Hidden Figures: Celebrating Women Shaping Tech & Digital Rights | EFF

For International Women’s Day, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is spotlighting the often-overlooked contributions of women to the development of technology and the ongoing fight for digital rights. While figures like Ada Lovelace are frequently cited as pioneers, the history of women in computing is far richer and more complex, extending to individuals like Mary Allen Wilkes, a key programmer of the LINC, one of the earliest interactive personal computers, and the six women – Kathleen McNulty, Jean Jennings, Betty Snyder, Marlyn Wescoff, Frances Bilas and Ruth Lichterman – who programmed the ENIAC, the first all-electronic digital computer in the 1940s. The EFF’s recognition builds on a growing awareness of these foundational figures.

Beyond the Binary: Recognizing Unsung Contributions

The narrative often focuses on well-known innovators, but many women have quietly shaped the technological landscape. Hedy Lamarr, for example, is now widely celebrated for co-creating frequency-hopping technology, a precursor to modern wireless communication. However, Laila Ohlgren’s crucial work in the 1970s, solving a critical problem in early mobile networks by enabling the storage and transmission of dialed numbers with a “call button,” remains less known. This innovation addressed connection issues that plagued early mobile phone calls. These stories underscore a pattern: women’s contributions are frequently minimized or forgotten in the historical record.

The EFF’s annual awards serve as a platform to rectify this imbalance, celebrating women at the forefront of digital rights advocacy. This year, the foundation is highlighting the work of Carolina Botero and Chelsea Manning, among others, whose efforts have had a global impact on privacy, free speech, and creative expression online.

Carolina Botero: Championing Digital Rights in Latin America

Carolina Botero, the 2024 EFF Award winner, dedicated over a decade to leading the Colombia-based Karisma Foundation. Her work extended beyond national borders, cultivating a significant regional and international influence. Botero and Karisma focused on bridging the digital divide, notably by connecting indigenous communities to the internet and facilitating the creation of Wikipedia content in native languages. This initiative expanded access to both historical and contemporary information, empowering marginalized communities to preserve and share their cultural heritage.

Karisma’s efforts likewise centered on combating disinformation and protecting cultural institutions from “digital blackholes”—the loss of digital information due to neglect or technological obsolescence. The foundation actively advocated for legal tools to safeguard these institutions and championed human rights in the online sphere. A key example of their work involved assisting Colombian graduate student Diego Gomez, who faced criminal charges for sharing a classmate’s Master’s thesis online. EFF, in collaboration with Karisma, successfully defended Gomez, highlighting the dangers of overly strict copyright enforcement. Botero’s legacy continues through her advisory role at CELE, the Centro de Estudios en Libertad de Expresión.

Chelsea Manning: Transparency, Advocacy, and Courage

Chelsea Manning gained prominence as a whistleblower in 2010, disclosing classified documents related to the Iraq War, including a harrowing video of civilian killings. This act of transparency exposed aspects of U.S. Military operations and sparked public outrage. However, Manning’s contributions extend far beyond this single event. She is also a vocal advocate for transgender rights, a network security expert, and an author.

Manning’s decision to share the documents with WikiLeaks stemmed from disillusionment with the realities of the war, which contrasted sharply with the public narrative. Her subsequent treatment while in custody drew widespread condemnation. She endured prolonged solitary confinement – 23 hours a day for 11 months – before her trial, conditions that were deemed “cruel, inhuman and degrading” by the UN Special Rapporteur on torture. Public outcry and advocacy from organizations like Amnesty International, along with criticism from within the State Department, eventually led to her transfer to a medium-security facility.

Despite facing severe charges and a lengthy sentence – the longest ever imposed on a whistleblower – Manning courageously revealed her identity as a trans woman shortly after her conviction. This act of self-disclosure, made while anticipating years of imprisonment, further solidified her status as a symbol of resilience, and authenticity. The EFF filed an amicus brief arguing that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) was not intended to criminalize violations of private policies. Even after President Obama commuted her sentence in 2017, Manning continued to face legal challenges and imprisonment for refusing to testify before grand juries investigating WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. She ultimately wrote a memoir, README.txt, reclaiming control of her narrative.

Annie Game: A Global Voice for Free Expression

Annie Game, another 2017 EFF Award recipient, dedicated over 16 years to IFEX, a global network supporting freedom of expression. Under her leadership, IFEX fostered collaboration between traditional free-expression organizations and those focused on digital rights, enhancing organizational security. Game championed initiatives like the International Day to Conclude Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, raising awareness about the alarming rate of unsolved journalist killings – with nearly 90% of cases remaining unprosecuted between 2006 and 2024, according to UNESCO. IFEX also provided support to journalists facing threats, such as Bahey eldin Hassan in Egypt, who was targeted for criticizing the judiciary.

The Faces of Free Expression project, a partnership between IFEX and the International Free Expression Project, further highlights the stories of individuals risking their safety to defend free speech and access to information.

Looking Ahead: Sustaining the Fight for Digital Rights

The EFF’s recognition of these women, alongside others like Anita Borg and Amy Goodman, underscores the importance of acknowledging the diverse contributions to the field of digital rights. The ongoing work of these individuals and organizations demonstrates that protecting privacy, speech, and creativity online requires sustained effort and collaboration. Supporting organizations like the EFF through donations is crucial to enabling them to continue their vital work. The challenges to digital freedom are ever-evolving, and the need for dedicated advocates remains paramount.