The Information Age

Mary Allen Wilkes and the LINC

"They just are not taught to be competitive. They don't expect to win. The reason why I am successful is because I never felt this way."

- A female computer scientist from the first generation

The women who entered the field of computer science in the 40's and 50's faced an entirely new scenario, as there simply were no other women in those disciplines previously. They adapted to this environment by adopting the "male model" of a scientist. These women generally did not have families, and for those that did, it took a clear backseat to their scientific careers. These women had to rely on this method of self-preservation against the open sexism in the field until such a time that a critical mass of women was reached. This presented a sense of "safety in numbers", which strengthened their resolve, but also made the men more aware that their behavior was inappropriate.

This sense of adaptation is a major difference we see between the first generation and the second generation of women entering computer science in the 80's. Whereas the first generation women felt the need to fit into the man's world, and a need to be competitive, second generation women instead tried to change the culture itself to allow the acceptance of traditionally feminine women into the field.

The second generation had high expectations of those women who had forged the path for them, and tended to be dissapointed after getting into the field. Second gen women wanted to "have it all": a career and a family. To be a scientist, wife, mother, and woman was the goal, and not understanding why it wasn't achievable, set forth to change the notions of women in computer science. This simply was not how the first generation had lived, and so they were not able to serve as the role-models that were needed for this new, forward-thinking group of women. Not being able to do both, many women left academia to start and care for families, deciding that if they needed to conform to the man's world like the first generation did, they did not want to be a part of it.

Women in Education

The Rise of the Personal Computer

The Computer Science Generation Gap

Why it effected the second generation of women so negatively

Technological changes brought dramatic new options to Americans during the 70s and beyond. From the beginning of the era, new forms of entertainment, commerce, research, work, and communication became commonplace in the United States.

Personal computers had become widespread by the end of the 1980s. Also available was the ability to connect these computers over local or even national networks. Through a device called a modem, individual users could link their computer to a wealth of information using conventional phone lines. What lay beyond the individual computer was a vast domain of information known as cyberspace.

This period in the history of computer science essentially defines what we think of as modern computing. No longer were computers just used for military and business, but they were becoming readily available for anyone interested. A woman, once again stood at the forefront of innovation, as Mary Allen Wilkes helped lead the way into home-computing.