Elsie Shutt

Elsie Shutt (née Goedeke, born 1928) is a pioneering American programmer and technological entrepreneur. Born in New York City, she was raised in Baltimore, Maryland.^[1] Although Shutt attributes her learning to her mother’s academic path and Baltimore’s education-forward school system, the logic-based aspects of math and science were what fascinated her.^[1] She went on to study math at Goucher College — at the time, all-women’s college offering a premier education — in hopes of teaching math at the college level.^[1]

Shutt’s first exposure to the ENIAC computer was at a job interview at Aberdeen Proving Grounds.^[1] There, the United States government was hiring female math majors to aid the war effort.^[2] This is where Shutt’s interest in programming began. However, she soon received a Pepsi-Cola graduate fellowship, enabling her to continue her studies at Radcliffe College of Harvard University.^[3] Shutt was the second woman to earn a teaching fellowship in Radcliffe's math department.^[1] However, she taught in a segregated higher-education system where women were barred from teaching men.^[1] While the male fellows taught calculus, Shutt was relegated to instructing entry-level classes.^[1] Despite this, Shutt soon taught the singular calculus at Radcliffe, and went on to teach a trigonometry course to male Harvard students.^[1]

In the summers, Shutt worked at Aberdeen programming the ORDVAC computer.^[4] Here, she met Richard Clippinger, who hired her at Raytheon.^[1] Together with Honeywell, Raytheon was developing a computer that would later be known as the Datamatic 1000.^[1] In the meantime, programmers like Shutt performed computing services for external customers.^[1] Working on a flood control program for the Army Corps of Engineers, Shutt programmed on the Univac computer. She would go on to program on IBM mainframes.^[1]

In 1957, Shutt, married and expecting her first child, left her work at Raytheon.^[1] After all, many companies refused to employ women part-time. However, Raytheon was phasing out computing services for external clients.^[1] Shutt found part-time work continuing to program for these former clients.^[1] She soon landed a contract working on a new operating system for Honeywell’s mainframe.^[5] However, this was too big a job for one freelancer; the answer, Shutt believed, was incorporating.^[5] In 1958, Shutt, alongside fellow programmers Irma Wyman, Elaine Kamowitz, and Barbara Wade, founded Computations Incorporated, or CompInc.^[1] Like Shutt, Kamowitz and Wade were mothers of young children seeking enriching, part-time work.^[1] CompInc was staffed entirely by these women, and was one of the first software companies in the world.^[5] It sought to give skilled, experienced female programmers the part-time work that the industry did not allow for.^[1] Without opportunities to work, young mothers were less able to keep pace in the evolving field of computer programming, making it difficult for them to return to the workforce. CompInc’s mission addressed this inequity, allowing women to manage their personal and family life whilst continue developing their skills.^[1] The corporation was very successful; clients included the United States government, the Army Corp of Engineers, and the United States Space Program.^[5]

In the 1970s, computer programming experienced a lull. In response, CompInc pivoted to focus on programming for business applications, such as sending transcripts for Dean Junior College.^[1] Programming whenever work was available, Shutt led CompInc for over 45 years, emphasizing her staff’s pride in their work.^[1] Despite the development of programming into a male-dominated field, the company has helped over fifty women launch careers in technology.^[1] Shutt continues to describe computer programming as “fascinating” work.^[1] She strongly encourages interested young women to pursue an education that will lead them into the world of programming.^[1]