The Hidden History of America’s “Code Girls”

While men may dominate computer science today, women played fascinating, overlooked roles in the field’s early days. During World War II, more than 10,000 American women were recruited to Washington, D.C., to take part in the United States’ massive codebreaking initiative. In her latest book, Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II, author Liza Mundy tells the secret history of these women, whose efforts saved countless lives and opened previously denied career opportunities to a new generation of women.

Join Mundy and contemporary technologists to consider the hidden lives of these heroic Americans and what their stories tell us about women in computer science today.

This event will be livestreamed on this page. Follow the conversation online with #CodeGirls and @FutureTenseNow.

Speakers:

Liza Mundy, @lizamundy
Senior Fellow, New America
Author of Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Codebreakers of World War II, The Richer Sex, and Michelle: A Biography

Erie Meyer, @Erie
Senior Director of the National Network, Code for America
Co-founder, U.S. Digital Service

Courtney Eimerman-Wallace, @CourtPholio
Director of Technology, Color of Change

Moderator:

Ian Wallace, @pianwallace
Co-Director, Cybersecurity Initiative, New America

Copies of Liza Mundy’s Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II will be available for purchase by credit card or check.