When people think about the history of modern technology, a handful of familiar names usually come to mind — innovators whose work helped shape the digital world we rely on today. Last June, we highlighted several of these influential figures in our “Fathers of Modern Tech” series, recognizing the impact their contributions continue to have across industries.
But the story of technological innovation has never belonged to just a few well-known individuals. Throughout history, many women played critical roles in building the foundations of modern computing — often working behind the scenes and without the same level of recognition. In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re highlighting a selection of women whose work helped shape the technology we use every day.
Ada Lovelace (1815-1852)
Ada Lovelace is often considered the world’s first computer programmer. Although born before computers were built, she envisioned machines doing more than calculations and wrote extensive notes on Charles Babbage’s work on the Analytical Engine. She explained and expanded what such a program could do, including what is widely recognized as the first published algorithm intended for a machine.
Read more about Ada Lovelace at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_Lovelace
Grace Hopper (1906-1992)
American computer scientist, mathematician, and a US Navy rear admiral Grace Hopper was a pioneer of modern programming languages. She developed one of the first computer compilers, laying the groundwork for how we code today.She later helped develop early English-based programming languages that influenced COBOL, making computing more accessible for business and industry. She helped make software more accessible and even popularized the term “debugging.”
Read more about Grace Hopper at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Hopper
Hedy Lamarr (1914-2000)
Hedy Lamarr was an actress and inventor whose work spanned both Hollywood and technology. She often sketched and designed inventions in between film shoots, including co-developing frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology with a composer, a concept inspired by synchronizing player pianos, which laid the foundation for modern wireless communications like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Her dual legacy as a pioneering technologist and inspiring actress continues to influence both fields.
Read more about Hedy Lamarr at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedy_Lamarr
Katherine Johnson (1918-2020)
Katherine Johnson was a pioneering mathematician in the U.S. space program and one of the first African-American women to serve as a mathematician for its early missions. Working at NASA, her precise calculations were critical to early spaceflight, helping ensure astronauts could safely reach space and return home. Known for mastering complex manual computations, she later adapted her expertise to emerging computer technology, helping bridge the transition from hand calculations to modern computing.
Read more about Katherine Johnson at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Johnson
Jean Bartik (1924-2011)
Jean Bartik was one of the original 6 (all women) programmers of ENIAC, the first programmable, electronic, general-purpose digital computer. She transformed early hardware into functional machines through innovative programming and helped develop techniques that shaped the first generation of software. Later, she contributed to UNIVAC projects, continuing to influence early commercial computing.
Read more about Jean Bartik at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Bartik
Frances Allen (1932-2020)
Frances Allen was a trailblazer in compiler optimization, shaping how programs run efficiently on modern computers. She was the first woman to become an IBM Fellow, and the first woman to win the Turing Award. Throughout her career at IBM, Allen advanced programming languages, compilers, and high-performance computing, leaving a lasting impact on software and inspiring future generations of computer scientists.
Read more about Frances Allen at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Allen
Karen Spärck Jones (1935-2007)
Karen Spärck Jones was a self-taught programmer whose research laid the foundation for search engines by teaching computers how to evaluate the importance of words. At Cambridge University, she researched natural language processing, information retrieval, inverse document frequency weighting, and speech recognition systems, producing multiple papers and books — including her Ph.D. thesis, which was initially dismissed as “uninspired” but later published.
Read more about Karen Spärck Jones https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Sp%C3%A4rck_Jones
Margaret Hamilton (1936-)
Margaret Hamilton directed the Software Engineering Division at MIT’s Instrumentation Laboratory, where she led the development of the Apollo mission software. She helped establish software engineering as a legitimate engineering discipline, coining the term “software engineering” to distinguish it from hardware and other fields. She also founded 2 software companies and published extensively, leading dozens of projects and major programs.
Read more about Margaret Hamilton at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Hamilton_(software_engineer)
Radia Perlman (1951-)
Radia Perlman is a key figure in assembling the networks and technology that became the Internet. Her invention of the Spanning Tree Protocol transformed how networks self-organize and move data, earning her the nickname “Mother of the Internet.” A mathematician and computer scientist educated at MIT, she worked at BBN, Digital, Novell, and Sun Microsystems, shaping networking protocols that continue to run modern networks.
Read more about Radia Perlman at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radia_Perlman
Fei-Fei Li (1976-)
Fei-Fei Li is a leading voice in artificial intelligence whose work emphasizes human-centered design in machine learning systems. She is best known for establishing ImageNet,a large-scale database that advanced object recognition in AI and enabled breakthroughs in autonomous vehicles, facial recognition, and medical imaging. She continues to champion a diverse human perspective in AI, creating educational programs for youth – especially girls – to inspire the next generation of technologists.
Read more about Fei-Fei Li at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fei-Fei_Li
This list is far from complete. Many women have been instrumental in shaping the technology we use today. Each of these women represents a much larger story and serves as a reminder that innovation has always been a collective effort.