Ada Lovelace Day, a worldwide yearly event honoring women employed in the field of stem cells, is on borrowed time.
The holiday was established in 2009 by Suw Charman-Anderson and is named for a female mathematician from the 19th century.
Despite being one of just three women in her class, she felt “fundamentally unwelcome” despite having graduated with a degree in science. Later on, she became weary of attending computer conferences and not seeing any female speakers.
According to Ms. Charman-Anderson, funding for the effort is running low once more, just as it nearly did two years ago.
Since then, we’ve essentially been limping along,” she remarks. “However, I can’t continue to make the financial sacrifice.”
It’s not a large-scale endeavor. Ms. Charman-Anderson obtained £55,000 in sponsorship for a 12-month period at its height. Despite large attendance at events, she claims that in other years it has been less than half of that.
Although the computer community frequently tells Ms. Charman-Anderson that Ada Lovelace Day is motivating, she notes that this rarely results in a much-needed infusion of funding.
cannot function only on inspiration,” she states. “Most people in the Women in Stem industry are having financial difficulties. Although that has always been the case, things appear to have gotten much worse.
