''Most of the successful programmers are male'' this is one of the many common misconceptions about programmers. Female programmers are often seen out of the spotlight and their contribution is less known to the world. Today we've decided to bring a list of top 10 female programmers whose contribution played a huge role in the field of computer science and information technology.

It's commonly thought that Nordic countries lead the way in gender equality in the world and Sweden especially can brag about having the highest score on gender equality within the European Union.This is due to a number of decade-long policies and efforts around raising social awareness, especially by highly engaged feminist activists.But it's also painfully obvious to anyone who works in tech in Sweden that this overall equality has not rubbed off on our industry.There are plenty of organizations that have taken upon them to do what they can to make tech more gender equal - TechEQ, Womengineer and DataTjej, to name a few .

Gender inequality in the workplace is nothing new. When women entered the workforce during World War II, it was out of necessity. During the feminist movement of the 1960s, women entered the workforce by choice. However, their options were quite limited. Most simply became secretaries, nurses, babysitters, or teachers. Today, women work in all fields, but, the hard sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics are still dominated by men. Is there is a reason that such a gap continues to exist in these particular fields? And what can be done to close this gap? STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Educators across the country have been beating the drum for STEM expansion for years. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as any country's workforce that is proficient in science, technology, engineering and mathematics produces economic growth, advances scientific innovation and creates good jobs. For high school students, being labeled as a STEM graduate is seen as a positive boost to college applications, and the public assumes that STEM education leads graduates to fields rich in employment opportunity. However, the truth is that it takes more than just a STEM degree to get a job.

Under pressure, tech companies are rushing to tout their commitment to diversity and inclusion. But some of their efforts paper over the problem rather than solve it. Want a foolproof way to gauge a company's true commitment to diversity and inclusion? Don't listen to the messages corporate leaders are trumpeting. Instead, just count the keynote speakers at the events and conferences the company hosts and participates in. That metric is much more telling-but it can be a harder measure to take. Indeed, companies sometimes find creative ways to appear more embracing of diversity and inclusion than they may be in practice. Intentionally or not, some public-facing initiatives wind up functioning like camouflage; leaders may hope that those efforts constitute meaningful progress, when in reality they just paper over how much progress there's left to be made. Telling the difference is the first step in setting things straight.

This is an inspiring video about the research of UM PhD, Dr. Angelique Johnson, CEO of a cochlear implant manufacturing process, holder of 2 patents, and Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of Louisville.

Fascinating and inspiring interview with astronaut Peggy Whitson, who speaks to Ars Technica about her storied career.

Watch this video from GHC17. Stephanie Lampkin talks about her work at Blendoor, a company she founded to help eliminate bias toward underrepresented groups. She shares her own personal experiences facing down negative tech culture.

The first programmers weren't men, and the first computers weren't machines. What they were, in both cases, were women. Women's many contributions to technology are frequently left out of the history books. But lately, that's been changing - at least a little. Ada Lovelace, considered the first computer programmer and a visionary for what programming and computers could eventually become, has a technology award named after her, and a holiday devoted to celebrating her legacy. Katherine Johnson meanwhile, the NASA ''computer'' responsible for successfully plotting the flight paths of some of America's earliest space exploration expeditions, was the subject of the Hollywood blockbuster Hidden Figures (and the book it's based on).

The tech industry is booming, but where are the women? Women now hold a lower share of computer science jobs than they did in the 1980s - the tech industry has expanded, but opportunities for women have shrunk.

If you are looking for the ultimate science playlist that features songs like ''Why Does the Sun Shine,'' ''Pi'' and ''Chemical Calisthenics'',The Inside the Perimeter has you covered!