The Code That Was Made Possible By Feminists

by Mahita Vootukuru, Girls Advisory Council Member

Growing up in 20th-century India, my grandmother never received a formal education due to societal preference for sons. Nevertheless, she ensured her daughters were educated and empowered to forge their own paths. My mother carried forward this legacy, balancing a full-time job with managing our household while passing down my grandmother’s values of resilience and empowerment to me. I wouldn’t have been able to pursue my passions without women like my grandmother, who fought for their daughters—and for me—to explore the world. 

With the privilege to pursue my interests, I filled my schedule with anything that sparked my curiosity: from genetics and molecular pathways, to combustion reactions, or the history of women’s rights. But it wasn’t until my sophomore year that I found the class that brought all those interests together: Computer Science. Whether it was designing a workflow for my project, investigating which parameters to use, or scouring the internet to troubleshoot code, I was constantly engaged by the technicality of programming and the satisfaction that came with completing my code. Yet, when it came time for group projects, I felt singled out. 

“Okay, partner up in groups of three!” 

My teacher gestured for us to find our partners, and so, I turned to my table partner. He chooses to go with his friend. I look behind me, and ask if they’re already partnered up. The group of boys exchanged awkward glances, and I accepted what I knew they were thinking all along:

“She won’t know how to code, we’ll have to do all the work.” 

These sorts of experiences followed me until college, and the doubts about whether I belonged in these spaces never fully disappeared. Yet, the reminders of how my grandmother was able to fight these stereotypes fueled me to persevere. Since that coding class from 10th grade, I have conducted a multitude of computational biology projects such as developing protein design software and creating high-performing machine learning models

to detect uterine cancer and glaucoma. I’ve won statewide prizes, been accepted into prestigious programs, and received scholarships. But my proudest accomplishment will never be the accolades. It’ll be every girl who sees someone like herself in STEM and believes she belongs there too, the same way I once looked to the women in my own family and learned that my ambitions were worth fighting for. So, I urge you – pursue the paths that seem difficult and leave the door open a little wider for the bright-eyed girl who walks in after you.