March is Women’s History Month, and it’s an opportunity to celebrate and recognize the many contributions made by women throughout history. Women have shaped the development of technology and other fields and led innovation. Celebrating these achievements honors the women who led the way and inspired future generations. We want to take a moment and recognize ten women who have made significant contributions to the world of technology.
Grace Hopper was a computer scientist and Navy rear admiral credited with developing the first compiler, which translates human-readable code into machine language. Hopper’s work laid the foundation for modern programming languages, and she is known for popularizing the term “debugging.”
Radia Perlman is a computer scientist who invented the spanning tree protocol (STP), which is used to prevent loops in network topologies. Her work on STP paved the way for modern computer networking, and she has been awarded numerous honors for her contributions to the field.
Reshma Saujani is the founder of Girls Who Code. This nonprofit organization aims to close the gender gap in technology by inspiring and educating girls to pursue careers in tech. Saujani is also a former political candidate and author of the book “Brave, Not Perfect.”
Katherine Johnson was a mathematician and NASA researcher whose work on orbital mechanics was crucial to the success of the early U.S. space program. Johnson’s story was popularized in the book and movie “Hidden Figures,” which tells the story of the African-American women who worked at NASA during the Space Race.
Tracy Chou is a software engineer and diversity advocate who has worked at companies like Pinterest and the U.S. Digital Service. Chou is known for her advocacy work around diversity in tech and for co-founding Project Include, an organization that promotes diversity and inclusion in the tech industry.
Sheryl Sandberg is the former Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Facebook and the author of the smash-hit book “Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead.” Sandberg has been an advocate for women’s rights and empowerment in the workplace, and she has been named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world.
Ada Lovelace was a mathematician and writer who is often credited with writing the first computer program for Charles Babbage’s analytical engine. Lovelace’s work helped to pave the way for modern computing, and she is often referred to as the “first computer programmer.”
Radhika Nagpal is a computer scientist who is known for her work in robotics and artificial intelligence. Nagpal has developed several innovative robots, including a swarm of robots that can work together to perform complex tasks.
Fei-Fei Li is a computer scientist and artificial intelligence expert who is known for her work in computer vision. Li has developed several innovative technologies, including ImageNet, a large-scale visual recognition database that has been used to train artificial intelligence systems.
Megan Smith is a former Vice President at Google and the former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the United States. Smith has been an advocate for diversity and inclusion in the tech industry, and she has worked to promote STEM education and entrepreneurship.
Women’s History Month is a time to celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of women in all areas of life, including technology. These are just a few examples of the many women in technology whose achievements deserve recognition. We at PreEmptive are excited to support future generations of women who continue to break barriers and make a difference in the world!