Here at ISL Talent, it’s important for us to spend Ada Lovelace Day 2022 recognising and celebrating women in tech. With that in mind we thought we’d share a little about Ada Lovelace and how she continues to be an inspiration to female scientists, programmers, engineers and more to this day.

Who is Ada Lovelace?

First of all, let’s start with the basics – who actually is Ada Lovelace? Lovelace was born on the 10th of December 1815 in the little village of Kirkby Mallory, to Lord Byron (you might recognise that name!) and Lady Byron. Instead of following her father into the romantic world of poetry and literature, she charged headfirst into technology and science from a young age. She trained as a mathematician with people like Andrew Crosse and Sir Charles Wheatstone, eventually going on to work with Charles Babbage (maybe the most famous of her connections, as ‘the father of the computer’) and went on to forge – with difficulty – a place for herself in their world.

How did Ada Lovelace change the world, and why does she matter to us here at ISL Talent?

Although she was many things, Lovelace’s place in history was cemented by being the world’s first computer programmer (that’s right – not just female computer programmer)! That title is pretty remarkable by itself, but her legacy spreads a lot further than the world of computer science and algorithms. In an era where women’s voices were very rarely listened to, even less so in the area she was working in, Lovelace was an anomaly. Not only was her work visionary and unprecedented in itself, but it destroyed all kinds of limitations in her field.

It’s maybe difficult to grasp the scale of the historical significance of Ada Lovelace and her work - not just in the sense of her contributions to the world of STEM, but to the women of STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths)! She carved out a space for women in these fields which we still feel the benefit of today – at ISL Talent, we understand that a little recognition for each female tech placement we make goes to Ada. Celebrating Ada Lovelace Day 2022 is all about acknowledging and appreciating the ways in which even today, over 150 years after her death, her work positively impacts us.

Celebrating her Success – by Celebrating her Successors

It’s no secret gender equality in the tech industry has come leaps and bounds since the 1840s when Ada Lovelace programmed the first computer algorithm – but that’s not to say it’s ‘solved’. Just this year, a UCAS report found that just 35% of STEM higher education students in the UK are female, and only 24% of the STEM workforce. We don’t think that’s quite good enough just yet. But although we still have improvements to make, Ada Lovelace Day is a perfect opportunity to take a moment and reflect on how far we have come. So here’s a few women pioneers that we think deserve a cheer…

Poppy Gustafsson

Poppy Gustafsson is the CEO of cyber artificial intelligence firm Darktrace; and in 2019 was awarded an OBE in recognition of her work in the AI sector. She founded Darktrace at 30 years old and it has since become a billion-pound business, with clients like Coca Cola and Rolls Royce; and the firm is even comprised of 40% women, an unusually high statistic for a business of its kind.

Sharon Moore

Sharon Moore has progressed steadily through the ranks of IBM over the years and is currently Chief Technology Officer for Public Sector; she is also chair of the BCS council (British Computer Society), whilst also being deputy chair of the BCS Women and BCS Women Scotland on top of that. She’s worked intensely to carve a path for women in her field and in 2018, she received a well-deserved MBE for services to women in the tech industries.

Lia Li

CEO of Zero Point Motion, Lia Li is doing visionary work in the field of photonics and quantum sensing. She led the UCL Women in Physics group for three years and won the 2022 Innovate UK’s Women in Innovation Award, alongside 38 leading female entrepreneurs in the STEM sector, receiving a £50k grant. She has also won the Institute of Physics Clifford Paterson Medal and Prize, as well as a £50k grant from the UCL Quantum Science and Technology Institute!

Really, we couldn’t fit every woman who deserves recognition in the tech industry on this list (and trust us, there are many)! What we can do is encourage you this Ada Lovelace Day to reflect on the history of women in tech – and look forward to where we might go next.

If you want to follow in the footsteps of these women and are looking for your next role in tech, get in touch with one of our team for help and advice on 0117 428 0600.