Tomorrow, March 24 is Ada Lovelace Day. Many worldwide are blogging in her honor, including me.
See http://findingada.com/blog/2009/01/05/ada-lovelace-day/
So today, I wish to share a story with you about my career in computer science. Not unlike many women I encountered some gender issues in the course of obtaining my degree. In my case I had a rather traditional instructor that on our first day of class told us that all the women in class should be at home cooking and taking care of babies. This same instructor was very unpleasant to a gal in the class who was repeating the class and who'd complained about his gender views the previous year. I opted to keep silent, but there were many times I wished I'd spoken up and maybe made life easier for those that followed me.
In the end my choice was to the best I could in his class. My constant grades of A in his class were hopefully as irritating to him as his comments on gender roles were to me. I did end up get an award, despite his lack of support, and in a backwards way he pushed me to be better then my best because I wanted to prove to him that women could do this work.
This same instructor called me not by my name but by the name, "Lady Lovelace". He meant it to be a derogatory term, but for me it was a great honor. So in your honor Lady Lovelace I write this blog and acknowledge your pioneering spirit and tell the world how your presence in the computing world gave another woman the strength to continue in this field despite the gender issues she faced!
Thank you!
