Girls of Color Hooked on Coding

"How can we get more girls of color interested and exposed to computer science & coding?"

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Articles

#1) It was said that only 12% of computer science graduates were women. A non-profit organization, Girls Who Code was made to close the gender gap. Subconsciously, girls are afraid of failure as a result of society's depiction of us.

#2) Through Accredited Schools Online, the website shares solutions that could help more girls of color to be more interested in computer science and coding. Depending on age, the website offers various ideas for each age group. For example, kids could play games, read books, or play with toys while high schoolers are more geared towards attending virtual workshops.

#3) In KQED’s article, it displays solutions as to how to keep and gain more girls of color interested in coding. The website suggests introducing girls at a young age to computer science. The site also claims that having women mentors as well as mentioning the creativity side of coding is a leading factor in gaining a bigger audience.

#4) It states that there is under-representation of women in the media and that it can portray negative stereotypes about women. These stereotypes negatively impact girls' views of what they should do and what they’re capable of. In the article, it states that “As behavioral scientists studying women’s underrepresentation in the workplace, we know that this gender-imbalanced picture of society can reinforce and perpetuate harmful gender stereotypes.” If we represent women in the media more, it can even subtly make girls feel more safe and comfortable in the S.T.E.M field.

#5) The article states that representation has a big effect on its audiences. The article states that “ Our 2018 study, “The Scully Effect,” looked at the influence of The X-Files’ protagonist Dana Scully on girls and women entering the STEM field. Nearly two-thirds of women working in STEM today say that Scully served as their role model and increased their confidence to excel in a male-dominated profession. In other words, as we say, “If she can see it, she can be it.” It shows that if women that are in the S.T.E.M field are in the media it can have a large impact on girls and show them that they can do S.T.E.M. and succeed in the work field and achieve great things. Girls will see themselves in these characters and will start to believe and achieve.

Idea

Our idea is to show POC women in the S.T.E.M field, to reach all girls, and show them that they can be in this field

Personal Experience

"I chose this idea because my sister is a huge inspiration for me. She majored in Computer Science, graduated, and now is working for Intel. I can see myself in this field and I want the same experience for other girls." -Deanna Gant

The Muse

To get more women in tech, The Muse shares that girls should be introduced to computer science at a young age. For example, the website shares that high schoolers can participate in hands-on workshops, camps, and online training programs. This will encourage other girls to join the field.

Glassdoor

Glassdoor shares 9 ways to attract more women in tech. The process of empowering other women, celebrating diversity-related milestones, and sharing other voices will entice more women into this field of work. Hiring more women into the field will inspire other girls to code.

Code

Code suggests guardians should present other positive role models and explain that computer science impacts the world in every field. By encouraging girls the power computer science holds for the future, they might be more interested.

Problems

Girls of color are not interested in coding because sometimes we do not have role models to look up to. Many people believe that computer science is not fun or is very difficult. However, if more people and other girls are introduced to this field, more girls will more likely be interested in coding.

Impacts

Girls of color are impacted by not having enough mentors. The number of men in this field is way more than the number of women. Young girls will perceive this as a job for men only. Diversity is always a challenge in the workspace so minorities are also impacted by these problems faced in technology.

Solutions

To help more girls code, we are reaching out to students, their parents, and teachers to help build a community where women of color in tech are encouraged. Peers can help change how people see coding and introduce it to young girls.

Call To Action

We want the students, teachers, and parents to have their resources and know where to begin. Parents can learn how to motivate their children to learn about coding. Teachers can find female guest speakers to introduce their experiences with coding. Finally, students can join clubs and virtual workshops to learn more about coding.

Changes

To change, a long-term solution is to have successful coders to come to school as guest speakers every year to recruit more girls into the field. Another long-term solution is to advertise coding classes on social media.

Take The Initiative

People need to continuously enforce coding to young girls so they can be familiarized with the career. Teachers should start clubs at school related to coding. Parents should sign up their kids for coding camps.

Main Message

Our main message is to empower girls not just to do S.T.E.M, but try other male-dominated fields. We want girls to see women who look like them on TV, in the classroom, or at home. Seeing is believing and if they see people who look like them in this field, they can be in it.

What We Ask

We want to ask our audience to inspire and mentor girls, no matter what age or background. We want our audience to try their hardest to reach for the stars, accomplish their dreams, and do more. This world needs help and no matter how big or small the task is, it can still make a difference.

Why

This call to action is important because people need mentors, they need someone to pick them up, teach them, guide them, let them know that there is always hope and always a way.

Steps

Step 1: Follow your dreams and pursue your passion Step 2: Help somebody in that field, especially if it is male-dominated or predominantly a white field. Step 3: Make a difference, it doesn’t matter if it’s small, help someone, volunteer, it doesn’t matter, helping people is a good way to make a difference, but always remember to be creative.

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The Researcher

Amy Tran

The Writer

Deanna Gant

The Speaker

Abygale Newton