About Ada Lovelace Day
Ada Lovelace Day aims to raise the profile of women in science, technology, engineering and maths by encouraging people around the world to talk about the women whose work they admire. This international day of celebration helps people learn about the achievements of women in STEM, inspiring others and creating new role models for young and old alike.
The inspiration for Ada Lovelace Day came from psychologist Penelope Lockwood, who carried out a study which found that women need to see female role models more than men need to see male role models. "Outstanding women can function as inspirational examples of success," she said, "illustrating the kinds of achievements that are possible for women around them. They demonstrate that it is possible to overcome traditional gender barriers, indicating to other women that high levels of success are indeed attainable."
The day begins in Kiribati, the easternmost country in the world, and continues for a mindbending 50 hours, ending in American Samoa. Ada Lovelace Day is on 16th October 2012 and we encourage you to talk about women in stem that you admire and add your story to our directory so that others can find and read it.
Who's Ada?
Ada Lovelace is widely held to have been the first computer programmer. Close friends with inventor Charle Babbage, Lovelace was intrigued by his Analytical Engine and in 1842, she translated a description of it by italian mathematician Luigi Menabrea. Babbage asked her to expand the article, "as she understood [it] so well", and this was when she wrote several early 'computer programs'. Ada Lovelace died of cancer at 36, her potential tragically unfulfilled. Learn more about Ada...
You can also explore some of the primary documents by or about Ada that are online.
Our Past
Ada Lovelace Day was launched in 2009 with a simple pledge on British civil action site, Pledgebank. Nearly 2,000 people signed up to blog about a woman in technology whom they admired on 24 March. The day was an astounding success, with contributors writing blog posts, newspaper columns and even a webcomic, Sydney Padua's Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage. The media covered Ada Lovelace Day with enthusiasm, including coverage from The Guardian, The Telegraph, the BBC and Computer Weekly amongst others.
In 2010, we had involvement from over 2,000 people who wrote about the women they admire. We held our first official event, with a keynote speech from technology journalist Maggie Philbin, most famous for her work on Tomorrow's World.
And our future
Ada Lovelace Day this year will be held on 16 October. Over the coming year, FindingAda.com will develop into a resource for women in science, technology, engineering and maths, as well as for parents, teachers and lecturers who care about encouraging girls and young women to enter the STEM disciplines. Please do stay with us as we evolve!
The Team
Ada Lovelace Day was founded in 2009 by Suw Charman-Anderson, a social technologist, journalist and writer who got fed up the tech industry's continual excuses regarding the lack of women speakers at conferences.
She is supported by an amazing team of volunteers, including Stephanie Troeth, Miles Taylor, Maggie Berry, Jenny Blacker, Owen Blacker, Helen Arney and the team at BCSWomen. The website has been built by eVectors.
FAQ
Still need answers? Read our Frequently Asked Questions!