Pioneering Women in Tech: The Hidden Figures Who Built the Future

In the tech sector, a decade can feel like a lifetime. And 10 years ago in tech, companies were invested in making sure that more women were entering their ranks.  

In fact, that was one of Alyson La’s first projects at GitHub—providing the data for a people analytics report that the company released annually. At the time, top tech businesses were competing to show how diverse their employee pools had become, using their internal stats to prove they weren’t all talk and were actually making progress toward closing gender disparities in their hiring practices. But “a lot of companies run on peer pressure,” La points out. And once it went out of fashion to highlight efforts to diversify their workforces, those companies stopped publishing their numbers.  

A curriculum director and instructor with Tech-Moms, a nonprofit devoted to training women for careers in the industry, La hopes to see tech leaders reverse course and pick up where they left off. As she and many others within the science and engineering sectors know, women don’t just have the potential to make waves in tech: Pioneering women in computing have already proven their immense value with the contributions they’ve made to the industry over the past century. 

Why women’s contributions to tech have been overlooked 

More than 10 years ago, The New York Times asked some of the tech industry’s leading female tech innovators why the gender gap in employment persisted in their sector.  

Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code, pinpointed visibility as a major problem. 

“If women had been more prominently talked about in computing, both in the history books and schools, we literally would not have the lack of women programmers that we have today,” she said.  

What young girls needed then and still need today are role models. “You can’t be what you cannot see,” she explained.  

Therefore the solution—a solution which may be even more urgent now than it was a decade ago—is to intentionally record and share the stories of women who shaped the early days of technology. If the current crop of leaders are calling for more “masculine energy” in tech, then those who believe in the importance of more space for women in the industry need to shine the spotlight on how women’s ingenuity has shaped the tech landscape.  

Meet the often-forgotten women in tech who shaped the industry  

Domo values recognizing the tech pioneers whose stories reveal what’s possible when the industry centers creativity and curiosity, and everyone's contributions are valued. The history of computing is deeply incomplete without acknowledging the contributions women have made. By celebrating the achievements of the seven women featured below, we can both set the record straight while helping inspire those in the field to recognize and appreciate the rich roots of innovation that form the foundation of our industry.  

Ada Lovelace, the first computer programmer 

Meet Ada Lovelace, an English mathematician and writer widely regarded as the founder of scientific computing. In 1843, she published instructions for the world’s first algorithm intended to be processed by a computer. Although the computer wasn’t built until the 21st century, her historic work earned her the title of the world’s first computer programmer. 

Grace Hopper, inventor of the compiler 

Grace Hopper wasn’t only one of the first programmers, but she also broke barriers as the first woman to earn a PhD in mathematics from Yale and the first woman to achieve the rank of Admiral in the US Navy. In 1951, she invented the first compiler, laying the groundwork of modern computing as we know it today. 

Margaret Hamilton, a pioneer of the Apollo 11 mission 

In 1969, Neil Armstrong made history when he became the first person to step foot on the moon. What many people don’t know is that he wouldn’t have made it to the moon without Margaret Hamilton. She invented the software that allowed the Apollo 11 computers to prioritize important tasks—critical to the mission’s success. 

Sophie Wilson, innovator behind the ARM processor 

Sophie Wilson is often called the mother of the smartphone and tablet. She developed some of the world’s first commercially successful personal computers and created the original ARM computer processor. This innovation went on to become one of the most successful designs in history. By 2012, her design was found powering most of the world’s mobile computers and smartphones. 

Erna Hoover, software patent pioneer 

In the 1950s, Erna Hoover developed a computerized telephone switching system that eliminated the danger of overload in call processing. Her innovative work revolutionized modern communication and earned her one of the first software patents ever awarded to a woman. 

Jean Jennings Bartik and the ENIAC Six—trailblazers of digital computer programming 

Built for the US Army during World War II, the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was the first general-purpose electronic digital computer. A group of six women—Jean Jennings Bartik, Frances “Betty” Snyder Holberton, Kathleen McNulty Mauchly Antonelli, Marlyn Wescoff Meltzer, Ruth Lichterman Teitelbaum, and Frances Bilas Spence—took on the challenge of programming it. Their efforts broke new ground and inspired future generations in tech. 

Radia Perlman, the mother of the Internet 

Known by many as “The Mother of the Internet,” network engineer Radia Perlman helped make Ethernet technology a household name. She developed the Spanning Tree Protocols (STPs), which allow network traffic to scale effectively using Ethernet. Her contributions have shaped the way we connect and communicate in the world today. 

The legacy of women in tech and what’s next 

Technology has always been rooted in diverse viewpoints, with every generation standing on the shoulders of the scientists and innovators who came before them, many of them women. Recognizing the value of women in the tech workforce shouldn’t feel like a bold move. It should just be common sense.  

That's why La hopes to see the tech industry use peer pressure for good. “If a company decides that it's important to have a diverse team, there will be a diverse team,” she said.  

All it takes is a few leaders to prioritize hiring diverse talent to start a snowball effect that encourages other companies to do the same and move the industry in a better direction. The next Ada Lovelace or Margaret Hamilton is out there waiting to make a discovery in AI or modern computing that could transform a company, an industry, or even the world. It’s up to the tech industry to lead the way to these discoveries by investing in opportunities for women.  

You can see how Domo is making progress in this area here and learn more about women in tech here. Interested in joining our team? Learn more about open positions at Domo.