Women in the Tech Industry: The Future and The Forgotten Names in History

When we think of people who built the tech industry, we hear a lot about Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk and Alan Turing, to name a few. These names are everywhere: in books, movies, and documentaries, and it’s true, they have each hugely contributed to the tech industry. Here’s the twist, though: We are missing a chapter! A huge one.

Before we dive into the future of tech, let’s set the record straight about the past.

Important Women in Tech from the past:

1. Ada Lovelace: A Woman "Too Imaginative" to Be Taken Seriously

   
   

Ada Lovelace was the associate of Charles Babbage, the “Father of the Computer”. While she was working with him on his Analytical Engine, Ada discovered that the machine had more applications than pure calculations. She wrote in the machine’s sketch that it “might act upon other things besides number”. In 1843, she wrote an algorithm for the Analytical Engine to compute Bernouli Numbers, which was the first algorithm designed for a machine to process automatically.

While this makes her the first computer programmer ever, Ada Lovelace was thought to be “too imaginative” at that time. It took more than 100 years for historians to realise that Ada was a true genius when the computer language ADA was named after her.

2. The ENIAC Women, More than “Refrigerator Ladies”

   
   

In 1941, the U.S. military hired engineers to program the ENIAC, one of the first electronic computers ever. They hired six women to do the programming: Jean Jennings Bartik, Betty Snyder Holberton, Kathleen McNulty Mauchly, Marlyn Wescoff Meltzer, Frances Bilas Spence, and Ruth Lichterman Teitelbaum. During the ENIAC unveiling, the U.S. military introduced only male contributors. Even when the pictures of these women developing the computer were published in newspapers, everyone assumed that they were just models; that’s why they were referred to as “refrigerator ladies”. 

It took 50 years for people to recognise their contributions when one of these mathematicians, Jean Bartik, pushed for historical revision and fought for the credit they deserve.

3. Hedy Lamarr: The Mother of Wi-Fi

   
   

Hedy Lamarr was mainly famous for her acting career. She was a Hollywood star who contributed to many famous films. Hedy Lamarr’s skills went way beyond acting, but this was discovered only 3 years before her death. In 1940, she invented a new communication system that used “frequency hopping” amongst radio waves with George Antheil.

Hedy Lamarr introduced the invention to the U.S. Navy to help in the war effort; however, the military dismissed the invention. She didn’t receive any recognition or payment for her invention until 1997, 3 years before she died, when the Electronic Frontier Foundation awarded her and Antheil with their Pioneer Award in 1997.

Hedy Lamarr’s contributions are the basis of today’s wireless technology, like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. 

4. Katherine Johnson: NASA’s Hidden Figure

   
   

Katherine Johnson was hired in 1953 by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which later became NASA. She started calculating flight trajectories and launch windows for NASA’s missions. She is mainly famous now for calculating the orbital trajectories for the Apollo 11 mission, the first successful moon landing.

Katherine Johnson’s contribution was overlooked due to systemic racism and sexism at the time, given that she was an African American woman. She was assigned to work in Langley Research Center in Virginia, where black mathematicians were required to work separately from their male counterparts. She was denied access to meetings and information and was not given any credit or recognition by NASA. It wasn’t until 62 years later that Katherine Johnson was given credit when President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015.

What’s the current outlook?

The current tech landscape is changing for women, but slowly. Women represented 23% of the tech workforce in 2023 compared to 8% in 1970. Even if the change looks huge, it’s relatively slow compared to the participation of women in other fields. Here are some shocking numbers:

• Statistica estimates that women represent only 19% of computer science graduates and 22% of engineering graduates.

• The National Science Foundation estimates that only 38% of women with a computer science degree work in the field, compared to 53% of men.

• Women represent only 14% of software engineers, 22% of AI professionals, 26% of data scientists, and 15% of executive positions in Fortune 500 tech companies (McKinsey).

• Women in the tech industry earn an average of 18% less than men for the same roles.

• Only 2.3% of Venture Capital Funding goes to women-led startups, even though they deliver 35% higher return on investment (ROI) than men-led startups. 

  
  

How can companies create a more inclusive work environment?

If you are not working to create an inclusive work environment, you are missing out on an incredible talent pool. Start implementing these strategies and see how they bring real change:

1. Reduce bias in recruitment and promotions:

   
   

In your company’s recruitment process, implement strategies to reduce unconscious bias during hiring and promotions. You can do so by using structured interviews with predefined assessment criteria, conducting blind resume screenings, and setting clear expectations and requirements for promotions.

2. Establish fair pay practices:

   
   

Numbers show that the gender pay gap still exists in the tech industry. To prevent this, companies should regularly conduct pay audits to address disparities, require performance-based justification for pay differences, enforce equal pay for equal work, and make sure salary negotiations don’t disadvantage women.

3. Create an inclusive workplace culture:

   
   

An inclusive work environment does not only ensure a sense of belonging for women but also a positive culture for everyone in the company. You can achieve this by setting firm policies against discrimination and harassment, offering flexible work arrangements, and promoting mental health among employees.

4. Showcase and encourage role models:

   
   

Although action is what matters the most, representation also helps amplify women’s voices and encourages younger women to join the industry.  By highlighting women in leadership through your marketing channels, sponsoring them to attend industry conferences, and showcasing their achievements, like our very own co-founder Thouraya Walker.

Final thoughts

By creating an inclusive work environment, you are not only inspiring future generations but also driving your company to success by attracting top talent, improving employee satisfaction, and boosting creativity through diverse perspectives. At Dune Technology, we don’t just believe in diversity; we strive to make it happen. We are committed to keeping a work environment where talent determines success, not gender. We believe that inclusion is not just ideal; it is essential to success and innovation. Women have played a vital role in shaping the tech landscape, and we believe that creating a workplace where skills are valued will help shape a better future.