Long before computers fit on desks—or in pockets—“computers” were people. During World War II, six brilliant women were recruited to program ENIAC, the world’s first electronic computer. With no manuals, no programming languages, and no precedent, they invented the very idea of programming—teaching a machine how to think step by step. These women—Kathleen McNulty, Jean Jennings Bartik, Betty Snyder Holberton, Marlyn Wescoff Meltzer, Ruth Lichterman Teitelbaum, and Frances Bilas Spence—translated human problems into machine logic by hand-wiring panels and switches. They pioneered debugging, optimization, and reusable routines decades before the field had names for them. When ENIAC was unveiled, the men stood in front of the cameras. The women were cropped out—misidentified as assistants and written out of history. In this episode, we uncover the hidden origins of software, the gender bias that erased its founders, and why the digital revolution may never have happened without these six women. 🔑 10 SEO Keywords ENIAC programmers women in computing history invented programming first computer programmers World War II computers digital age origins hidden figures technology early software pioneers Did You Know podcast history of programming See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.