Her name, is Lynn Ann Conway. Best known as an American computer scientist, electrical engineer, an inventor, and also a transgender activist.
Born in 1938, Conway who grew up in New York, has experienced dysphoria since she was a child. Despite being a shy individual, Conway loved math and science during her teens. And with her genius-level IQ and intellect, she earned high grades throughout her school years.
She then resumed education at Columbia University's School of Engineering and Applied Science, earning B.S. and M.S.E.E. degrees in 1962 and 1963.
She started working for IBM Research in 1964, where she joined the company's architecture team designing an advanced supercomputer, and also a researcher. Among her achievements, involved her in developing technologies that power modern smartphones and computers, the many powerful companies in Silicon Valley, as well as the internet.
In 1968 however, IBM's CEO fired her.
And 52 years later, in 2020, IBM apologized and sought for forgiveness.
When Conway was working for IBM, her short 4 years career at the company was enough for her to pioneer a number of things.
For example, she was credited with the invention of generalized dynamic instruction handling, a key advance used in out-of-order execution, used by most modern computer processors to improve performance.
She is also known for the Mead & Conway revolution in very large scale integrated (VLSI) microchip design. That revolution helped and sped up research universities and computing industries during the 1980s, incubating an emerging electronic design automation industry, creating the modern ‘foundry’ infrastructure for computer chip design and production, as well as triggering the rush of tech startups during the 1980s and 1990s.
Those happened before she became a highly respected professor at the University of Michigan.
It was at IBM that Conway made a list of major innovations in computer design, ensuring a promising business for IBM at the time.
Then it happened in 1967, when Conway began her life-changing transition from male to female.
While her family and her colleagues were supportive, IBM's Corporate Medical Director that knew about this in 1968, informed Thomas J. Watson, Jr., who was IBM CEO at the time. After he knew this, he fired Conway to avoid the public embarrassment of employing a transgender.
Conway was devastated.
Not only that she lost her income and unable to support her family, as she was also experiencing some other personal issues that were caused by her gender transition seen and known by the society.
“I’d begun a deeply dangerous traverse and wasn’t sure I’d ever get across,” recalled Conway, who said she suffered from severe depression from gender dysphoria at the time.
But she continued and fought.
She continued her hormonal and surgical transition, and was also seeking employment as a woman with a new identity in 1969. Among others, she was employed at Xerox PARC, and also the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
She also became an author, and also an activist.
And then was an article about LGBTQ, where the author of the article included Conway’s story as an example of the consequences to employers that fail to embrace an inclusive culture. When the author reached out to IBM to learn about what has changed after the 52 years, IBM admitted its regrets.
“We deeply regret the hardship Lynn encountered,” IBM said
Eastern Michigan University)
In October 2020, IBM held a virtual event titled “Tech Trailblazer and Transgender Pioneer Lynn Conway in conversation with Diane Gherson.
Gherson was IBM’s Senior Vice President of Human Resources and reported directly to its CEO. More than 1,200 IBM employees attended the online event.
It was during the event that on behalf of IBM, Gherson apologized for firing Conway, 52 years ago.
“Diane delivered the apology with such grace, sincerity, and humility. Lynn was visibly moved,” explained Anna Nguyen, an Advisory Software Engineer with IBM who attended the event, but at the time of the event. she didn't speak on behalf of IBM.
Arvind Krishna, IBM’s CEO, and other senior executives at the tech giant had determined that Conway should be recognized and awarded “for her lifetime body of technical achievements, both during her time at IBM and throughout her career.”
And according to Dario Gil, Director of IBM Research, who revealed the award during the online event, "Lynn was recently awarded the rare IBM Lifetime Achievement Award, given to individuals who have changed the world through technology inventions. Lynn's extraordinary technical achievements helped define the modern computing industry. She paved the way for how we design and make computing chips today — and forever changed microelectronics, devices, and people's lives."
“I struggled to hold back tears,” said Conway. “Instead of just being a resolution of what had happened in 1968, it became a heartfelt group celebration of how far we’ve all come since then,” says Conway.
IBM acknowledged that after Conway’s departure in 1968, her research has aided the company's success. This is why IBM sought apology for doing what it shouldn't have done, 52 years ago.