in 1945. (Photo: United States Army Archives).

Jean Bartik was a computer programmer and software pioneer. She attended Northwest Missouri State Teachers College, now Northwest Missouri State University, where she majored in mathematics. She was one of the original members of the group of women who programmed the ENIAC, or Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer, which is credited as the first all-electronic digital computer.for that was able to solve a large class of numerical problems through reprogramming.

The ENIAC was designed to calculate the firing trajectories for artillery shells. It was completed in 1946, too late to be used during World War II, but it was a milestone in the evolution of modern computing. She began her career at the University of Pennsylvania, first manually calculating ballistics trajectories, then using the ENIAC to complete these calculations. She and her colleagues developed and codified many of the fundamentals of programming while working on the ENIAC.

Jean went on to work at a variety of technical companies as a writer, manager, engineer and programmer. In 2009, She received a Pioneer Award from the IEEE Computer Society, and in 2008 she was named a fellow by the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif.

Dame Stephanie Shirley

September 16, 1933 to Present

Information Technology Pioneer, Businesswoman and Philanthropist

Steve Shirley

"A lot of people go into business to make money.I really didn't; I went in with a mission for women. Conversely, I was determined never, ever to be poor again." (Photo: British Library).

Stephanie "Steve" Shirley is a technology pioneer who founded an innovative software company in 1962 that employed home-based women as part-time workers. She has a degree in mathematics from Sir John Cass College.

In the 1950s, she worked at the Post Office Research Station in the UK, building computers from scratch and writing code in machine language. She took evening classes for six years to obtain an honors degree in mathematics. While at the Post Office, she helped to develop electronic telephone exchanges and the premium bond computer "Ernie".

In 1962, she founded the software company, Freelance Programmers, (later FI, then Xansa, since acquired by Steria and now part of the Sopra Steria Group), with innovative work practices that primarily focused on creating job opportunities for women with dependents, and she predominantly employed women.

She received her BSc in 1956 and was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1980 Birthday Honors for services to industry; Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2000 New Year Honors for services to information technology; and Member of the Order of the Companions of Honor (CH) in the 2017 Birthday Honors for services to the IT industry and philanthropy.

In 1987, she gained the Freedom of the City of London. She was President of the British Computer Society from 1989 to 1990 and Master of the IT livery company 1992-93. In 1985, she was awarded a Recognition of Information Technology Award. In 1999 she received the Mountbatten Medal.

Stephanie retired in 1993, but she has continued to champion progress in the fields she loves. She supports research into autism spectrum disorders, as well as organizations that promote the improvement of the IT industry and the role of the internet in society.

Margaret Hamilton

August 17, 1936 to Present

Computer Scientist and Systems Engineer

Margaret Hamilton

Margaret is stands beside stacks of code for software that she and her team developed for the guidance system on the NASA Apollo program in 1969. (Photo: MIT).

Margaret Hamilton is a computer scientist and systems engineer who is credited with coining the term "software engineering". She studied mathematics at the University of Michigan and earned a BA in mathematics with a minor in philosophy from Earlham College in 1958.

In the 1960s she worked at MITin the meteorology department developing software that would predict weather on the LGP-30 and the PDP-1 computers. She went on to become the Director of the Software Engineering Division of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory, and led a team of developers to design the on-board flight software for the Apollo space program. She created and developed new methods for building flight software and applied these methods to the development of the Apollo and Skylab software and to defining Shuttle system software requirements.

In 2016, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by US President Barack Obama for her work leading the development of on-board flight software for NASA's Apollo Moon missions.

Lynn Conway

January 2, 1938 to Present

Computer Scientist, Electrical Engineer, Inventor, and Transgender Activist

Lynn Conway

Lynn Conway championed the VLSI Revolution in Microchip Design (Photo: Women You Should Know).

Lynn Conway is a computer scientist, electrical engineer and inventor who is notable for a number of pioneering achievements. She holds B.S. and M.S.E.E. degrees from Columbia University's School of Engineering and Applied Science.

She led the way in microelectronics chip design, and her innovations during the 1970's at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) have impacted chip design worldwide. Her work in VLSI — very large scale integrated circuits — helped to revolutionize computing. With Caltech engineering professor Carver Mead, Conway re-conceptualized chip processing. She and Mead collaborated on a textbook with, which has became standard at universities across the world. Many tech companies and computing methods rely on the foundations in her work.

She worked at IBM in the 1960s and is credited with the invention of generalized dynamic instruction handling, a key advancement still used by many modern computer processors to improve performance.

In the late 1960s she underwent gender transition, and today she is an advocate and activist for transgender issues, supporting awareness and speaking out against the psychiatric-pathologization of gender variance.

In 1989, Conway was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and in 2009 was recognized by IEEE as a computer pioneer. Currently she is professor emerita of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor where she has taught since the 1980s.

Inspiring Women to Shape the Future of Tech

At Intellis, we believe the future of tech should include people of every color, gender, belief, origin, and community. The future of tech should be accessible, flexible, and inclusive. This vision aligns with our mission to "strive for team excellence, and maintain an environment that allows for continuous improvement of individuals and our organization".