I usually don't get too excited about days dedicated to some historic figure, but yesterday National Geographic published an article about the October 16 being the day dedicated to the first person to write a computer program. Why is this so interesting? Because the first person to write a computer program was none other than poet Lord Byron's daughter, Ada Lovelace in 1843. Very interesting considering computer most computer programmers in the US are men.
Ada Lovelace Day is marketed as a day to recognize the contributions of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. While you can read all about the many accomplishments of women in STEM fields elsewhere, what I wonder is why did something that was developed by a woman become a field entirely dominated by men? And why aren't there more women programmers?
It could be that women just aren't good at learning how to program, and Ada Lovelace was just kind of strange. While she may have been strange, it's unlikely that other women can't be good programmers. Time and time again, studies show that women don't lack the brain capacity needed for programming. First off, women are better at learning new languages than men, down to the biological level. Second, women now score higher on IQ tests than men. Third, women and men show no difference in the old analytical reasoning section of the GRE nor in the new analytical writing section. So we really shouldn't be seeing differences in ability to program by gender.
Maybe women don't want to be programmers. That's what Justin James argues when he writes that "women are not attracted to programming at all." But if that were really so, we wouldn't see any women in programming, and it doesn't explain why 30 years ago there were nearly equal numbers of men and women in computer science courses at universities.
If it's not ability or preference, then it must be something outside a woman's control. I don't have all the answers or explanations. But, my earlier post on stereotype threat and organizational culture discusses how the culture of technology firms and university departments systematically excludes women, leading many to abandon the career path they otherwise would have wanted.
So on this day that at least a few people are talking about Ada Lovelace, it's a good time to think about what we can do to diversify the programming workforce and create an environment where all people can and do pursue their desired career.