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The majority of these human computers were women. The reason for this is that
many women were trained in mathematics, but the inequality in pay for women
meant that it was much cheaper to hire women computers than male computers.
This inequality in pay would not be rectified for several more decades, and indeed
it is not fully rectified even today.
When the Electrical Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) was nearing
completion in 1945 at the Moore School of Engineering in Philadelphia, six wo-
men computers were selected to learn how to program it. Thus, the evolution of
the term “computer” from a human job description to the name of an electronic
device was partly due to the fact that human computers became the first program-
mers of electronic computers.
When the ENIAC was moved from the university to a military base, the six wo-
men programmers lost their jobs, apparently because of some gender restrictions
in force at that time. Most continued to program but only for civilian companies
instead of the military. This problem of gender discrimination also persisted for
several more decades. The major role of women in early computer development is
underreported in history.
Note
Pay scales for software engineering work were somewhat more
equal by gender than for some of the older technical disciplines
such as mechanical and electrical engineering. One reason for this
perhaps is that in 1935, Thomas J. Watson Sr., the chairman of
IBM, announced a corporate policy of equal pay for equal work.
Later, when IBM entered the computer business, it continued this
egalitarian policy. In the software engineering field, equal oppor-
tunities provide a competitive advantage because programming is
a difficult task. Equal opportunity employment and compensation
increase the pool of personnel with good software skills.
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