women in computer history

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The Role Of Women In The History Of ComputingJoyce Currie Little, ProfessorTowson University

Baltimore, Maryland U.S.A.=Email: [email protected]

Abstract: Long before the electronic computing era,women were already a part of the information processingindustry. For the first fifty years of information processing ,women had an important role to play -- from the womendata entry operators of the early 1900s to the six womenprogrammers of ENIAC in the 1940s and the scientificcomputation women computists of the 1950s. Sometimesan extraordinary partnership occurred, with women anintegral part of a team. Sometimesa stroke of fate placed awoman at the right place at the right time to be a part ofcomputing history. This paper provides a personaloverview of the role of women in the history of informationprocessing and computing, then gives a perspective on theworkplace issues of supply and demand that continue toaffect that role. Concern is expressed about the future roleof women in computing and the sciences, with suggestionsfor consideration of new ways to approach the shortfall.Keywords: Computing, computer programming, computerscience, computer and information sciences, computerinformation systems, gender issues, history of computing,information technology, role of women in computing,supply/demand n computing.1. IntroductionLong before the computing era, women were part ofthe information processing industry. The early workof woman mathematician Ada Lovelace on thecomputer being designed by Charles Babbage in theUnited Kingdom in the mid- 1850s was of such staturethat she is still honored today, by being known as theworlds first computer programmer, and by having theUnited States Department of Defense language Adanamed after her (1). In the early 1900s in the UnitedStates, the Bureau of the Census played an active partin the development of information processing unitrecord equipment. As data processing began to bemore widely used in government and industry,women played a major role as support personnel.Then in the 1940s before, during and after World War11, women mathematicians were called upon to leadthe work of the programming of several of thedevices underway. One of these was the ElectronicNumerical Integrator and Calculator (ENIAC), thefirst electronic digital computer (2). Over the fiftyyears of the history of electronic digital computing,the role of women changed somewhat in everydecade, just as their role in society was changing.

Analyzing their role is not only important in order toget the history right and to give accurateacknowledgment to them, but it is important as thefoundation for future generations of women in thesciences and engineering.2. Computing History and the Role of WomenA. TheFirst Fijiy Years

In the early 19OOs, record keeping waspredominantly done onpunch cards, and clerical workincluded setting up and operating peripheralequipment machines, such as the sorter (to separatedecks of cards), the collator (to merge decks of cards),and the tabulator machine (to print output intospecific formats). Women provided most of the laborfor the entry and validation of large volumes of data.Women also became the computational support, oftensitting before a calculator all day doing columns ofcalculations. In contrast, men became the computeroperators, managing the console of the computer,including the moving of large boxes of forms intoplace for printing. Most women in data processingserved in a variety of clerical positions, usuallyreporting to men.In the 1950s, as the scientific and businessworlds added electronic computing machines to thedata processing unit-record systems, womenmathematicians were actively solicited to becomecomputer programmers, many to do computationalscience for the aerospace industry. Some employersindicated the reason for first soliciting women in theearly days of electronic computing was the lack ofavailable men mathematicians, who were likely inmilitary service at that time (3). Other employersduring the 1950s indicated the reason for the activesolicitation of women mathematicians was the factthat the early women mathematicians during the1940s did such excellent work that they were thoughtto be better at computer programmingthanmen (4).

What happened to the women from this era?We recognize the names of some of them -- womensuch as Jean Bartik, Thelma Estrin, Grace MurrayHopper, Milli Koss, and Kay Mauchley. Some ofthem moved into government, while others becamepart of some of the first major computing corporations

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(5 ) .children and a family life.Some of the married, and some of them had

B. TheNext Fiftv YearsDuring the expansion of Computing into thebusiness organizations of the mid-l96Os, womenwere still used as data entry personnel, tapelibrarians, and peripheral equipment operators. Largemainframe shops typically had one computer fed byliterally hundreds of magnetic tape machines, onwhich library reels of data were mounted, in turn, ofeed as input to the processing. As the softwareindustry expanded in the late 1960s due to theunbundling of IBM Corporation by the U. S. JusticeDepartment, women were in a good position to movefrom the clerical jobs into jobs as systemsengineers, serving customers with individualattention, in both a technical and psychologicalnature. When business computing changed to becomelocal time-sharing, much of the data entry functionmoved to be done by the user (often a woman), whilethe operator position (often a man) was automated,causing job displacement of computer operators.When remote time-sharing became a possibility(allowed by the legal permissions of the Carterfonedecision), women could suddenly work from home.Many shifted to consulting work, to contract work,sometimes to part-time teaching -- all of which fitbetter for those with an interest in raising a family.During the 1970s, both the mainframebusiness world and the minicomputer timeshare worldcoexisted, and women were evident in both worlds.Some women in the field pursued advanced degrees,which had recently become available; others started tomove up the corporate managerial ladder. However,a transition of women into management was difficult;the barrier to management positions became known asthe glass ceiling. The entry of women into theuniversities began to occur as women completedadvanced degrees. Some few women becameuniversity computer center managers, but very few.

During the 1980s many changes came aboutfrom the advent of the personal computer. In the mid-1970s the Altair computer became available as a kit,and was popular in electronics departments and withhobbyists, usually male. However, in the late 1970sthe Apple II personal computer became available,followed by several other brands and types, and arevolution seemed to occur among women, many ofwhom were already in the field. As the Apple I1moved rapidly into the educational arena, many morewomen began to use it, leading to a new and separateclientele for computing. By the time IBM releasedtheir personal computer in the early 1980s, morewomen, many fiom the area of office support, movedinto computing. Many women moved to create small

businesses, based on the personal computer and itscapabilities, especially in areas such as desk-toppublishing and software development for education.It is well known hat during the early days of personalcomputing, information systems managers (mostlymale) considered the personal computer a toy,suitable for children rather than the professionalworkplace, Even the first few years of the exhibits ofpersonal computers at the prestigious NationalComputer Conference was relegated to a separate site.Therefore, many mainframe computer facilitiesmissed the first opportunity to move into personalcomputing, or to combine it with the services of thecomputing services responsibility. But, by the close ofthe 1980s ,many computing departments had createdan information center, to help the personalcomputer users with their needs. Soon, personalcomputers were everywhere, and information systemsmanagers had no choice but to assume someresponsibility for their use. Many managers sooncreated new networks by linking personal computers,leading to a whole new area of work in systemsmanagement. More men than women made a jobtransition into networking, and that statistic is stilltrue today. As mainframe facilities moved todownsize to networks, client-server configurationsarose. Some facilities acted quickly to acquire themore powerful workstations. As workstations movedinto specialized user applications areas, such as radioand television production, women were again veryvisible in their capabilities with these machines.

During the 199Os, computing challengescontinued, with any number of different environmentspossible. Personal computing and remote computinghad merged with communications, leading to a widevariety of services. The Internet had moved fiom theresearch and university community into the generalpublic consciousness. Internet companies began toarise, many of them led by women. As the use ofInternet becomes the standard for public release ofinformation, and as intranets and extranets becomepart of an organizations requirement to cany outtheir work, web design became a major job position,very attractive to women. As we move into the nextmillenium, opportunities for women will no doubtcontinue to abound in computing.

3. The Demand for and Supply of InformationTechnology Workers

An extremely high demand for informationtechnology workers was documented in 1997 througha study done by the Information TechnologyAssociation of America (ITAA), resulting in therelease of two reports (6,7). A later study by the U.S.

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Department of Commerce reported similar findings.A more recent report has provided a thoroughexplanation of the complex supply/demand situationin information technology jobs in the United States(8). Yet questions about the validity of theprojections continue to arise (9). Controversy arosefrom the circumstance of the older worker, theminority worker, and women. Conditionssurrounding some positions seem to make them moreattractive to young single males rather than to thoseinterested in maintaining a family and having a life.Most projections indicate a long and continuingdemand for workers.

The supply side of the equation is far morechallenging to measure. One difficulty withenumerating the supply of workers is caused by thelack of a standardized nomenclature that allows easymeasurement. It is difficult to know with accuracyhow many graduates there are in the computingdiscipline, since there is no standard name by whichprograms are known and recognized. The mostrecognized, computer science, was defmed with therelease of ACMs Curriculum 68. Other programs,including those in the community colleges, have beenand still are known by many other names, such ascomputer studies, data processing, business computerprogramming, information systems management,information management, and computer informationsystems.

Statistics about the percentage of womenbeing educated in the broader computer andinformation sciences category show decreases eachyear in the number of women baccalaureategraduates, with 35.8 %women in 1984-85 to 28.4 %in 1993-94 (10). Computer science and computerengineering graduates in 1997-87 were reported to be16% and 13% women, respectively, continuing adecline that started in the mid-1980s (11).4.Computing

Qualifications and Preparation of Women in

Why are there so few women in the pipeline?Clarke and Teague provide a plethora of reasons, withsuggestions for improvement (12). Frenkel documentsmuch of the evidence fiom the 1980s (13). A majorstudy of one institution criticized the computerlaboratory environment (14). Another study indicatedthat the numbers of students dropping out was widelyvariant by department, and that department variationsshould be studied (15). Others say we must lookbeyond the pipeline, toward external sources. Severalprograms have been established especially for maturereturning women. Training programs, sometimes withcertification examinations available as a credential,offer another route to job placement. Many of those

moving into computing came through anotherdisciplineas a user.

Many say women are less qualified due totheir lack of mathematical skills. Programs incomputer science were and are more demandingmathematically than the programs in informationsystems. Women entering college as freshmen wereand are usually less well prepared in mathematicsthan men. Statistics on the student selection of amajor show that, typically, women tend to choosehealth sciences, education, and liberal arts programsover those in mathematics, science, and engineering.(16 ) Retention of women who do choose technicalprograms has not been as good as with men, for avariety of reasons, not all well understood.5. Conclusions and Observations

Women have had an important role to play inthe history in computing. They have beeninstrumental in carrying out computer programmingand support services tasks for a century ofinformation processing. It is important to todaysgenerations of women to document their role in thepast, learn from their experiences, and prepare for thefuture. In the next millenium, women should be ableto more easily find workplace roles to occupy thatwill allow them to have more control over their livesand their fortunes.

It has been said that if the number of womenwere increased to equal the number of men, even thehuge shortages would be filled (17). However, thereis no reason to believe the lack of an equaldistribution of women among the inventors, theindustrialists, and the technical innovators is the faultof the women. (18). In fact, analysis of the sciencesand engineering overall show that the number ofwomen completing university programs in computingis somewhat better than in the other sciences, exceptfor the biological sciences, and that it is much betterthan in the engineering disciplines (19).

It has been recommended that we look forsolutions not in the women but in the structures andprocesses of our world ( 20). We must do that. Wemust rethink how we introduce young people tocomputing, how we stereotype our various jobpositions, and how we measure success and progress.We must help our human resources personnel tounderstand why a good foundation is more importantthan this weeks fad on the software shelf. We mustinsist that employers help to keep workers current inthe knowledge base. We must insist on the type ofinstruction that assists students in learning how tolearn. Some say that computing tends to become tootechnical and too specialized too soon n the academicpipeline, discouraging those who would be otherwise

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encouraged by a different beginning (21). Perhaps bymodifying the way we approach the hands-onwork ofthe crafts and of the technologies, we could encouragemore of our young people to be builders. And, wemust help our colleagues, both male and female, whohave been the founders of this discipline to continueto be active and alert. We m u s t insist on fairtreatment for all, whatever the age, status, or gender.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSTh e Grace Hopper Celebration of Women inComputing, held in San Jose California in Septem ber 1997,honored six women com puter pioneers from our earlyhistory. I would like to thank Denise Gu rer for coordinatingthe activity at the Celebration, which led to these womenbecoming acquainted with each other and their stories. Iwould also l ike to thank Anita Borg and others wh o workedto make the event possible, to bring these women pioneerstogether at the event. Thanks also to John Impagl iazzo andthe supporters for the symposium Women and Computing,held at Hofstra University, New York in October 1998. Inthese two events, women have come together with studentsin com puting, to share their history, their personal stories,and their contributions to the industry. One result of thisinteraction has been more awareness of the varied roles ofwomen in our history; another result is that their storieshave inspired numerous young women in their work.

REFERENCES[l] Betty Alexandra Toole, ed., Ada, the Enchantress ofNumbers (Mill Valley, CA: Strawberry Press, 1992).[2] Denise W. Gurer, Pioneering Women in ComputerScience, Communications of the ACM, 38, no. 1, January 1995,45-53.[3] Address by Kay Mauchley Antonelli, Symposium onWomen and Comp uting. Hofstra University, October 1998.[4] Authors nterview with hiring personnel at ConvairAircraft Corporation, A Division of General Dynamics, San Diego,CA, July 1957.[5] Women in the History of Computers (Grace MurrayHopper Celebration of Women in Computing), Insight Media,#1130W930,1997, ideocassette.[6] StuartAnderson, Heb Wanted: The IT WorkjorceGapat the Dawn of a New Century (Washington D.C.: IT AA, Feb.1997).

[7] Help Wanted 1998:A Call fo r Collaborative Action fo rthe New Millennium, (Washington D.C.: ITAA and VirginiaPolytechnic Institute and State U niversity, Feb. 1988).181 %RA National Study of IT Worker Shortage,Computing Research News, 10, o. 5 , Nov., 1998,l.[9] Peter Freeman and William Aspray, The Supply ofInformation Technology Workers n the United States,(WashingtonD.C.: Computing Research Association, 1999).[lo] Wolfgang Strigel, Whats the Problem: L a b r Shortageor Industry Practices? IEEE Software, MayIJune 1999,52-54.[l I] Peter Freeman and William Aspray, op cit, 112.[12] Dexter Kozen and Jim Moms, Th .D . Enrollment UPfor the Third Straight Year, 1997-98 CRA Taulbee Survey,Computing Research News,March 1999,l.[13] Valerie A. Clarke and G. Joy Teague. A Psycho logicalPerspective on Gender Differences in Computer Participation,Twenty-flfih SIGCSE Technical @mposiwn on Computer ScienceEducation SIGCSE Bulletin,26, o. 1,March 1994,258-262.[I41 Ellen Spertus, Why are Thereso Few Female ComputerScientists? (Boston,MA: MIT Artificial Intelligence la bra to^^Technical ReportNo. 1315), 1991.[I51 J. McGrath Cohoon, DepartmentalDifferences CanPoint the Way to Improving Female Retention in ComputerScience, Thirtieth SIGCSE Technical Symposium on ComputerScience Education SIGCSE Bulletin,March 1999,198-202.[I61 National Center for Education Statistics, Findings fromthe Condition of Education 1997: Women in Mathematics andScience,(Washington D.C.: NCES 97-982,uly 1997).[I71 Peter Freeman and W illiamAsprey, ibid. 1 11.[18] Shirley M. Malcom, Fault Lines, Science, 284, no.5418, 21 May 1999,1271.[I91 Karen A. Frenkel, Women & Computing,Communicationsof the ACM,Nov. 1990,3546.[20] ShirleyM. alcom, ibid.[21] Dennis J. Frailey, Specialization is Harmful to ComputerEducation, SIGCSEBulletin inroads,30 , no. , June 1998,46.Dr. Joyce Currie Little is a Professor and former Chairperson,Computer and Information Sciences, Towson University,Baltimore, Maryland. She has been in computing since the mid-1950s,having worked first in aerospace as a computational testengineer, then developing courses and teaching computing atseve ral different colleges. Joyc e is a director of the Institute forCertification of Computing Professionals (ICCP), representingACM, and is a member of the ACM Commu nity CollegeEducation Comm ittee. Joyc e received the ACM DistinguishedService Award in 1992, became a charter ACM Fellow in 1994,and was named a Fellow of the American Association for theAdvancement of S cience ( M S ) in 1995. Her Ph.D. is from theUniversity of Maryland, College Park.

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