Women and technology: 5 stories that break stereotypes

"A girl-programmer is like a guinea pig: she has nothing to do with the sea, nor with pigs." Not very funny, but for some reason quite a popular joke is found in almost every article devoted to the interaction of women and technology. It's time to say goodbye to the myth that the weaker sex and IT are incompatible concepts forever.

Ada Lovelace

Daughter of George Byron, mathematician and the first ever programmer.

As a child, Ada Lovelace had a habit of retiring in her room for a long time and writing something. At first, her mother assumed the most terrible thing: it seems that her daughter went to her father and took up versification. But poetry was not very interested in Ada - the girl was designing an aircraft.

At 17, Lovelace met the mathematician Charles Babbage, the creator of the first computer. She later translated the notes of the Italian mathematician Luigi Menabrea on Babbage's Analytical Engine and provided this work with 52 pages of her commentaries. Among them was a description of the algorithm for calculating Bernoulli numbers - in fact, the first computer program. Ada expressed her views on possible ways to use Babbage's machine, Lovelace's ideas formed the basis of modern programming. She first used the concepts of "loop", "subroutine" and "work cell".

The essence and purpose of the machine will change depending on what information we put into it. The machine will be able to write music, paint pictures and show science such paths that we never dreamed of.

Ada Lovelace

The analytic engine was never built, but Lovelace's work received the recognition it deserved: the Ada programming language was named after her.

Hedy Lamarr

Actress and inventor. This is a rare case when stunning beauty is combined with remarkable intelligence.

In 1937, Hedy fled from her disgusted husband, millionaire and arms dealer Fritz Mandl, and moved to the United States. After the outbreak of World War II, she became determined to help her new homeland in the fight against the Nazis. Lamarr's technical knowledge, supported by the ability to exact sciences, was unnecessary: the actress was offered to sell defense bonds. The one who paid 25 thousand dollars received a kiss from a beauty in addition, in such a simple way the star collected 7 million.

Everything was changed by a meeting with composer George Antheil. Together they set about developing a radio-controlled torpedo whose signal could not be intercepted or drowned out.

The idea was extremely simple and elegant: if enemy ships jam the torpedo signal at the same frequency where it is transmitted, then it is necessary to periodically change the transmission channel, jumping from frequency to frequency.

In 1942, Lamarr and Antheil received a patent for a secret communications system, which they donated to the American government.

The invention was appreciated at its true worth almost half a century later, when some military patents were declassified. Lamarr's ideas became the basis for the development of spread spectrum communication systems. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GSM - we owe all this to some extent to the beautiful Hedi.

Grace Hopper

A scientist and rear admiral of the US Navy is a rather unexpected combination for the fair sex. Hopper has earned the nickname "Amazing Grace" for a reason.

She developed an interest in technology since childhood. Grace got hold of an alarm clock - she took it apart. Then another and one more - and so on seven times. She managed to avoid the fate of a typical wife and housewife: due to a serious illness, the father could not provide his daughter with a worthy dowry, so he decided to give her at least a decent education.

Grace Hopper received her Ph. D. from Yale University and volunteered for the Navy in 1943. After training, she was sent to the Bureau of Artillery Computing Projects at Harvard University. Hopper became the third Mark I computer programmer to calculate ballistic tables. To make it easier for the operators of the device and save them from having to constantly repeat the same actions, Grace developed routines that did this automatically.

Perhaps the most famous creation of Grace Hopper is the COBOL programming language. Until now, millions of lines of code are written on it every year. Hopper also belongs to the term "bug" in the meaning of "error". In September 1945, a moth fell between the relay contacts of the Mark II computer. It was taken out and glued to the technical diary page with the note First actual case of bug being found.

Marissa Mayer

A woman, and even a blonde - what room for jokes. But the president and CEO of Yahoo has proven that performance is not judged solely by looks.

Mayer became the first female engineer at Google, but quickly realized that development was not for her. She tried herself in various positions within the company: she was engaged in marketing, design and training of managers. Eventually, Marissa became vice president of search product development and user interface development.

When Mayer was offered the position of Yahoo CEO, she got into trouble. At that time, Marissa was pregnant, which could not have the best effect on the decision of the board of directors. And yet her presentation on the company's recovery from the crisis was so convincing that there was no doubt that this is the ideal candidate.

Workaholism, overwhelming pedantry and exactingness towards herself and others - such an explosive mixture ensured Marissa Mayer success in her career and a place in the list of the 50 most influential American women according to Fortune magazine. She convincingly demonstrated to all skeptics that the gender of the leader does not matter - his professional skills are much more important.

Arianna Huffington

Few people have a life that includes several vivid stories at once. Writer, political activist and media manager Arianna Huffington is definitely one of those lucky ones.

In her youth, she moved from Greece to the UK, dreaming of going to Cambridge. Arianna was fortunate enough to win a scholarship from Girton College, where she took an active part in the work of the discussion club. After receiving her master's degree in economics, the girl was engaged in journalism and wrote books, and in 1980 she went to New York.

Here she met her future husband Michael Huffington, an entrepreneur and a promising politician. Arianna took an active part in her husband's election campaigns, supporting the initiatives of the Republicans. She later changed her views and even ran for governor of California, becoming a pretty serious opponent for Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Republican candidate.

The main business of Arianna's life was the online edition of the Huffington Post. A media platform, texts for which are created free of charge by famous people, is a rather risky experiment, but it was crowned with success. The Huffington Post has become one of the most influential online resources, becoming the place for lively discussions on sensitive topics. In 2011, the site was acquired by the media corporation AOL, after which versions of the resource appeared for various countries - from the UK to Italy.

Why is it cool to be a programmer

First, it's interesting. Programming is an area where almost everyone will find something to their liking: mobile development, system administration, web design … After all, you can even make games. There are more than enough opportunities for development here, you just have to constantly learn and improve your qualifications. Without this, there is nothing in programming.

Secondly, with such a profession you will definitely not be left without a job. Good specialists are highly valued, and many can only dream of the working conditions offered to them. If you want - work in the office, if you want - stay at home, if you want - generally make a choice in favor of freelancing. Plus, you are unlikely to be brainwashed with all sorts of bureaucratic nonsense. IT people usually have a fierce allergy to it.

Finally, with the existing choice of forms of training, one can change qualifications without being distracted from the main work. Online education is available to absolutely everyone, and in terms of efficiency it sometimes even surpasses university curricula.

Where is it taught

GeekBrains is an educational portal that seems to suit everyone: beginners will get acquainted with the basics of programming here, and those who are not new to the code will be able to master related professions.

Unlike most universities and similar courses, teachers here are not only fluent in theory, but also know how to apply it in practice.

You don't have to waste time listening to stories that are distantly related to the subject being studied. Everything is clear, concise and to the point.

By choosing any of the GeekBrains courses, you have access to a huge knowledge base. These are lectures, articles, and video materials that are always available in your personal account, and the opportunity to communicate with classmates and teachers. Free webinars will help you to understand the nuances of your chosen profession and get answers to almost any question of interest.

And an internship, of course. Graduates of the courses can take it in one of the large IT companies with which the online school has developed partnerships, or work directly at GeekBrains. Practical experience is critical for successful employment, here you are guaranteed to receive it.

If your heart is in programming, but you have little idea where to start at all, GeekBrains will help you define goals and allow you to successfully implement them.