With a programming language named after her, the
influence of the world’s first computer programmer, Ada Lovelace,
has spread much farther than her fame.
The Countess of Lovelace was also the daughter of poet Lord
Byron and a good friend of Charles Babbage, who invented the first
mechanical computer. By writing out a method for calculating
Beroulli numbers on Babbage's machine,
the
analytical engine, Lovelace came to be recognised as the
world's first programmer.
If a 19th century British countess can found the computer
science profession at the age of 27, then why can't the UK persuade
more than a few hundred young
women to study it every year at university?
It is one of several questions Suw Charman-Anderson wanted to
answer when she set up
Ada
Lovelace Day. The day will involve over 1,000 bloggers pledging
to blog about a woman in technology on 24 March, the aim being to
boost awareness of what women are achieving.
Female role
models
The idea is that as awareness increases, female role models in
technology will emerge. The current lack of female role models is
believed to be one reason so few girls choose a career in
technology.
If the public image for the upper realms of a particular
profession is purely or mainly male, then on some level, the logic
goes, girls will not think of that profession as "for them" and
will write technology off as something boys do.
If there are a few more high-profile, senior women in
technology, perhaps girls and young women will give a career in IT
more consideration.
Charman-Anderson, a social media expert whose career started in
web design, says she felt "isolated" as a woman making her way up
the IT career ladder, but she is adamant she does not want it to be
an "us and them thing".
"Ada Lovelace day is about looking at what is really happening
and what women are achieving," she says.
As part of the campaign, Computer Weekly has spoken to five
women in technology to help raise awareness of their achievements
and generate ideas for possible female role models.
Sarah Blow, software
engineer
Sarah Blow is 27 and a software engineer working on .Net. She
works for a medical device company and has done since graduating,
when she was headhunted by her current employer.
In her spare time, she set up
Girl Geeks, a networking group aimed at women in technology.
The group was formed after a somewhat alienating experience at a
normal IT networking event - around 90% of the attendees were men
and she was repeatedly asked if she was there as someone's
girlfriend.
By setting up a female networking group, Blow is not aiming to
exclude men, but to "turn things on their head" by giving women a
chance to be in the majority and feel less isolated.
Blow first got interested in IT when a teacher suggested she
study it at university and helped her find courses that did not
require A-level maths. She excelled at the computation course at
the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology,
winning a scholarship to do a
Master
of Enterprise in computation, which focused on the skills
needed to set up a business.
"I like the problem-solving side of my job. I originally thought
of doing law, but when I started my computation degree, I wondered
why I had not thought of IT sooner. I also get to do some of the
design side and the development of the architecture as well, so I
have a bit of everything," she says.
Blow says more work needs to be done on attracting female
students to IT-related degree courses.
"There are not enough students doing IT degrees, either male or
female. We need to make sure people are given encouragement and
that they know about the degree requirements - that you do not need
A-level maths, for example," she says.
Gillian Arnold,
technical manager at IBM
Gillian Arnold is a technical manager at IBM, and the chair of
the Women's Forum at the IT trade association Intellect. Her role
at IBM involves looking after a team of people, who between them
tell customers how they can get the most out of their IBM storage
products.
Arnold got into IT aged 17, when she became a computer operator
at a shipping company. "I chose the job because it sounded
intellectual and I thought it would impress my dad. There would be
two other women on a shift with me, out of a team of 12 or 13,
which was a reasonable ratio at the time," she says.
After about nine years in operations, Arnold worked at banks and
telecommunications companies before moving to IBM.
"I had worked on IBM equipment all my life, and for me it was
the place to work. I have had a range of roles in the company, but
I love the technology side," she says.
Arnold adds that the variety offered by big IT companies means
careers in the sector are exciting. "When you have got as much
pleasure out of the role or technology as you can, you can go and
find a different role in the same company.
"There is an image that the technical role is a programming role
it's not - it can be about going and talking to customers, about
the software and its benefits. This side is so much more
interesting."
Rebecca George, partner
at Deloitte
Rebecca George has worked as a partner in Deloitte since 2006.
She manages Deloitte's relationship with central government
departments and is the chair of the Women's Forum at the British
Computer Society (BCS).
She studied English at Oxford University, and went to America to
study for a master's degree in broadcasting systems. She spent a
short time working in the cable television industry, which at that
time was almost non-existent, but decided after a while that she
was not getting anywhere. After a short stint in management
consultancy, she went to work at IBM, where she stayed for 20
years.
"It was not what I intended, but IBM gave me interesting and
different jobs to do," she says.
George says her role is not technical. "Some purists would say
you are only really a woman in technology if you have a technical
background. But we need all sorts of people in the industry."
As BCS Women's Forum Chair, George has just finished a
consultation period in which she sought the views on what
should be done about diversity in the industry. "One of the
problems we have is that there are a lot of fragmented small
initiatives. We need fewer, bolder initiatives, with more people
involved," she says.
Karen Price, chief
executive of e-Skills
Karen Price is the chief executive of e-Skills, the skills
council for the IT sector. She spends her days talking to key chief
information officers, CEOs of multinational companies, government
ministers and the media to get people enthused about technology and
the opportunities it offers the UK.
"The UK has the potential to be one of the world's leading
digital economies, but to achieve this everyone needs the skills to
create, manage and use the technologies," she says.
The technology sector appealed to Price because of its
fast-moving, dynamic nature, and the way it transforms everything
it comes into contact with. Skills, she says, are the most
important part of it.
"Skills may not seem the most romantic part of a career in
technology, but they are probably the most important. Without the
right skills, the best technology and technologists in the world
will fail to reach their full potential.
"In my current role I have a chance to ensure the UK has the
skills it needs. This is the most rewarding job of all and I come
to work each day excited by the possibilities."
E-skills is working to reach girls and young women through
initiatives like Computer Clubs for Girls, an after-school club
which shows girls how diverse careers in IT are.
"Our own research indicates it is mainly a question of
perception that starts very early on. While just under half of
students taking IT at GCSE are female, only 15% of technology
undergraduates are. Somewhere down the line we are losing a
generation of bright and capable young women. Clearly something
must be done," Price says.
Victoria Baker, freelance
web designer
Victoria Baker is a freelance web designer who has worked on
projects for a range of companies, from Manchester United football
club to the
24-Hour
Museum website.
She creates bespoke sites, or rebrands and revives established
sites which need bringing up to date with current technology, which
involves designing and coding the front end interface of websites
and finding the best technology for the job. "You never know what
you are going to learn next," she says.
The Central St Martins graduate says IT chose her, rather than
the other way around, because the industry suited the way she
thought.
"I am a very proud dyslexic, and the thing that makes my
condition so exciting is that we think in complex structures all
the time. When I got onto my first Apple Mac, I discovered
something that worked liked I thought, and I have not stopped
flying since," she says.
Baker has come across a few gender issues since she started
working, but says it is not to do with the industry. "There have
been issues, but that is nothing to do with IT, it is to do with
the people," she says.
"I think it is important to boost awareness around any minority,
because awareness stops it from becoming an issue."
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