Planet Mainframe on LinkedIn
Planet Mainframe on LinkedIn
Planet Mainframe
Db2 Workload Performance on Fire

Influential Mainframers Trivia

May 9, 2025

Trivia

Influential Mainframers Trivia

Sonja Soderlund

Sonja Soderlund is an Oregon-based B2B freelance writer. Whether writing about mainframe computers, educational technology, or sustainable retail, she strives to bring clarity to complex issues. Connect with her or LinkedIn.

April at Planet Mainframe was all about celebrating today’s Influential Mainframers, and if you’re looking for inspiration, the full list of honorees is well worth a look. Today, seeing women’s names among industry leaders might feel expected—but it certainly wasn’t always this way. 

This week’s trivia quiz explores the history of some of the pioneering women who helped blaze the mainframe trail, from the earliest days of computing to the present. These trailblazers made lasting contributions as programmers, engineers, and innovators, leaving an indelible mark on mainframe computing through their technical achievements, leadership, and advocacy. Their work helped shape both the foundation and the future of enterprise IT.

Take the quiz and see how much you know!

1. Frances E. Allen was the first woman to receive which prestigious award in computer science?

 
 
 
 

2. Which IBM Fellow is known for her work in modernizing mainframe development through DevOps?

 
 
 
 

3. Pam Taylor held which leadership position in the SHARE organization?

 
 
 
 

4. Betty Holberton was one of the original programmers of which early computer?

 
 
 
 

5. What milestone did Anna McKee achieve in the IBM “Master the Mainframe” competition?

 
 
 
 

6. Margaret Hamilton coined the term “software engineering” while working on which historic project?

 
 
 
 

7. Sister Mary Kenneth Keller was the first American woman to earn a doctorate in which field?

 
 
 
 

8. Which two women on this list were deeply involved in the development of COBOL?

 
 
 
 

9. What role did Frances Allen play in advancing compiler technology for mainframes?

 
 
 
 

10. What pioneering contributions did Rosalind Radcliffe make to DevOps in the context of mainframe computing?

 
 
 
 

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign up to receive the latest mainframe information

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Recently Published

Read More

More Mainframe Lingo Trivia

More Mainframe Lingo Trivia

by Sonja Soderlund

Mainframe environments come with their own vocabulary, much of it precise, legacy-rich, and completely opaque to anyone who hasn’t spent time in the ecosystem. And there really is no end to the alphabet soup. Even seasoned professionals pick up new terms over the...

❓ History of Artificial Intelligence Trivia

❓ History of Artificial Intelligence Trivia

by Sonja Soderlund

November at Planet Mainframe is all about AI, and you don’t need us to tell you that artificial intelligence has now been integrated into many of our daily routines. But long before AI became a household term, IBM was shaping the foundations of this increasingly...

Mainframe Artificial Intelligence Quiz

Mainframe Artificial Intelligence Quiz

by Sonja Soderlund

At Planet Mainframe, we’re spending the month of November focusing on AI and the mainframe. Once viewed as separate worlds, AI and IBM Z now work hand in hand to deliver real-time insights, predictive analytics, and intelligent automation across enterprise-scale...

TRIVIA – Penetration Testing

TRIVIA – Penetration Testing

by Sonja Soderlund

Mainframes have long been known for their unmatched reliability and security—but even the most trusted systems can hide surprises beneath the surface. As technology evolves, so do the tactics of those trying to exploit it. Penetration testing (pen testing), or...