Ada Lovelace Day, Honoring the woman often called the first computer programmer

March 24 is Ada Lovelace Day, honoring the woman often hailed as the first computer programmer. Ada worked in Britain in the mid-1800′s and wrote an algorithm and specifically for Charles Babbage’s mechanical general-purpose computer. Inspired by the group at FindingAda.com, bloggers around the world are writing about women in technology on this day.

My thoughts on Ada Lovelace Day are simple:

If you are a woman in technology or engineering, mentor a young woman, a girl, or a newbie woman to the field. Your inspiration and encouragement is invaluable.

Along those lines, if you’re a woman engineer, check out and contribute to The Extraordinary Women Engineers Project (EWEP), which works to encourage high school girls to consider and join the engineering field. The Engineer Your Life website is wonderful and key resource of the group — as are the women engineers participating in the project and mentoring girls. Also check out The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, in Silicon Valley. Anita Borg was a renowned American computer scientist and founder of the group later renamed in her honor.

Even if you can’t directly mentor a young techie, let your story be known. Write for EWEP, start your own blog, or give a talk now and then at a local school.

Honor and remember the women whose job descriptions may not have them in the IT or engineering departments , but who translate and teach the technical. They’re techies as well, and often they serve as bridges helping everyone — guys as well as women — overcome fear about technology.