Today is Ada Lovelace Day, a day to call attention to the achievements of women in technology. Despite its stereotype as a field dominated by men, women have made significant contributions to the field of computing since its inception, back to Lovelace herself, the first computer programmer, having designed a program for Charles Babbage’s analytical engine. But given the underrepresentation, stereotypes, and other barriers which can inhibit women from working with technology, it’s important to give encouragement to women and girls who are interested in the field. A recent study suggests that women need to see female role models more than men need to see male ones, and so was born Ada Lovelace Day.
The initial idea was brilliant in its simplicity: get bloggers around the world to write about a female role model in technology. The pledge attracted 1,700 signatures, and more than 500 published posts have been recorded so far.
I’ve had the pleasure to meet and work with a number of outstanding women in technology and information policy, including the young women of Students for Free Culture (such as Elizabeth Stark and Karen Rustad); Laurie Taylor, now acting director of the University of Florida’s Digital Library Center; the remarkable women of SPARC, Heather Joseph and Jennifer McLennan; many others throughout the world of libraries and open access, including Prue Adler, Julia Blixrud, and Karla Hahn of ARL, Donna Okubo of PLoS, Heather Morrison, and others; Heather Ford, formerly of iCommons; and many others. Wendy Seltzer‘s Chilling Effects Clearinghouse inspired me as a tool against Internet censorship and repression. Jessica Litman’s Digital Copyright was a constant companion when I studied the DMCA as an undergrad. I even read danah boyd‘s and Dorothea Salo‘s blogs. 
But when I thought of someone to profile, one women stood out in my mind: Gigi Sohn. I think it’d be realistic to call Gigi one of the most important women in American tech policy. Gigi and Public Knowledge have been instrumental in many of the most important legal and political battles of the era, from the successful suit to overturn the broadcast flag to orphan works, Net neutrality, and more. Her hard-nosed approach gets results even as it wins admirers.
So, cheers to Gigi, and to the past, present, and future women of tech. Happy Ada Lovelace Day!
I recently had the privilege to take a seminar on orphan works from Gigi Sohn. She is everything you say she is, and she’s also a phenomenal communicator with a wonderful wicked wit. I admire her exceedingly.