I just want you to know one thing about me, by the time you’re done reading this blog post; I LOVE WOMEN!!! (Let the judgement begin) Yes, I said that without holding back. Women are really intelligent, powerful, inspirational, energetic, bold, gorgeous…and the best part is, they’re now taking the tech world by storm.
If you’re the kind that’s not happy enough about the fact that women are going to take over the world by 2030, this is the part where you need to realize that this isn’t a post you intend on reading.
This post isn’t going to highlight the millions of women who are making headlines in the tech world. I’m just here today to inspire any woman out there (young or old) that there couldn’t be a better time than this, to learn to code.
Before you even start to build up your arguments and punchlines as to why you’re not going to code, let me present the first subject of my “female-centric” blog post (of course there’s no such word).
The Trendsetter
Before most ace developers could even learn to code, Margaret Hamilton had already mastered programming. As a matter of fact, it was her codes that sent the infamous Appollo 11 into space.
As the lead developer, she was able to use complex algorithms and skills to develop in-flight softwares; take note that this was a time when software engineering and computer science courses didn’t even exist.
It takes an ingenious mind such as Hamilton’s to accomplish such a feat. Her accomplishment and legacy broke gender barriers, and went far into proving that “What a man can do, a woman can do better”.
The 81-year-old App Developer
Masako Wakamiya is a superstar Japanese granny who is said to have developed her own iOS app – Hinadan (Doll tier). This app asks its players to place 12 dolls in their respective positions along with their tiers.
The game ends once the players have successfully placed the dolls in their correct positions. Aside app development, Masako doubles as a blogger; sharing clips from her travels and teaching people how to use excel to make art (Don’t ask me how, ask her).
The 13-year-old Coding Prodigy
Isabel Sieh is one of the youngest programmers in the Philippines. What’s more inspiring is the fact that she also set up her own company – “Girls will code”; a community of girls who love to code.
Their sole purpose is to encourage schools to teach students to code, even if it means it will be done after school hours. Isabel found her love for programming through Codecademy, at age 10.
After she became conversant with HTML, CSS and Javascript, she went on to teach her students Scratch Jr. (a simple programming language tailored for children between the ages of 5 and 7). I can only imagine what Isabel would achieve, 20 years from now. One thing’s for sure: she’s only going to soar higher and higher.
Gone are the days when women would be placed backstage, while men took all the glory. We live in a time where equal opportunity has enabled us to see what we’ve been missing; women at the forefront of technology. Coding is never difficult, until you build that perception in your mind that you’re incapable of learning.
Let the story of one of the youngest and oldest female programmers inspire you well enough to realize that you have greatness ingrained in you. All you have to do is to see yourself as capable of accomplishing anything you set yourself to do…and see if anyone can stop you.
“You will never know if you’ll fail or succeed, until you try.”
Sources: The Next Web, gineersnow, wikipedia
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