Women in Technology

It is well known that a lack of women studying in technology fields exists. Did you know that Google has the highest female percentage rate in the tech industry, containing only thirty percent of female employment? Society needs more females in technology fields, because they bring new perspectives when it comes to problem-solving and innovation.

In 1942, six women from Philadelphia were chosen to work on a government project known as the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer, or ENIAC. Betty Jean Jennings Bartik, Kathleen McNulty, MAuchly Antonelli, Ruth Lichterman Teitelbaum, Frances Bilas Spence, Marlyn Wescoff Meltzer, and Betty Snyder Holberton created the world’s first “general purpose” computer. In order to operate the massive computer, the women needed a three-month crash course in Aberdeen, Pennsylvania, to learn computing systems. After the women learned about computing systems, they were only given a stack of wiring diagrams for the computer panels to guide them. The ENIAC contained 18,000 vacuum tubes, 70,000 resistors, 10,000 capacitors, and 5 million hand soldered joints. The computer filled a 1,500-square-foot room. Finally, their hard work paid off on February 15, 1946, when the computer was released and worked up to 10,000 times faster than any other electronic machine of that time.

However, the women’s hard work was not acknowledged during that time period. But fifty years later, the women finally received credit for their work. In 1997, the six women were inducted into the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame for their work with the ENIAC. Recently, in 2011, the Philadelphia City Council declared February 15 as ENIAC Day in honor of the women’s work. Without these six women, smartphones or computers would be nonexistent in our lives.

There’s still progress necessary to be made for women who work in technology. Women need to start receiving proper recognition for their work, and receiving jobs in the technology industry. In conclusion, women should not feel discouraged from studying a science or technology career. Matter of fact, the world needs women to engage in STEM careers in order to advance technologically. You never know, look at the six women who improved the speed of computer technology that led to so many further advancements. If more women study technology, more technological improvements may be present.

Read more at: http://www.upworthy.com/these-6-women-got-written-out-of-tech-history-theyre-finally-being-recognized?c=upw1