Women at the Forefront of Technology
FemWealth Issue #16
Happy Sunday FemWealth Friends!
Computing is too important to be left to men.
I think women bring a different perspective to computing, they are more thoughtful and less inclined to go straight for technical fixes. My belief is that, intellectually, computer science is fascinating - you're trying to make things that don't exist. - Karen Spärck Jones
Women such as Ada Lovelace, Hedy Lamar, the ENIAC ‘computers’, Grace Hopper, and Katherine Johnson have been for decades and even centuries at the forefront of technology innovation. Despite not always given the recognition they deserve, their contributions have a long-lasting impact.
At its origins, Software Development was a female profession (men dominated hardware). Only when it gained prestige did men become interested in computer programming. In a few decades, women were forgotten from computer history and became a minority in the field.
The recognition that the tech industry has a diversity problem has pushed for efforts to bring more women and minorities into the field. What stands in the way is a culture built on an exaggerated geeky image. But technology is based on skills that women and people from minority groups are perfectly capable of learning.
In a world where AI, Big Data, and other emerging technologies become central, we need a diversity of thought and perspective to build technologies that work equitably for all of us.
In today’s edition, meet five of the many women trailblazers in technology:
Dr. Gladys B. West, Air Force Mathematician
“It is hard for me to believe that I was a little black girl on the farm who had a dream to get off the farm, get educated, and make enough money to take care of myself. And now, I have realized my dreams and reached a height beyond what I anticipated. I encourage young women to believe in yourself, find your passion, work hard and apply yourself, stay committed, find a mentor, participate in activities that relate to your passion, never give up, always keep setting new goals and continue to strive to reach them, and most of all - follow your dreams.”
Born Gladys Mae Brown in 1930, she grew up in rural, segregated Sutherland, Virginia, amid the Great Depression. Pursuing her dream of leaving the tobacco fields, she became the first in her family to attend college.
Hired by the U.S. Naval Weapons Laboratory in 1956, she served as a mathematician and an expert in satellite geodesy and global positioning. During a four decades-long career, she participated in path-breaking projects. From the mid-1970s through the 1980s, she used complex algorithms to account for variations in gravitational, tidal, and other forces that distort Earth's shape and programmed an IBM 7030 "Stretch" computer. Her extremely accurate mathematical modeling of the Earth's geoid paved the way for the engineering innovation of GPS (Global Positioning System).
Her achievements came into the spotlight decades after her retirement. Dr. Gladys West was inducted into the Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame in 2018.
📖 The quiet dedication of a hidden hero who made satellite geodesy and global positioning possible.
📖 ‘Hidden Figure’ whose mathematical modelling enabled GPS becomes first woman to win the Prince Philip Medal
📚 It Began with A Dream by Dr. West and M. H. Jackson
Fei-Fei Li, CS Professor and Co-director of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI)
A.I. will change the world. Who will change A.I.?
We are on the cusp of the Age of Artificial Intelligence (AI). This new era has the potential to help us realise our shared dream of a better future for all of humanity, but it will bring with it challenges and opportunities we can't yet foresee. My hope is that we will bring more voices, more views, and more expertise to the discussion.
Recognized as one of the leaders in AI, Dr. Fei-Fei Li is the inaugural Sequoia Professor in the Computer Science Department at Stanford University. She is also Co-Director of Stanford’s Human-Centered AI Institute (HAI) - which she co-founded with philosophy professor John Etchemendy to advance AI research, education, policy, and practice to improve the human condition.
Previously she served as the Director of Stanford’s AI Lab (2013 to 2018) and was Vice President at Google and Chief Scientist of AI/ML at Google Cloud (during her sabbatical from Stanford from January 2017 to September 2018). She is co-founder and chairperson of the US-based non-profit AI4ALL, aiming to increase inclusion and diversity in AI education.
Her current research interests include cognitively inspired AI, machine learning, deep learning, computer vision, and AI+healthcare. Dr. Fei-Fei Li is also part of a US federal task force on AI, and an investor in pioneering AI startups.
🎥 Human-centered AI: a Case for Cognitively Inspired Machine Intelligence
🎥 Udacity Thought Leader Series: Fei Fei Li on Putting Humans at the Center of AI
Dr. Rana el-Kaliouby, Co-Founder and CEO of Affectiva
AI is at an inflection point: it's increasingly acting on our behalf, taking on roles traditionally held by people. As we plan for a future, we need to ensure that diversity of all kinds - gender, race, age, education and perspectives - are represented.
Dr. Rana el-Kaliouby is an AI thought leader and a pioneer in human emotion recognition technology. During her Ph.D. at the computer science lab at the University of Cambridge, she focused on machine learning and computer vision.
Her passion for humanizing technology and how we connect led her to co-found Affectiva - with visionary scientist Professor Rosalind Picard, while she was a research scientist at MIT Media Lab. The emotion recognition technology developed by Affectiva is built on a science platform that uses deep learning and a data repository that includes 4 billion frames captured from 7.5 million faces in 87 countries.
Affectiva’s software detects “all things human” from nuanced emotions, complex cognitive states, behaviors, activities, interactions, and objects people use. Its applications range from gaming to automotive, robotics, education, healthcare, experiential marketing, retail, human resources, video communication. The company was recently acquired by the Swedish company Smart Eye.
El-Kaliouby is the author of the book “Girl Decoded.” She is also a strong advocate for diversity in tech and ethics in AI.
📚 Girl Decoded. A scientist’s quest to reclaim our humanity by bringing emotional intelligence to technology, by Rana el Kaliouby, PhD.
📖 How To Build A Company That Brings Humanity To AI
🎧 Masters of Scale: HOW TO BE THE STEWARD OF YOUR IDEA | The Tim Ferriss Show: Rana el Kaliouby — AI, Emotional Intelligence, and The Journey of Finding Oneself
Raquel Urtasun, Founder and CEO, Waabi AI
The thought of what would be the best way to do this grew and grew in my head until it became clear that, if you really want to change technology, the best way to do it is to start a new company
Self-driving is one of the most exciting and important technologies of our generation. Once solved at scale, it will change the world as we know it.
Spanish computer scientist Raquel Urtasun is a world-leading expert in machine learning and computer vision. A professor of CS at the University of Toronto and co-founder of the Vector Institute for AI, Urtasun's research interests include machine learning, computer vision, robotics, AI, and remote sensing. From 2017 until 2021, she served as chief scientist and head of Uber ATG's Toronto unit.
She is the Founder and CEO of Waabi, a startup with an “AI-first approach" aimed to speed up the commercial deployment of autonomous vehicles, starting with long-haul trucks. The mission of Waabi is to resolve the technical and financial challenges that have hindered the full commercialization of self-driving technology by testing in simulation and reducing the need for driving in the real-world."
Waabi raised $100 million from investors, including Silicon Valley-based Khosla Ventures and Uber. Urtasun is the third woman to lead a self-driving tech company, along with Zoox CEO Aicha Evans and Tekedra Mawakana, Waymo's new co-CEO.
📖 AI pioneer Raquel Urtasun launches self-driving technology startup with backing from Khosla, Uber and Aurora
📖 Uber Veteran Launches Her ‘AI Mindset’ Self-Driving Startup With $83.5 Million Round
📖Self-Driven Women Take The Wheel In Autonomous Tech Industry
Daphne Koller, Founder and CEO of Insitro, and Co-founder of Coursera
Daphne Koller is a Computer Scientist and a Machine Learning pioneer with decades of academic and business experience. She was a Professor of CS and Pathology at Stanford University, where she served on the faculty for 18 years. She was also the co-founder, co-CEO, and President of Coursera for five years and the Chief Computing Officer of Calico (an Alphabet company) in the healthcare space.
Her current company, Insitro, uses machine learning to rethink drug discovery and development. Positioned at the convergence of human biology and machine learning, Insitro brings together cutting-edge functional genomics and lab automation methods to build a bio-data factory that can produce relevant biological data at scale.
In 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic, Koller co-founded Engageli, a digital platform designed to optimize student success. The startup creates a new learning experience that enables both students and instructors to learn effectively in a digital format.
🎥 Daphne Koller, CEO of insitro, on digital biology and the next epoch of science
🎥 Daphne Koller: Biomedicine and Machine Learning | Lex Fridman Podcast
Women in Technology to follow:
Anita Schjøll Brede, Co-founder and CEO of Iris.AI
Carol Reiley, Co-founder and CEO of DeepMusic.ai, Co-founder and former President of drive.ai (acquired by Apple)
Cathy O’Neil, Data Scientist, Author of Weapons of Mass Destruction
Cassie Kozyrkov, Chief Decision Scientist at Google
Dame Stephanie Shirley, Tech pioneer, one of the first women to found a software company in Europe
Joy Buolamwini, Founder Algorithmic Justice League (@AJLUnited)
Linda Liukas, ‘Mary Poppins of Computing’, HelloRuby
Megan J Smith, Co-founder and CEO of shift7, 3rd U.S. Chief Technology Officer and Former Assistant to the President
Reshma Saujani, Founder and CEO of Girls Who Code
Professor Sue Black OBE, Professor of Computer Science and Technology Evangelist
Organizations Supporting Women in Tech:
AI4ALL | Anita Borg | Code First Girls | Coding Girls | Girls Who Code |
thriving elements | Women in Tech | Women Tech Network
Notable Women Technologists Who Made History
Marlyn Wescoff (later Meltzer) and Betty Jean Jennings (later Bartik) configuring plugboards on the ENIAC , Wikimedia Commons
Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) - considered (by some) to be the world’s first computer programmer
Grace Hopper (1906-1992) - computer scientist and an admiral in the U.S. Navy
Anita Borg (1949–2003) - American Computer Scientist, Founder of the Institute for Women and Technology and the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing
Annie Easley (1933-2011) - computer scientist at NASA
Elsie Shutt - Founder and President of Computations, Incorporated (CompInc.)
Hedy Lamarr (1914-2000) - actress and inventor whose contributions laid the foundation for today’s Wi-Fi and Bluetooth communications technologies.
Katherine Johnson (1918-2020) - a NASA mathematician, where she helped send astronauts into orbit around Earth and to the moon and back
The ENIAC Programmers: Jean Jennings (later Bartik), Betty Snyder (later Holberton), Marlyn Wescoff (later Meltzer), Kathleen McNulty (later Mauchly Antonelli), Frances Bilas (later Spence), and Ruth Lichterman (later Teitelbaum)
FemWealth Recommended Reads & Resources:
🎧 Lady Bug Podcast produced by software developers Emma Bostian, Kelly Vaughn, Ali Spittel, and Sidney Buckner
📚 Hidden Figures by Margot Shetterly
🎥 Hidden Figures | Featurette: Achieving The Impossible
🎥 The Computers: The Remarkable Story of the ENIAC Programmers
📚 The Innovators, by Walter Isaacson
📖 Programmed Inequality: How Britain Discarded Women Technologists and Lost Its Edge In Computing by Mar Hicks
Who are the women in technology who inspire you? Do you have any resources you would like to share with the FemWealth community? Drop them in the comments.
Do you know anyone interested in technology who would enjoy reading this newsletter? Please send it their way!
Thank you for reading FemWealth! Wish you a lovely Sunday and a great week ahead!
Anamaria
Founder and Writer at FemWealth!