Today, March 8, is celebrated the International Women's Day.

From the Department of Technologies and Information Systems of the UCLM we want to thank all women for their indispensable work in this field and encourage the discovery of vocations in favor of the struggle for equality and parity in STEM areas and more specifically in computer science.

Did you know that 17% of the people in our department are women?

The incorporation of more women in technology sectors is necessary and should also be an obligation for a proper digital transformation of society.  From the UCLM and from the DTSI we encourage women to achieve their goals and break the glass ceilings that still exist in our society.

Here is a brief summary of the importance of 8 women in technology and computing throughout history (original source here).

ADA LOVELACE: HISTORY'S FIRST FEMALE PROGRAMMER
Ada Lovelace (1815, United Kingdom) is one of the best known women in the world of science: this mathematician is considered to be the first programmer and has the merit of being the founder of what is known as scientific computing. And no wonder: in 1843 she published the instructions for the first algorithm to be processed by a computer. Obviously, at that time it could not be carried out: it ended up being developed in the 21st century.

ÁNGELA RUIZ ROBLES: A DECISIVE SPANISH WOMAN
Ángela Ruiz Robles (1895, León) was an outstanding teacher, pedagogue and inventor who stands out in the history of technology for being the precursor of what we know today as the electronic book. Although she registered several patents during her lifetime, the most popular was her "mechanical encyclopedia": she presented the idea of a device that worked on the basis of different plates (she would have one for each subject) that displayed the information when a key was pressed. Later on, he also included other innovations such as a space for annotations and elements that could be replaced depending on the situation in which they were to be used. 

GRACE HOPPER: THE MOTHER OF MODERN COMPUTING
Grace Hooper (1906, USA) has a long career in the history of computer science and is considered the mother of modern computer programming. This title is due to the fact that she developed the first complex computer language. But that was not all: she also earned a doctorate in mathematics at Yale University, worked as a military officer in the U.S. Navy and worked as a programmer at Harvard University, where she developed the Mark I computer. To her we also owe all her help in the world of coding thanks to her advances in data processing.

HEDY LAMARR: THE FORERUNNER OF BLUETOOTH AND WIFI
Hedy Lamarr (1914, Austria) began her career far removed from technology: she dedicated her entire professional life to being an actress. However, in the technological field she stands out for her contributions to wireless communication: she was the inventor of the first version of the spread spectrum. These contributions, which enable wireless communication over long distances, are still used today in smartphones, Bluetooth and WiFi devices.

EVELYN BEREZIN: IF WE ARE WRITING THIS, IT'S BECAUSE OF HER
Evelyn Berezin (1925, USA) was the computer pioneer who created the first digital system for creating, writing and editing text. Therefore, we can say that, if we are writing this today and you are reading it, she has a lot to do with it. But that's not all: Berezin was also the woman who developed and implemented the first airline seat reservation system.

MARGARET HAMILTON: TO THE MOON AND BEYOND!
Her name may not ring a bell, but if we talk to you about a black and white photo where we see lots and lots of books stacked higher than a feisty and very smart woman, you're sure to be more familiar with her. She's Margaret Hamilton, and without her we wouldn't have made it to the moon: she was the inventor of the software that allowed the Apollo 11 computers to prioritize important and essential tasks.

SHIRLEY ANN JACKSON: THE TRAILBLAZER FOR FIBER OPTICS
Shirley Ann Jackson (1946, USA) was the first African-American woman to receive her doctorate from MIT. However, she is not only known for that: she was the inventor of caller ID and call waiting. This led to more inventions that have changed the history of communication, such as the portable fax machine, tone dialing and fiber optic cables. That's fast talk!

RADIA PERLMAN: A BETTER INTERNET BECAUSE OF HER
The "mother of the Internet" is Radia Perlman (1951, USA). This software developer and network engineer was responsible for the development of spanning tree protocols, which enabled the scalability of network traffic.