Girls Who Code is working to close the gender gap in technology by teaching teen girls computer programming and helping them explore career possibilities in tech fields. The US non-profit organization, founded in 2012, is undergoing a major expansion this summer -- in 2013, 375 girls attended their popular 7-week Summer Immersion Program; this summer, theyll have 1,200 spots available. Applications for the free summer program open next week. In middle school, nearly three-quarters of girls express interest in engineering, science and math. Although its one of the highest paid and fastest growing fields, few young women pursue this interest once they reach college. Today, only 12% of computer science graduates are female compared to their peak representation in the field in 1984 when 37% of computer science degrees were awarded to women. Reshma Saujani, the founder of Girls Who Code, says she was inspired to found the organization because “Its clear where the jobs are going to be. As someone whos very passionate about women and passionate about the lack of parity in pay, I wanted to figure out, well, why are young women not going into these fields?” Girls Who Code programs combine intensive instruction in programming, robotics, and technology with mentorships by women engineers and programmers. Field trips to companies like Facebook, Intel, and Twitter are an integral part of their curriculum, to show girls how computing careers work in the real world. With additional sponsorship, the organization is expanding the program to new cities this summer and its immersion program will be held in Chicago, Seattle, Washington DC, Miami, Austin, and multiple sites in California, Massachusetts, and the New York City region. Applications will be available for the summer program, which is open to high school sophomores and juniors, starting on January 15. To learn more, visit girlswhocode/programs/ The group has also packaged its curriculum for replication inside schools (middle school through university) and community organizations in its Girls Who Code Clubs. If youd like to learn more about creating a Girl Who Code Club or search for one in your area, visit girlswhocode/clubs/ For ways to get kids of all ages excited about programming, check out the recommendations in our post: Inspiring Invention: 25 Engineering, Technology, & Math Toys for Mighty Girls at amightygirl/blog?p=7896 To inspire her with many stories of girls and women in technology, visit our Science & Technology book section at amightygirl/books/general-interest/science-technology And, for a selection of t-shirts that show off her love of technology and science, visit our Science & Technology clothing section at amightygirl/clothing?clothing_themes=146
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 22:20:26 +0000
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