The Golden Age of Computing

 

"I think it's fair to say we're in a golden age of computer science." - Bill Gates

 

     With the start of the new millenium computer scientists were making more and larger strides than ever advancing technology. The past 15 years have produced technology that previous generations would never even have thought possible. Every day there is some new innovation to be seen. Why then is the field of computer science still so emersed in the sexist thinking of the past?

 

     Thinking of big names in the computer industry today, any of us would be hard-pressed to name any women and their contributions. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Michael Dell, all geniuses in their own right, but what are the modern contributions of women? In 1999, Marissa Mayer became the first female engineer hired at Google. In 2005, we celebrated Ruchi Sanghvi as Facebook's first female engineer. In this "golden age of computer science", we are no longer celebrating women like Ada Lovelace and Grace Hopper, who pioneered the field. We are now forced to be thankful that major companies in this "modern era" will hire any women in the first place.