200+ photos for 200th anniversary of birth of Ada Lovelace

BCSWomen encouraged groups of women working in IT to support the 200th anniversary of Ada Lovelace’s birth by taking a group ‘selfie’ and posting it to #BCSWomenAda on Thursday 10 December.

Margaret Ross, BCS member who came up with the idea explains: “Ada Lovelace is recognised as the first person to write and publish a computer program. As the daughter of Lord Bryon, the international celebrity of his day, viewed as “mad, bad and dangerous to know”, she became the first technical role model for women. Today, we face a shortage of women in the IT profession so by encouraging women across the profession to take photos and post them we’re hoping to encourage many more women and girls to realise what a great career opportunity IT is.”

Gillian Arnold, Chair of BCSWomen concludes: “We’re delighted to be celebrating the 200th anniversary of Ada Lovelace’s birth. We know that there are a lot of women working with technology in the UK and we would love it if they could come and network with us on this anniversary. That way we can share experiences, share links and business cards, and help other women up the steps.”