Elsie Shutt

Elsie Shutt (née Goedeke, born 1928) is an American technology entrepreneur. She founded Computations Incorporated (CompInc.) in 1958.^[1] She was among the first women to establish a software business in the United States.^[2][3][4]

Elsie Shutt
Born	Elsie Goedeke 1928 (age 96–97) New York City, United States
Education	Goucher College (BA)
Occupation	Technology entrepreneur

Early life and education

Elsie Shutt was born Elsie Goedeke in New York City. She was raised in Baltimore, Maryland^[1] by her mother and maternal grandfather.^[1] Her father died when she was four years old.

She attended Eastern High School in Baltimore and graduated at the age of 16.^[1] At the age of 20, she graduated from Goucher College as a math major with a minor in chemistry.^[1] After receiving a Pepsi-Cola fellowship for graduate school, covering full tuition and partial living expenses, she continued her math studies at Radcliffe College.^[1]

Career

Shutt learnt to program on the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) under Dick Clippinger during a summer job at the U.S. Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.^[3][5] In 1953, Shutt was hired at Raytheon, an aerospace and defense manufacturing company, where she worked on software for the Raycom computer.^[3][6]

In 1957, Shutt married and had a baby.^[7] She subsequently left her job. She worked as a freelance programmer from her home, and in 1958 she founded Computations Incorporated.^[1]

Shutt's founding of Computations Incorporated (CompInc) was a development for gender equality in computer science–a historically male-dominated field. According to Janet Abbate, author of Recoding Gender: Women's Changing Participation in Computing, Shutt was among the early pioneers who showed that women could work in programming and systems analysis while also managing family responsibilities.^[3]

CompInc created software solutions for major clients such as Raytheon and the U.S. Air Force.^[8][1][9] Shutt led CompInc for more than 45 years. She frequently employed women who sought flexible programming jobs to balance family responsibilities.^[3] CompInc also offered additional training programs to employees with limited experience.^[3] The company provided systems analysis and design, along with programming help, for primary clients.^[3][9]

CompInc emphasized “desk-checking” between employees, during which they reviewed each other's code. At its peak, the company entered into contracts with Minneapolis-Honeywell,^[9] Raytheon,^[9] St. Regis Paper Co.,^[9] Harvard University,^[9] The University of Rochester,^[9] and the United States Air Force.^[9][10]

Shutt later commented that “It really amazed me that these men were programmers, because I thought it was women’s work!”^[3][11]