4 awesome influential women in tech
Happy International Women’s Day! To honor this day, we gathered some of the women who have contributed to the fields of technology, development, and design. As a bootcamp for development and design, the Bloc community has a lot to be grateful for in these ladies!
Ada Lovelace
Ada Lovelace was of British nobility and born in 1815. She worked with Charles Babbage, who tasked her with documenting his idea for a “computer” he called the Analytical Machine, at the time a far-off idea that was never to be realized. While documenting his work, Ada included extensive original notes on the idea, including what’s regarded as the world’s first computer algorithm.
Her influence:
Ada was ahead of her time in many ways. Not only did she develop the inaugural algorithm, Ada also saw uses for the Analytical Machine past the simple arithmetic-based equations it was intended for. She envisioned algebraical and analytical uses for the machine as well.
Grace Hopper
Navy Rear Admiral Grace Hopper designed the FLOW-Matic Language, the world’s first English-like data processing language in 1958. The COBOL programming language was later based off of this language. Prior to Grace’s invention, computers produced only binary outputs in the form of 1s and 0s, making it impossible for humans to understand.
Her influence:
Grace theorized that if people could read programming like they could read words, more people would be interested in using it. She proved her theory right by inventing the FLOW-Matic Language, revolutionizing the way humans and computers interact.
Susan Kare
Susan Kare is a designer who worked at Apple alongside Steve Jobs and is credited with contributing large amounts of the Macintosh computer with her typography and graphic design skills. She designed many of the interfaces now used every day by millions of people worldwide, like the command icon.
Her influence:
Susan made the Macintosh seem like a friendly tool with her unique icons as opposed to the rigid machines that served as computers back then. Her unique design skills contributed to the popularity of the Mac, the product that spun Apple into one of the most successful companies in modern history.
Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr is most commonly known for being a movie starlet of the 1920s. However, it was little known until the 2000s that she was also a co-founder of spread-spectrum technology. Hedy and her partner, George Antheil, originally built the technology to give the Navy the ability to remotely control torpedoes. She proved to be one of the greatest examples of talented women with dichotomous strengths.
Her influence:
Hedy’s invention specifically centered around the concept of frequency hopping. This used multiple radio channels to deliver messages or codes to the torpedoes. At its core, this was an early form of encryption technology, a concept that was later widely used in the military. Perhaps more relevant to consumer technology, it was also used in the development of technologies like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
To all the amazing women out there who are making the world a better place, we salute you! And for all the women who are interested in changing their lives by entering the field of software development or design, we want to help you. In October 2017, we launched our $1M Close the Gap Scholarship Fund for women aspiring to be developers and designers. Since then, over 50% of new Bloc students are women. If this scholarship sounds like it could benefit you, talk to one of our Student Advisors to learn more.
