Too often, discussions of women in computer science focus on well known luminaries such as Ada Lovelace and Grace Hopper. This can give the incorrect impression that these exceptional women were exceptions. Drawing inspiration from Kameron Hurley's essay "Women have always fought", we set out to collect proof that, in computer science, women have always done good, hard, technical research. We seek to raise awareness of foundational work women have led throughout the history of computer science, along with that being done by active researchers. We hope that the papers we list will be a roadmap towards incredible female thesis advisors, an inspiration to current C.S. students, and a heartfelt appreciation of the women who have forged the path for the next generation of scientists.
The papers we've linked to are a starting point, and this list is by no means complete. Read these papers. Write to the authors (of course, being mindful of the fact that they are all incredibly busy), and suggest a paper off this list next time you are presenting at reading group, or, even better, start a women in computer science reading group of your own! Suggestions for how to start a reading group
Many other groups, such as our friends at the Ada Initiative, focus on increasing the presence of women in technology through identifying and addressing discrimination and intimidation in the industry. Our goal is to reach out to the women who do make it through to tell them that they are not alone. Most women in computer science have little exposure to women who are true experts in the field. By reading canonical papers with female first authors, we hope to amplify the message that real women are out there doing exemplary science.
We're women affiliated with Emory University, CMU, and UC Santa Cruz. Please direct questions to Prof. Avani Wildani (avani@mathcs.emory.edu).