Sonja Sauvola Integration Specialist, Solita
Reading time 3 min
Have you seen the movie Hidden Figures? Did you know that many remarkable women in Europe have also shaped the history of computing? This blog series presents four women from the early 1900s to the present day. They are from Germany, Sweden, Norway, and Finland. As the world of IT needs more women, it must be pointed out that this isn’t a field in which women are newcomers. In the words of Janet Abbate, this is a field where they have a history and belong.
Linda Liukas (born 1986) is a programming teacher, keynote speaker, and best-selling author whose Hello Ruby books have sold hundreds of thousands of copies and have been translated into 37 languages. Liukas founded Rails Girls, which has organised workshops in over 230 cities, teaching the basics of programming to more than 10,000 women. Forbes magazine has included Liukas in its list of Europe’s Top 50 Women in Tech.
Liukas was born and raised in Helsinki. After graduating from the Normal Lyceum of Helsinki, she studied at the Turku School of Economics but, in her own words, was too excited and busy ever to graduate. In 2009, Liukas found her spiritual home at Aalto University and the Aalto Entrepreneurship Society, Aaltoes. Since then, she has studied business, design and engineering at Aalto University and product engineering at Stanford University.
Coding had been Liukas’ hobby, and at Stanford University, she returned to coding after over a decade. Liukas attended a coding course at Stanford and found it unexciting. She believed that coding could be taught in a more inspiring way, so she founded Rails Girls with her friend Karri Saarinen in 2010. Rails Girls is a weekend workshop where women are introduced to coding and the basic vocabulary of the industry. Over the past years, the workshops have been organised in hundreds of cities worldwide.
The IT field is still male-dominated even though it has been shown in numerous studies that the involvement of women and minorities is a success factor for IT companies. Diversity in employees boosts revenue, as various viewpoints and perspectives promote innovation, create new services, and achieve improved business results.
The field of technology may seem inaccessible to young girls unless they are actively directed towards it. Here, the work carried out by Linda Liukas comes into play. She created the Hello Ruby children’s book series that gives young girls a role model who explores the world of technology in a fun and inspiring way. Hello Ruby books have been an international success, and one can imagine they have influenced how girls see their future career prospects. Traditionally, it has been boys who have been praised for curiosity and problem-solving skills, but now also girls are encouraged to develop these skills and maybe build a career in science or technology.
Linda Liukas believes that women make gifted coders because they are creative and brilliant communicators. During her career, she has inspired hundreds of thousands of girls and women to explore the world of coding, computers, and the Internet. Hopefully, she has encouraged a whole generation of girls to take on the world of IT. Today, Liukas continues to advocate coding for all as a teacher, speaker, and author.
Read also how we are promoting diversity and equality.
Sonja Sauvola Integration Specialist, Solita