Top 5 influential Women in Tech

Following on from Ada Lovelace Day, Sparta Global are continuing to celebrate brilliant women in technology and the ways they have helped shape the world we live in.

Ada Lovelace

At the Sparta Global London Academy, our Lovelace meeting room pays homage to the world’s ‘first programmer’. Lovelace was born in 1815, and was home-schooled by her mother, who championed the importance of learning science and maths. These foundations supported Lovelace in developing what is now known as the first computer programme, which explained how a specialised engine could translate a calculation to computation.

Mary Keller

Fast forward 100 years, Mary Keller was born and became the first woman to receive a PHD in computer science. Keller began her career joining the National Science Foundation at Dartmouth College, an all-male department at the time. With the support of two other scientists, Keller developed the BASIC (Beginners’ All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) computer programme. She went on to develop a computer science department at a Catholic college for women, chairing the department for 20 years and advocating for women in technology.

Mary Wilkes

Mary Wilkes was born in Chicago in1937, and was the first person to have a PC in her home! Despite graduating in philosophy, Wilkes began her career in the tech using computers like the IBM 709 and 704. She became an indispensable contributor to the TX-2 project, writing the operating manual for the final hardware design of the transistor-based computer, which led to advancements in artificial intelligence and human-computer interaction.

Margaret Hamilton

Margaret Hamilton created the job title ‘Software Engineer’ whilst working on the Apollo 11 mission, believing that the software teams were just as important as the mechanical engineers in successfully landing on the moon. Hamilton led the team that developed the in-flight command and lunar modules, and she specifically focused on crisis-averting software in the eventuality of a computer crash.

Kimberly Bryant

Bryant worked in technical leadership roles in pharmaceutical and biotech companies, realising that Black women were underrepresented within these industries. She launched Black Girls Code, a non-profit organisation that strives to expose girls and women of colour to STEM subjects, empowering them with in-demand skills and helping them develop their dreams and ambitions in technology.

Thanks to these role models more and more women and girls are pursuing a career in technology, and here at Sparta we want to contribute to this progress. Through our established Women in Tech Network and an initiative we are launching in the New Year, we are thrilled to create opportunities for talented women in our brilliant, diverse community.