Female computer pioneers

Below is a listing of computer pioneers that have been tagged as a Female. Clicking on any of the below links will open the biography for that person.

Ada LovelaceAda Lovelace
World's first computer programmer.
Category: Female, Inventor, Manager, Programmer, and Writer
Adele GoldbergAdele Goldberg
Computer scientist who helped develop Smalltalk.
Category: Female, Manager, Programmer, Scientist, and Writer
Amanda ChessellAmanda Chessell
Computer scientist and engineer at IBM known for software inventions and innovation of development tools.
Category: Engineer, Female, Inventor, Manager, Scientist, Twitter, and Writer
Amber MacarthurAmber Macarthur
Canadian television and netcasting personality well known for the Call for Help series.
Category: Female, Manager, Personality, Twitter, and Writer
Arianna HuffingtonArianna Huffington
Greek-American author and syndicated columnist.
Category: Editor, Female, Founder, Manager, Twitter, and Writer
Barbara LiskovBarbara Liskov
First women in the United States to be awarded a Ph.D. from a computer science department.
Category: Female, Manager, Programmer, Scientist, and Writer
Barbara SimonsBarbara Simons
American computer scientist and former president of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).
Category: Director, Female, Founder, Manager, President, Scientist, and Writer
Becky WorleyBecky Worley
American journalist and broadcaster best known for being TechLive's Computer Security Analyst.
Category: Analyst, Female, Manager, Personality, Twitter, and Writer
Bonnie RossBonnie Ross
General manager at Microsoft Game Studios and studio head of 343 Industries.
Category: Female, Manager, and Writer
Cali LewisCali Lewis
American podcaster and Internet personality.
Category: Female, Founder, Manager, Personality, Twitter, and Writer
Carol BartzCarol Bartz
Former president and CEO of Yahoo!
Category: CEO, Chairman, Female, Manager, President, and Writer
Carol ShawCarol Shaw
American software engineer and the first female video game designer.
Category: Engineer, Female, Manager, Programmer, and Writer
Carolyn MeinelCarolyn Meinel
American hacker and author and specialist in script kiddie hacking.
Category: Female, Founder, Hacker, Manager, Twitter, and Writer
Caterina FakeCaterina Fake
American businesswoman known for co-founding the websites Flickr and Hunch.
Category: Female, Founder, Manager, and Writer
Cher WangCher Wang
Taiwanese entrepreneur and co-founder and chairperson of HTC Corporation.
Category: Entrepreneur, Female, Founder, Manager, and Writer
Cindy BatesCindy Bates
Vice president of SMB (Small-to-Midsized Business) at Microsoft Company.
Category: Female, Manager, President, Twitter, and Writer
Dana UleryDana Ulery
Pioneer in scientific computing applications and the first woman engineer at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Category: Engineer, Female, Manager, Scientist, and Writer
Danah BoydDanah Boyd
Social media scholar, youth researcher and advocate who works at Microsoft Research.
Category: Female, Manager, Researcher, Twitter, and Writer
Danese CooperDanese Cooper
Open source diva and American computer programmer.
Category: Director, Female, Manager, Programmer, Scientist, Twitter, and Writer
Donna DubinskyDonna Dubinsky
American Businesswoman who helped with the development of PDAs at Palm.
Category: CEO, Female, Founder, Manager, Twitter, and Writer
Edith ClarkeEdith Clarke
Electrical engineer and the first woman employed as an electrical engineer in the United States.
Category: Engineer, Female, Inventor, Manager, Professor, and Writer
Elizabeth FeinlerElizabeth Feinler
American information scientist and former director of the Network Information Systems Center.
Category: Director, Female, Manager, Scientist, and Writer
Enid MumfordEnid Mumford
British social scientist and computer scientist known for her work on human factors.
Category: Female, Manager, Scientist, and Writer
Evelyn BerezinEvelyn Berezin
American computer engineer known for designing one of the first word processors.
Category: Engineer, Female, Founder, Manager, and Writer
Evelyn GranvilleEvelyn Granville
One of the first African-American women to receive a Ph.D in mathematics.
Category: African American, Female, Manager, Mathematician, Programmer, and Writer
Frances AllenFrances Allen
American computer scientist and pioneer in the field of optimizing compilers.
Category: Female, Manager, Programmer, Scientist, and Writer
Gertrude BlanchGertrude Blanch
American mathematician who did pioneering work in numerical analysis and computation.
Category: Director, Female, Manager, Mathematician, and Writer
Gina TrapaniGina Trapani
American web developer, tech blogger, writer, and founder of the Lifehacker blog.
Category: Female, Founder, Hacker, Manager, Personality, Twitter, and Writer
Ginny StrazisarGinny Strazisar
Wrote the first Internet working router.
Category: Female, Manager, and Writer
Grace HopperGrace Hopper
Female officer who extended the meaning of debug and is erroneously credited as coining the term bug.
Category: Female, Inventor, Manager, President, Programmer, Scientist, and Writer
Jane MoranJane Moran
Global CIO of consumer goods manufacturer Unilever.
Category: Female, Manager, and Writer
Jean SammetJean Sammet
American computer scientist who developed the FORMAC programming language.
Category: Engineer, Female, Manager, Programmer, Scientist, and Writer
Jennifer PahlkaJennifer Pahlka
Founder and Executive Director of Code for America and U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer.
Category: Director, Female, Founder, Manager, Twitter, and Writer
Jeri EllsworthJeri Ellsworth
American self-taught computer chip designer and entrepreneur.
Category: Entrepreneur, Female, Hacker, Manager, Twitter, and Writer
Jolie OdellJolie Odell
Internet personality known for her blog and writing work with Mashable and VentureBeat.
Category: Female, Manager, Personality, and Writer
Joyce ReynoldsJoyce Reynolds
Computer scientist who helped develop Internet protocols.
Category: Editor, Female, Manager, Scientist, and Writer
Justine EzarikJustine Ezarik
American Internet personality, lifecaster, and viral video comedian.
Category: Female, Manager, Personality, Twitter, and Writer
Kara SwisherKara Swisher
American technology columnist and writer for the Wall Street Journal.
Category: Editor, Female, Founder, Manager, Twitter, and Writer
Karen JonesKaren Jones
Computer scientist who developed the concept of IDF (inverse document frequency).
Category: Female, Manager, Professor, Scientist, and Writer
Kim KomandoKim Komando
Host of an American talk radio program The Kim Komando Show which covers personal computers.
Category: Female, Manager, Personality, Twitter, and Writer
Leslie BerlinLeslie Berlin
Project historian for the Silicon Valley Archives at Stanford University and contributing writer for the New York Times.
Category: Female, Inventor, Manager, and Writer
Lois HaibtLois Haibt
Computer scientist known for being a member of the ten-person team at IBM that developed FORTRAN.
Category: Female, Manager, Programmer, Scientist, and Writer
Lorinda CherryLorinda Cherry
Computer programmer who worked at Bell Labs as an assembly language programmer.
Category: Female, Manager, Programmer, and Writer
Luanne JohnsonLuanne Johnson
Founded Argonaut Information Systems to sell payroll and accounts payable software in 1971.
Category: Female, Founder, Manager, and Writer
Lydia KavrakiLydia Kavraki
Greek-American computer scientist known for her work on motion planning and bioinformatics.
Category: Female, Manager, Professor, Scientist, and Writer
Lynn ConwayLynn Conway
American computer scientist, electrical engineer, and inventor who invented the generalized dynamic instruction handling.
Category: Engineer, Female, Inventor, Manager, President, Scientist, Twitter, and Writer
Marissa MayerMarissa Mayer
Former Google vice president and Yahoo CEO.
Category: CEO, Engineer, Female, Manager, President, Twitter, and Writer
Marlyn WescoffMarlyn Wescoff
One of the original developers of the ENIAC computer.
Category: Female, Manager, and Writer
Martha FoxMartha Fox
English businesswoman, charity trustee, and co-founder of lastminute.com.
Category: Female, Founder, Manager, Twitter, and Writer
Mary FoleyMary Foley
Writer for the tech industry, including ZDNet and frequent quest on radio, TV, and podcasts.
Category: Female, Manager, Personality, Twitter, and Writer
Mary JepsenMary Jepsen
Leader of the Display Division at Google X Lab and co-founder of One Laptop per Child.
Category: Female, Founder, Manager, Scientist, Twitter, and Writer
Mary KellerMary Keller
First American woman to earn a PhD in Computer Science.
Category: Female, Founder, Manager, and Writer
Meg WhitmanMeg Whitman
American business executive and president of Hewlett-Packard.
Category: CEO, Chairman, Female, Manager, President, Twitter, and Writer
Mina ReesMina Rees
American mathematician, and the first female President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Category: Female, Manager, Mathematician, President, and Writer
Molly HolzschlagMolly Holzschlag
American author, lecturer, and advocate for the Open Web.
Category: Female, Manager, Twitter, and Writer
Radia PerlmanRadia Perlman
Mother of the Internet.
Category: Engineer, Female, Inventor, Manager, and Writer
Regina DuganRegina Dugan
19th (and the first woman) Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Category: CEO, Director, Engineer, Female, Founder, Inventor, Manager, President, and Writer
Roberta WilliamsRoberta Williams
American video game creator and designer and co-founder of Sierra Entertainment.
Category: Female, Founder, Manager, and Writer
Rosalind PicardRosalind Picard
Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at MIT.
Category: Director, Female, Founder, Inventor, Manager, Professor, Scientist, Twitter, and Writer
Safra CatzSafra Catz
Israeli-born American business executive at Oracle Corporation.
Category: CEO, Female, Manager, President, and Writer
Sandra KurtzigSandra Kurtzig
Software management firm and former CEO of the ASK Group.
Category: CEO, Female, Manager, Twitter, and Writer
Sandra LernerSandra Lerner
Co-founder of Cisco Systems and founder of Urban Decay cosmetics.
Category: Female, Founder, Manager, and Writer
Sarah LaneSarah Lane
American television and Internet personality.
Category: Female, Manager, Personality, Twitter, and Writer
Shafi GoldwasserShafi Goldwasser
Professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT.
Category: Female, Inventor, Manager, Professor, and Writer
Sheryl SandbergSheryl Sandberg
American businesswoman and chief operating officer of Facebook.
Category: Female, Manager, President, Twitter, and Writer
Sophia BekeleSophia Bekele
Business and corporate executive and Executive Director and Founder of DotConnectAfrica Trust.
Category: CEO, Director, Female, Founder, Manager, Twitter, and Writer
Stephanie ShirleyStephanie Shirley
British businesswoman and philanthropist who is best known for founding the software company F.I. Group.
Category: Female, Founder, Manager, President, and Writer
Sue GardnerSue Gardner
Canadian journalist and executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation (2007-2013).
Category: Director, Female, Manager, Twitter, and Writer
Susan DumaisSusan Dumais
Principal Researcher in the CLUES (Context, Learning, and User Experience for Search) Group of Microsoft Research.
Category: Female, Manager, Professor, Researcher, Twitter, and Writer
Susan KareSusan Kare
Artist and graphic designer who created many of the interface elements for the Apple Macintosh in the 1980s.
Category: Director, Female, Manager, and Writer
Susan WojcickiSusan Wojcicki
American businesswoman and CEO of YouTube.
Category: CEO, Female, Manager, Twitter, and Writer
Tiffany ShlainTiffany Shlain
American Internet pioneer, filmmaker, author, and founder of the Webby Awards.
Category: CEO, Director, Female, Founder, Manager, Twitter, and Writer
Ursula BurnsUrsula Burns
Madam chairman (or chairperson) and CEO of Xerox and the first the African-American woman CEO.
Category: African American, CEO, Chairman, Female, Manager, and Writer
Valerie LandauValerie Landau
American software designer, author, and educator and director of Round World Media.
Category: Director, Female, Founder, Manager, and Writer
Veronica BelmontVeronica Belmont
Co-host of Revision3 Tekzilla.
Category: Editor, Female, Manager, Personality, Twitter, and Writer
Virginia RomettyVirginia Rometty
American business executive and the first CEO of IBM.
Category: CEO, Chairman, Female, Manager, and Writer
Winifred AspreyWinifred Asprey
American mathematician and computer scientist.
Category: Female, Manager, Mathematician, Scientist, and Writer
Xeni JardinXeni Jardin
American digital media commentator, tech culture journalist, weblogger, and founder of Boing Boing.
Category: Editor, Female, Founder, Manager, Twitter, and Writer

Computer Pioneers