Dr. Mar Hicks, Illinois Institute of Technology

"Rethinking Gender in the History of Computing"

Reorienting the history of computing to include more users and practitioners reveals hidden narratives that allow us to better understand our digital present and future. This talk examines some of the ways that this history can be written, and be of service to understanding the connections between past failures and present day concerns in high tech. Focusing on gender and sexism in computing labor forces and product design can help students and researchers from both STEM fields and the humanities better understand our current high tech landscape, and the crises that we are confronting.