Gals Who Code
Aiming to close the gender gap in the technology field, organizations such as Girls Who Code, are teaching coding skills to younger females so they have a valuable skill set when they decide to enter the work field. Along 19 other high school girls, Julia Geist took part in an eight week that taught software programming, public speaking, product development. Previously, when asked to draw a computer scientist, the sixteen year old drew a businessman with a suit and tie, very similar to her other classmates. Thanks to Girls Who Code, she says “I see a computer scientist could be anyone” including her.
Although women represent half of the workforce, their scare presence in the technology industry is not unheard of; according to the University of Colorado’s National Center for Women and Information Technology, women hold less than 25 percent of all jobs in the technology and computer field. “We actively recruit women, but there’s just not that many women who want to do this kind of work and are equipped to do the work from their education,” said Adam Messinger, the CTO of Twitter. He is also a board member of Girls Who Code, and he notes that the industry is trying to address this issue before women start their careers, by teaching girls how to code when they are young. In addition, even Bill Gates of Microsoft and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook endorse the teaching of code to all students in school as evident by their participation in code.org.
Written by Kevin Zhang
Miller, Claire. “Opening a Gateway for Girls to Enter the Computer Field.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 02 Apr. 2013. Web. 02 Apr. 2013. <http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/04/02/opening-a-gateway-for-girls-to-enter-the-computer-field/?ref=business>.