Celebrate Women’s History Month With Us!

The contributions of women who paved the way for modern science, engineering, and technology rarely get the credit they deserve for changing the course of American history. This month, AnitaB.org will bring to light a handful of professionals who have made major strides in the industry and whose work is in desperate need of historical reckoning. Together with our ally organizations, we are transforming the narrative and rewriting our own history. Our mission today and always is to elevate the names and stories of women who should be household names. The past, present, and future of technology is female.

Follow us on social and elevate these hashtags – #KnowHerName #WomeninTech #WHM #WomensHistoryMonth #SupportHer #InclusiveTechnology

Week 1 Radia Perlman Place in History: Inventor of the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) algorithm. Why You Need to Know Her Name: Her contributions to network design and routing and security protocols laid the foundation for the internet as we know it today. She holds over 100 patents and is listed as one of the 20 most influential people in information technology.

“Without me, if you just blew on the Internet, it would fall over and die.” – Radia Perlman

Week 2 Megan Smith Place in History: Third Chief Technology Officer of the United States, helping President Obama and his teams harness the power of data, innovation and technology on behalf of the nation. Why You Need to Know Her Name: Megan is Founder and CEO of shift7 which works on tech-forward, inclusive innovation for faster impact on systemic economic, social, and environmental challenges.

“Innovation comes out of great human ingenuity and very personal passions.” – Megan Smith

Week 3 Adele Goldberg Place in History: Created the programming language that allows for graphic user interfaces (GUIs). Why You Need to Know Her Name: Her legacy of work is at play every time you open a new window and point and click on your computer or device.

“The satisfaction comes from being part of a really creative group of people who not only invented an idea but made it real enough that other people could take advantage of that idea in a way that was enormously empowering.” – Adele Goldberg

Week 4 Annie Easley Place in History: Developed and implemented code used in energy-conversion systems, including the battery technology that was used for early hybrid vehicles. Why You Need to Know Her Name: Her contributions to the Centaur project framed the technological foundation for launching future satellites and space vehicles, including the 1997 launch of Cassini to Saturn.

“If I can’t work with you, I will work around you” – Annie Easley

Week 5 Elizabeth “Jake” Feinler Place in History: Pioneer of DNS (Domain Name System) Why You Need to Know Her Name: Feinler was among a small group of researchers who bootstrapped the Network Information Center (NIC) into something that would one day connect one third of the world’s population.

“I never had it in my mind that I couldn’t do something” – Elizabeth “Jake” Feinler