As we celebrate Women’s Week, at METRICA we want to honor and shed light on a group of trailblazers who forever changed the world of technology. We recently featured their story on our social media, but their impact deserves deeper recognition.
Who Were the Top Secret Rosies?
During World War II, the U.S. Army brought together a team of brilliant female mathematicians to carry out ballistic calculations essential to weapons development. Later, this same group went on to program the ENIAC—the first general-purpose electronic computer—pioneering methods that laid the foundation for modern programming.
These six women led this historic technological achievement:
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Betty Snyder Holberton
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Jean Jennings Bartik
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Kathleen McNulty Mauchly Antonelli
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Marlyn Wescoff Meltzer
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Ruth Lichterman Teitelbaum
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Frances Bilas Spence
A Legacy Left in the Shadows
The Top Secret Rosies created tools and methodologies still used in software development today. Yet their work remained unrecognized for decades. Among their key contributions were:
✔️ The development of the first software libraries and reusable code routines
✔️ The establishment of programming practices that remain in use to this day
✔️ Enhanced accuracy in ballistic calculations—crucial for the Allied victory
Despite their immense impact on computing, these women’s names were left out of most historical records. It wasn’t until 2010 that they began receiving proper recognition, with the release of the documentary “Top Secret Rosies: The Female ‘Computers’ of WWII.”
Talent Has No Gender
The legacy of the Top Secret Rosies is a powerful reminder that women have helped build the foundation of modern technology. Yet history has often overlooked their contributions, reinforcing the gender gap in the IT industry.
At METRICA, we believe in the importance of showcasing female role models and promoting gender equality in tech. Because recognizing the past is the first step toward building a more inclusive, diverse, and innovative future.
