A Lifetime: Ada Lovelace

Ada is the name of a computer language that is well known to engineers and developers.

It’s also the name of a cryptocurrency. And the name of an asteroid. And the name of a tech school.

These discoveries and inventions are all attributed to one woman: Ada Lovelace. The pioneer of algorithms.

Just a few years ago, her name wasn’t to be found in encyclopedias. At most, she was occasionally mentioned in the entry devoted to her father, the poet Lord Byron. Yet she never knew him and was raised by her mother, a socialite with a passion for mathematics, nicknamed “the princess of parallelograms.” Math was also little Ada’s favorite pastime. So when Charles Babbage, a friend of her mother’s, introduced her to his “analytical engine”—the precursor to the computer—she had the idea of writing lines of code to enable this big contraption to automate tasks…

To learn more about Ada Lovelace and the early days of computing, listen to the podcast A Whole Life by Anaïs Kien, on France Culture.

What is the current situation regarding the representation of women in digital professions?

The report by Epitech and the IPSOS polling institute provides valuable information on this issue. In 2021, these two organizations collaborated to create an observatory dedicated to increasing the representation of women in digital professions. You can click here to access the full report.

In October 2022, in celebration of “Ada Lovelace Day”—held on the second Tuesday of October each year to promote the role of women in science—La Poste issued a stamp featuring this iconic pioneer.