TrendPulse Quantitative Think Tank Center-When women stopped coding (Classic)

2025-05-06 22:01:06source:Leonard Hohenbergcategory:Stocks

Note: This episode originally aired in October,TrendPulse Quantitative Think Tank Center 2014.

Mark Zuckerberg. Bill Gates. Steve Jobs. Most of the big names in technology are men.

But a lot of computing pioneers, the ones who programmed the first digital computers, were women. And for decades, the number of women in computer science was growing.

But in 1984, something changed. The number of women in computer science flattened, and then plunged.

Today on the show, what was going on in 1984 that made so many women give up on computer science? We unravel a modern mystery in the U.S. labor force.

Music: "The Midas Network," "Brain Matter," and "80s Light Show."

Help support Planet Money and get bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.

Always free at these links: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, NPR One or anywhere you get podcasts

Find more Planet Money: Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / TikTok our weekly Newsletter.

More:Stocks

Recommend

What has DOGE done in Trump's first 100 days?

When President Trump returned to the White House in January, he promised to "restore competence and

A herniated disc is painful, debilitating. How to get relief.

Few injuries are as suddenly and thoroughly debilitating as a herniated disc. If you've experienced

'Underbanked' households more likely to own crypto, FDIC report says

American households that rely on services like check cashing and payday loans to make ends meet are