March being Women’s History Month, and March 8th International Women’s Day, provides an opportunity to drive awareness of the work that still needs to be done to achieve gender equity; however, it is also a great time to recognise and celebrate the accomplishments of women throughout history.
Whether it was inventing the dishwasher, the flat-bottomed paper bag, a car heater, the feeding tube, windshield wipers, or the chocolate chip cookie – women have made significant contributions that continue to shape our world today.
From technology, science, and engineering, to art and culture, there are too many to write about in one blog. Here, we focus on some of the innovation, developments and contributions by women both at Microsoft, and in the tech sector more broadly.
Groundbreaking achievements
Nicknamed “Mother of the Internet”, Radia Perlman’s invention of the algorithm behind the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), was instrumental in making today's internet possible. Her work put the basic rules of internet traffic in place, making a huge impact on the way networks self-organise and move data.
In 1994, Microsoft released Visual Basic (VB), which allowed people to easily create programs using a graphical user interface. This technology was developed by Amy Fu, who not only worked on the technology, but also developed numerous tools to help increase its user-friendliness. In 1997, Microsoft released ActiveX technology, which was developed by the team led by Alison Watson. This technology allowed components such as multimedia files to be added to web pages and enabled developers to create interactive websites.
Annie Easley, a NASA Rocket Scientist, is known as a trailblazer for racial diversity and gender equity in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects. Easley contributed to numerous programs as a computer scientist, including working on the vital Centaur rocket project that laid foundations at NASA for space shuttle launches in the future.
Mary Wilkes is known as the first home computer user. A former computer programmer and logic designer, Wilkes is best known for designing LINC, the software that formed one of the earliest systems of an interactive personal computer. Mary’s use of the LINC at home in 1965 made her the first ever home computer user, and her work has been recognised at The National Museum of Computing, Bletchley Park.
Revolutionising the future
In 2011, Marissa Mayer created an algorithm that re-ordered Yahoo’s search results based on user preferences rather than keywords – revolutionising the way users interacted with search engines. Later that same year, she was appointed CEO of Yahoo; and under her leadership, the company saw significant growth and development in technology products over the next few years.
In 1965, Dr. Stephanie Kwolek invented the fibres that led to Kevlar fabric – a lightweight, bulletproof material that has been used in a range of products including body armour and vehicles, in addition to about 200 other products. Despite being recognised for the invention years prior, it was not until 2016 that she officially received her patent!
In 2004, Dr. Barbara Liskov developed a theory called "Liskov Substitution Principle" which sets standards for object-oriented programming language design. Dr. Liskov's achievements have helped make software more reliable and secure over the past 19 years.
We can’t have a blog about influential women in tech throughout history, without mentioning Ada Lovelace. Ada, daughter of romantic poet, Lord Byron, is often referred to as the “world’s first computer programmer”. Ada’s mathematical talent and her skills and interest in machines led to working with Charles Babbage, inventor of the “Analytical Engine”. The Analytical Engine was a complicated device not actually created, but resembling the elements of a modern computer. Alan Turing later used notes written by Ada on the Analytical Engine as a form of inspiration for his work on the first modern computer in the 1940s.
Between 1972 to 1989, Elizabeth Feinler ran the Network Information Center in California, which was known as the OG search engine, a bit like a “pre-historic Google.” The NIC was known as the first place to publish the resources and directories that formed the original ‘white pages’ and ‘yellow pages’ directories on the Internet. Her group also developed the domain naming scheme of .com, .edu, .gov, .net, and many more that we use so commonly today.
Influential Women in Tech today
Timnit Gebru is a widely respected leader and researcher in AI ethics. Arguably, she is best known for her ground-breaking research paper, which revealed that facial recognition technology is 35% less likely to recognise people of colour, than white men. She is also the co-founder of Black in AI, a champion of diversity in tech.
Sarah Armstrong-Smith, Chief Security Advisor for Microsoft, formerly the Head of Continuity & Resilience, Enterprise and Cyber Security for Fujitsu, has been recognised as one of the most influential women in tech in 2023. Sarah emphasises the importance of getting more women into STEM sectors and how rewarding a career in technology is.
Dame Inga Beale is famed for her revolutionary role as the first female CEO of Lloyds of London, in their 328 years of operation. Inga helped to bring the company firmly into the 21st century by leading a five-year technology transformation that resulted in 70% of Lloyd’s business being processed digitally. Inga also passionately advocated for LGBT+ rights in the workplace, having launched the Pride@Lloyds network.
Cher Wang is a Taiwanese entrepreneur and philanthropist who was one of the pioneers in the Android world. She remains one of the key players in the tech industry as co-founder and chairperson of HTC Corporation and integrated chipset maker, VIA Technologies, and is now venturing into the virtual reality realm. According to Forbes, she is one of the most powerful women in computer technology today.
Making the digital world safer, more inclusive and more equitable
These are just a few examples of inventions, developments and contributions by women which continue to make an impact on our technology-driven world today. As Women's History Month draws much needed awareness and recognition in a sector that still has a lot of progress to make to close the gender gap, we should take the time to recognise and honour the achievements of women who have made technology more advanced, secure, and accessible than ever before.
Share this blog with colleagues and friends who may not have heard of some of these incredible women, even though, in some cases, they may experience or benefit from the fruits of their labour on a daily basis.
