International Women in Engineering Day is an opportunity to recognise the engineers, scientists, inventors and problem-solvers whose work has helped shape the world around us. For the telecommunications industry, it is also a chance to look beyond the cables, switches, radio systems, optical networks and software platforms we use today, and recognise the people whose ideas made modern connectivity possible.
Not every breakthrough in telecommunications began inside a telecoms company. Many of the technologies that support modern networks came from advances in computing, mathematics, physics, wireless communication, aerospace, software engineering and data networking. That is why the story of telecoms is also a story of wider engineering progress.
To mark International Women in Engineering Day, Carritech is celebrating some of the women whose work helped influence the technologies behind modern communications, from early computing theory and wireless signalling to telephone switching and scalable data networks.
A timeline of women who helped shape modern connectivity
1840s: Ada Lovelace and the foundations of programmable systems
Ada Lovelace lived long before the modern telecommunications industry existed, but her work helped lay the foundations for the programmable systems that today’s networks depend on.
In the 1840s, Lovelace worked on Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine, a proposed mechanical general-purpose computer. She recognised that such a machine could do more than carry out simple calculations. It could follow instructions, process symbols and perform tasks based on programmed logic.
That way of thinking sits at the heart of modern communications infrastructure. Telecoms networks are no longer just physical systems made up of copper, fibre, radio equipment and switching hardware. They are also software-controlled environments, managed through routing protocols, monitoring platforms, automation tools, network management systems and intelligent control layers.
Lovelace was not a telecoms engineer, but her work belongs in the wider story of connectivity because programmable thinking has become essential to how networks operate today.
1940s: Hedy Lamarr and the idea behind resilient wireless communication
Hedy Lamarr is often remembered as a Hollywood actress, but she was also an inventor whose work has become closely associated with the history of wireless communication.
During the Second World War, Lamarr worked with composer George Antheil on a frequency-hopping communication system. The idea was to allow radio signals to move between frequencies in a coordinated way, making them harder to intercept or jam.
The original invention was designed for a military application and was not immediately adopted in that form. However, the principle behind frequency hopping became highly influential in the wider development of spread-spectrum communication.
Modern wireless technologies have evolved through many different stages and contributions, but Lamarr’s work remains an important example of how engineering ideas can influence future generations of communication systems. Resilience, interference avoidance and secure transmission remain central challenges in wireless networking today.
1950s: Mary W. Jackson and the engineering culture behind advanced communication systems
Mary W. Jackson became NASA’s first Black female engineer in 1958. Her work was in aerospace engineering rather than telecommunications directly, but her contribution is still relevant to the broader history of communications technology.
The development of aerospace and space programmes drove major advances in telemetry, satellite communication, data transmission, computing and high-reliability engineering. Space missions required information to be captured, transmitted, processed and acted upon with extraordinary precision. That demand helped accelerate technologies and engineering disciplines that later became important across many parts of the communications industry.
Jackson’s story is also important because she worked in an environment where opportunities for women, particularly Black women, were severely limited. Her career represents not only technical achievement, but also the importance of opening engineering to a wider range of people and perspectives.
For telecoms, this matters because resilient infrastructure depends on more than equipment. It depends on engineers, analysts, technicians and specialists with the knowledge and opportunity to solve complex problems.
1960s and 1970s: Erna Schneider Hoover and computerised telephone switching
Erna Schneider Hoover is one of the clearest examples of a woman whose work had a direct impact on telecommunications.
As a mathematician and engineer at Bell Labs, Hoover developed a computerised telephone switching system designed to help telephone exchanges manage heavy call traffic more effectively. At a time when networks were under pressure from increasing call volumes, her work helped prevent switching systems from becoming overloaded.
Before software-controlled systems became common, telephone networks relied heavily on electromechanical switching. Hoover’s work helped move telephone infrastructure towards stored-program control, where computer logic could be used to manage call routing and network demand more intelligently.
This was a major step in the evolution of telecoms. Today, software control, automation and intelligent traffic management are fundamental to how networks operate. From legacy switching systems to modern IP-based infrastructure, the ability to manage network behaviour through software remains essential.
For Carritech, this part of the story is especially relevant. Many legacy telecom platforms are still relied upon because they were built to be robust, maintainable and mission-critical. Understanding the engineering history behind these systems helps explain why they continue to play an important role in critical infrastructure today.
1970s onwards: Shirley Ann Jackson and the science behind advanced communications
Dr Shirley Ann Jackson is a physicist whose career has been connected with some of the scientific foundations that support modern communications and electronic systems.
Her work at Bell Laboratories placed her within one of the most important research environments in the history of telecommunications. Bell Labs was central to many breakthroughs in computing, electronics, materials science, optical technologies and communication systems.
Jackson’s career is a reminder that telecoms innovation does not only happen through visible products or network upgrades. It also depends on deep scientific research: the study of materials, semiconductors, optical behaviour, electronic components and the physical principles that make high-speed communication possible.
Modern telecoms relies on this kind of research every day. Fibre optic transmission, optical networking, switching hardware, radio systems and data infrastructure all depend on scientific progress that often begins long before it becomes part of a commercial network.
1980s: Radia Perlman and scalable data networks
Radia Perlman is a computer scientist and network engineer best known for developing the Spanning Tree Protocol, a technology that helped Ethernet networks become more stable and scalable.
In data networks, loops can cause serious problems. If traffic is allowed to circulate endlessly between network bridges, it can create congestion, instability and outages. Spanning Tree Protocol helped solve this problem by allowing networks to identify and block redundant paths while still preserving resilience.
This may sound highly technical, but its impact was significant. Perlman’s work helped make larger Ethernet networks more practical and reliable, supporting the growth of local area networking and the wider development of connected digital infrastructure.
Her contribution is especially relevant today because telecoms is no longer separate from data networking. Modern operators, enterprises, utilities and critical infrastructure organisations rely on networks that combine transmission, routing, switching, software, security and data management.
Perlman’s work shows how one protocol, designed to solve a specific engineering challenge, can have a long-term influence on the way networks are built and maintained.
1990s to today: Women across the global telecoms industry
The story does not end with a small number of well-known names. Across the world, women continue to contribute to telecommunications and network engineering in roles that are vital to modern infrastructure.
Women work across the industry as fibre engineers, RF engineers, network architects, software developers, field technicians, systems engineers, project managers, cybersecurity specialists, researchers, test engineers, product specialists and technical leaders.
The telecoms industry has changed dramatically over the last few decades. Networks have moved from analogue to digital, from circuit-switched to packet-based, from copper-heavy environments to fibre-rich infrastructure, and from isolated systems to highly interconnected platforms. Each stage of that progress has required skilled engineering input across many disciplines.
Today, women are contributing to areas such as 5G, 6G research, optical networking, satellite communications, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, network automation, AI-assisted operations and sustainable telecoms infrastructure.
Their work is not separate from the future of telecommunications. It is part of the future of telecommunications.
Why this matters to telecoms
Telecommunications is an industry built on both continuity and change. Some networks evolve quickly as demand for speed, capacity and connectivity increases. Others remain operational for decades because they support essential services and critical infrastructure.
In both cases, engineering knowledge matters.
The history of modern connectivity is not only a history of equipment. It is a history of ideas: how to process information, how to transmit signals, how to manage traffic, how to prevent failure, how to design resilient systems and how to keep people connected across distance.
That is why International Women in Engineering Day is relevant to the telecoms industry. Many of the breakthroughs that shaped communications were made possible by women working in mathematics, computing, physics, software, aerospace and network engineering. Some contributed directly to telecoms. Others helped develop the wider technologies that telecoms now depends on.
Recognising that wider contribution gives a more honest and complete picture of how the connected world was built.
Recognising engineering talent, past and present
International Women in Engineering Day is not just about looking back. It is also about recognising the engineers working today and encouraging more people to see engineering as a place where they can build meaningful careers.
For the telecoms sector, this is particularly important. The industry needs people who understand legacy systems, emerging technologies, physical infrastructure, software platforms, security, testing, repair, integration and long-term support.
As networks become more complex, the need for skilled engineers will only increase. Preserving legacy knowledge, supporting critical infrastructure and delivering future network upgrades will require a wide range of technical talent.
That talent should be encouraged wherever it is found.
Carritech’s perspective
At Carritech, we work with telecom infrastructure every day. Our team supports organisations that rely on complex network environments, including legacy and end-of-life systems that continue to play an important role in critical operations.
That work gives us a strong appreciation for the engineering behind telecommunications. Every switch, transmission platform, optical system, radio unit, circuit board and network architecture is part of a much bigger story of technical progress.
International Women in Engineering Day is a chance to recognise some of the women who helped shape that progress, whether through direct telecoms innovation or through the wider fields of computing, wireless communication, physics and network engineering.
Modern connectivity was not built by one person, one company or one discipline. It was built through generations of engineering ideas, many of which came from people whose contributions deserve to be better known.
As the telecoms industry continues to evolve, Carritech recognises the importance of celebrating engineering talent, preserving technical knowledge and supporting the people who keep critical networks connected.
How Carritech supports critical telecom networks
Carritech works with organisations around the world to support, maintain and extend the life of critical telecom network infrastructure. Our services include legacy equipment supply, repairs, testing, deinstallation, asset recovery and specialist telecom network support.
For organisations operating legacy or end-of-life telecom platforms, our team can help assess risk, identify support requirements and provide practical options for keeping networks operational. To learn more, visit our legacy network assessment page or explore the technologies and products we support.
