
Grace Hopper, computing pioneer (2014) - lhuser123
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2014/12/grace-hopper-computing-pioneer/
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QuesnayJr
The article has evidence for something that I've long suspected -- that the
opportunities for women in math and science actually got worse after World War
2 than it was before the war. The article mentions that more women got Ph.D.'s
in math in the 30s than in the 50s, even though many more Ph.D.'s were issued
in the 50s. It shows that progress is far from inevitable.

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ncmncm
They were quite open about it: women were supposed to move out to make room
for returning servicemen. Women were allowed to program because it was,
ignorantly, considered a clerical task.

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QuesnayJr
I always heard that opportunities briefly opened up for women during the war,
because the men were away, and then when the men came back they had to "make
room" as you say. But it was worse than that. Women lost progress that they
had made before the war even started.

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ncmncm
Very true. It was not any sort of accident, but a deliberate program by
business leaders to create a subclass of exclusive consumers.

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hammeiam
Terribly misleading post title - that is a quote by Grace Hopper about Ada
Lovelace, not a quote about Grace Hopper herself. The title is "Grace Hopper,
computing pioneer" and it's from 2014.

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lhuser123
You are probably right, thanks. For me, this was what stood out. The link or
connection that my brain made between what I know(a loop), and what the
article is trying to teach me. Hopefully, others like me with no CS
background, will also find it inspiring.

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greenyoda
The HN Guidelines ask us to "please use the original title, unless it is
misleading or linkbait; don't editorialize".

See the guidelines for more details:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html)

~~~
lhuser123
Got it.

