1967: When Computer Science Was 'Women's Work' Because It's 'Like Planning A Dinner'

By | September 10, 2019

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A woman working on a Honeywell tape drive computer, circa 1969. (Photo by Underwood Archives/Getty Images)

In the late 1960s, computers were hulking, unsexy machines that looked a lot more like a dishwasher than an iPhone. They would end up changing our lives drastically, but 50 years ago, people were trying to wrap their heads around what they could do, why they were important, and whether they might turn evil and blow up the planet. Day-to-day computer work -- data entry -- because it somewhat resembled secretarial duties, often fell to women.

A Field So New That Nobody Owned It

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What Sort of Man Owns His Own Computer, Apparently not the Men of the '60s (behindthescenes.nyhistory.org)

Today, tech companies rule over the business world like powerful overlords, combining brains and massive amounts of capital into a dominating combination. Working at Google, Facebook, or Apple offers a cache similar to working for the oil industry way back when. They are the giants of the largest and fastest-growing industry.

Unfortunately, like many other parts of our patriarchy, the tech industry is almost entirely male-dominated. Only 18% of leadership roles within the tech industry are held by women. However, it didn’t always used to be that way.