The ICT sector is considered one of those that generates better job opportunities . In fact, according to the European Commission, women who work in ICT earn 9% compared to those who hold similar positions in other sectors.
The main problem is that, worldwide, women do not manage to find positions in this sector because they stay away from the careers that enable them to work in it.
In Europe, only 30% of the 7 million workers registered in the ICT sector are women.
These data can be transferred to practically every country in the world, since the relationship between women and the professions or technological careers is historically marked by invisibility and discrimination .
So much so that there is even a name for the phenomenon of concealment of the work done by women.
In 1883, the suffragist Matilda Joslyn Gage identified a behavior of concealing the achievements of professional women for the benefit of her male colleagues, thus giving rise to what is now known as the Matilda Effect .
Despite this attitude, not all the achievements of pioneer women have gone unnoticed. In fact, there are dozens of stories of heroines unknown to the general public, who through their work gave rise to some of the elements we use today, whose names resonate when talking about inventions.
An example of this are these 8 women , with decisive roles in the history of technology , who deserve to be recognized for their work:
1) Ada Lovelace
She is known as the mother of Computer Science, as she was the first to develop a machine capable of calculating certain algebraic functions.
2) Edith Clarke
His work gave rise to the first versions of the calculator and strengthened its future development.
3) Hedy Lamarr
Although it was not her goal, with her work this inventor gave life to Wi-Fi.
4) Joan Clarke
The famous enigma code was deciphered by Joan Clarke, thus allowing the allies to win the Second World War.
5) Margaret Heafield Hamilton
She was part of the team that was in charge of creating the navigation software for the Apollo Space Program.
6) Evelyn Berezin
Thanks to Evelyn’s work we know the word processors.
7) Shirley Ann Jackson
Fax and fiber optic are just some of the inventions that can be coined to this pioneer woman in technology.
8) Carol Shaw
The first video games arose from the hand of Carol Shaw, who took the first steps to one of the most lucrative industries today.
Know the work of these pioneers is the first step to counteract the negative effects of these discriminatory practices of yesteryear and stop reproducing them in the future.
