Mar Hicks

Mar Hicks is a historian of technology, professor, and author specializing in the history of computing, labor, and gender. Their research focuses on how gender and sexuality affect technological development, particularly exploring how technology and power intersect in modern history. Hicks is best known for the book "Programmed Inequality: How Britain Discarded Women Technologists and Lost Its Edge in Computing" (MIT Press, 2017), which examines how the British computing industry systematically pushed women out of the field as computers became more important to the nation's economy. The work received the PROSE Award for History of Science, Technology, and Medicine. As a faculty member at Illinois Institute of Technology, Hicks teaches courses on the history of technology, gender and sexuality studies, and modern British history. Their scholarship has appeared in publications including IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, Information & Culture, and Enterprise & Society. Hicks continues to research and write about the intersection of gender, technology, and power, with particular attention to how marginalized groups have shaped technological development despite often being excluded from official histories. Their current work examines the history of transgender people in technology fields and resistance to algorithmic systems.

Readers praise Hicks' "Programmed Inequality" for documenting how Britain's computing industry systematically excluded women, backed by extensive archival research and primary sources. Multiple reviews highlight the book's relevance to current tech industry gender disparities. What readers liked: - Detailed historical evidence and documentation - Clear connections to present-day tech workforce issues - Personal stories and narratives that illustrate broader patterns What readers disliked: - Dense academic writing style - Repetitive points across chapters - Limited coverage of potential solutions Ratings: Goodreads: 4.1/5 from 274 ratings Amazon: 4.4/5 from 31 ratings One reader noted: "Meticulously researched but accessible enough for non-academics." Another wrote: "Important history that explains how we got here, though the writing can be dry." Reviews particularly value the book's focus on structural and institutional factors rather than individual choices or biases. Some readers wanted more comparative analysis with other countries' computing industries.

Programmed Inequality: How Britain Discarded Women Technologists and Lost Its Edge in Computing Documents how Britain's computer industry sidelined its skilled women workers after World War II, leading to a decline in the nation's technological dominance.

Digital Technology and Gender: Digital Revolution's Lost Story Examines the history of gender discrimination in computing and technology fields from the 1940s through the present day.

Your Computer Is on Fire A collection of essays exploring how digital technologies have reinforced societal inequalities and created new forms of discrimination.

Sexism Sells: How Gender Inequality Made Britain Lose The Computer Race Traces the connection between gender-based discrimination in British computing and the country's declining position in the global technology industry.

Paul N. Edwards writes about the history of computing infrastructure and climate science, focusing on the interconnections between technology, data, and global systems. His work "The Closed World" examines Cold War computing history and military influence on technology development.

Janet Abbate researches the history of computer programmers and early internet development, with particular attention to gender in computing professions. Her book "Recoding Gender" documents women's roles in early British and American computing.

Nathan Ensmenger studies the social and cultural history of software and programming as a profession. His work "The Computer Boys Take Over" traces the masculinization of computing work from the 1940s to the 1980s.

Marie Hicks chronicles the intersection of gender, technology, and labor in Britain's computing industry. Her research examines how the British government's computing initiatives impacted women workers and national technological development.

Jennifer S. Light explores how gender and race shaped early computing and defense technology development. She documents the hidden figures in computing history, particularly focusing on women's contributions to military and space computing projects.