#woman programming

[darkacademiacontent]

You probably know THIS MAN

But, do you know THIS WOMAN?

If you dont...KEEP READING (Especially if you’re looking for a feminine representation ON PROGRAMMING)

okk, lets start from the begining, this BEAUTIFUL AND SMART WOMAN is AUGUSTA ADA KING, know as Ada Lovelace or Ada Byron.

(YES, she is daughter of our great poet Lord Byron!)

But why am i speaking of her? well, SHE studied the machine created by Charles Babbage, and  She was the first to recognise that the machine had applications beyond pure calculation, and to have published the first algorithm intended to be carried out by such a machine. As a result, she is often regarded as the first computer programmer.

We are talking about WOMAN being able to do great things in 19th century in a male field!

And HER work was used by ALAN TURING when he was trying to build a computer! Now i ask you: how many times do you see a picture of her or Alan Turing in your history books? the answer is probably NONE! (this i can affirm, after searching over 10 books that i have in my house, and finding none) But you’ll probably find some picture of a guy who use THEIR studies to continue the progress of programming.

SO PLEASE, dont refer her as Lord Byron’s daugther (yes the fact that she is his daugther is FANTASTIC, but dont forget her legacy, she is bigger than a poets daugther) refere her as THE WOMAN who was responsable for the great advance in computing (I don’t want to decreasing man’s work, but sometimes woman and other minorities NEED to feel represented)

If you want read more about her, click here!

Some time ago i was uncertain about following a science career for beein a field almost dominates by man, so i thought that i probably wouldnt fit in, then i quit, but a few months i start to study programm, and i was influenced by HER WORK.

Should I do more posts like this one?

[its-guru-stuff-blog]

Why are there so few women studying programming language implementation?

Probably because their friends aren't doing it. Because of the way the world worked at the time, most of the early implementers of programming languages were men. They brought their friends in the field and also developed a language for talking about programming language implementation that makes sense to their those friends. Most of those friends were also men. At this point, getting into programming language implementation as a woman can be like moving to a foreign country where you don't know anyone. You have to get your bearings and learn the language without much help from people who really "get" you. And I don't mean to suggest that men and women can't be friends. By "friends" here I really mean the people that you identify with, that you see as equals, that you have intellectual discussions with, that you trust to identify good things to do, and that you trust to ask vulnerable I-have-no-clue-what-I'm-doing kinds of questions to. For most people I know, these friends tend to be of the same gender. As for me, I'll tell people that I got into programming language implementation because I thought it was the most foundational and interesting subject in computer science, but there were many social factors involved. I had a couple of professors, Greg Morrisett and Norman Ramsey, who inspired me, explained things to me, and made me feel like I was part of the community. (I also suspect they went out of their way to make me feel included because of my gender.) It also helped that I had a female friend, Yao Yu, who was learning about these ideas at the same time and with whom I could explore this space. These things really helped, because even though I had male classmates who were in a similar situation, they often talked in a way that made me feel like they were insiders and I was an outsider. (Of course, it's not just about gender but about culture and social factors, but it's what happens.) I was really determined to learn everything I could about programming languages, but I'm not sure that even I would have stuck with it if it hadn't been for these people helping to draw me in.

[Collected Answer]

Jean Yang

CS PhD student at MIT.

Harvard CS '08; MIT CS PhD TBD.