Incredible Women in STEM
Wednesday 8th March is the UN’s International Women’s Day 2023. This year the theme is DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality. The theme centres around women’s participation in STEM careers (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) and women’s access to technology. This theme has really caught my attention this year. Why? Because women in STEM is very close to my heart. Both my Mum and Sister are STEM women. My Mum was a Computer Programmer and my sister is a Software Engineer.
Technology has revolutionised our world. Without technology, I couldn’t bring you Candis women’s underwear. Prior to the internet, I would have to have opened a brick-and-mortar lingerie store. This would have meant that only women in my area could feel everyday sexy in Candis pretty cotton and lace undies. But with the internet, you can feel everyday sexy in Candis briefs from anywhere in the world and at any time of the day or night!
Did you know that women have been involved in significant technological advances for a long time? We’ve all heard of Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. But have you heard of Ada Lovelace, Hedy Lamarr or Grace Hopper?
Women in STEM
Ada Lovelace is considered to be the world’s first computer programmer. She worked on a predecessor of the modern computer during the 1800s called Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine. So if you’re reading this on a desktop computer or ordering your Candis panties on a computer, then you have Ada to thank for that!
If you’re reading this or ordering your Candis briefs on your phone, using WiFi then thank Hedy Lamarr. Hedy didn’t invent WiFi but she developed the frequency-hopping technology that made WiFi, GPS and Bluetooth possible. Hedy was an actress but loved inventing things during her time off. She learnt about military weaponry during dinner parties with her first husband and used this knowledge to co-invent a communication system whereby torpedoes could frequency hop to avoid interception and successfully find their target. Her efforts weren’t recognised at the time but later in her life, the technological world recognised the importance of her work and used it as the basis for WiFi, GPS and Bluetooth.
The online Candis lingerie store is created using code. Grace Hopper was a Naval Officer who came up with the idea of programming computers using code made up of English words rather than mathematical symbols. The military didn’t value her work but with the growth of computers in private industry, her work was recognised as a way to expand the use of computers amongst people who didn’t have a mathematical or engineering background.
Women have made major impacts in the world of technology but we’re still underrepresented. Imagine what the future could hold if more women like these were in STEM roles.