Closing the Gender Gap in Tech: Girls Who Code's Journey and Challenges

Girls Who Code is a non-profit organization based in New York City

Girls Who Code

Girls Who Code aims to close the gender gap in computer science and technology by empowering young girls and women to pursue careers in these fields. The organization was founded in 2012 by Reshma Saujani, a former corporate lawyer and political activist who noticed the lack of female representation in computer science and technology during her unsuccessful 2010 campaign for Congress.

The story of Girls Who Code begins with a group of 20 high school girls who spent seven weeks of their summer in a tech company’s Flatiron Building conference room learning the basics of computer programming. This experiment became the first summer program of Girls Who Code, which has since grown to become a national and international movement that has reached hundreds of thousands of girls across the globe.

Girls Who Code offers various programs to girls in grades 3-12, including summer immersion programs, after-school clubs, and coding courses. These programs are designed to teach girls the basics of computer science and coding, as well as to provide them with mentorship and support from female role models in the tech industry.

One of the main goals of Girls Who Code is to create a pipeline of female talent in computer science and technology. The organization aims to achieve this by providing girls with the skills, resources, and support they need to succeed in these fields. Girls Who Code has taught computer science skills to approximately 500,000 girls worldwide, and it plans to double that number over the next decade.

Girls Who Code has received widespread support from some of the world’s biggest companies, including Apple, Microsoft, and Walmart, among others. The organization has raised over $100 million to date, which has enabled it to expand its programs and reach more girls across the globe.

Despite the success of Girls Who Code, the gender gap in computer science and technology remains a significant challenge. A 2020 joint study from Girls Who Code and Accenture revealed that the percentage of women in the tech industry today, at about 32%, is actually three percentage points lower than in 1984. “We’re not moving the needle fast enough,” says Saujani, now the chair of Girls Who Code’s board of directors.

Girls Who Code is facing a crossroads on its 10th anniversary because the gender gap in tech may be more than just a talent pipeline problem. Girls Who Code needs an expanded focus if it wants to make a bigger difference over the next 10 years.

One of the key challenges facing Girls Who Code is the lack of diversity in the tech industry. Girls Who Code aims to encourage a cultural sea change in STEM education, and the organization has launched various awareness campaigns, including a book series for young readers and a joint Super Bowl commercial with skincare brand Olay in 2020. Girls Who Code has also made music videos with rappers such as Lizzo and Doja Cat to create a cultural shift, which has been successful. Now, Saujani is “inundated with people like, ‘Will you take a picture with me? My daughter is the captain of her robotics team!’ We did change [the] culture, and we made coding cool.”

Women in Power: Reshma Saujani, Founder/CEO of Girls Who Code

However, the second step is harder for Girls Who Code to impact as it revolves around the culture at many US tech companies. Many women leave tech roles by the age of 35, with many of them saying that their workplaces are still inhospitable to women, according to Girls Who Code and Accenture. Harassment often creates toxic work cultures, and a 2020 study from Women Who Tech revealed that more than 40% of female tech employees said they had been sexually harassed by a superior. Women now make up just 26% of the workforce in computer science-related jobs, with Black and Latinx women making up only about 5%, collectively, according to a study from the National Center for Women & Information Technology. More than half of Girls Who Code alumni come from historically underrepresented racial or socioeconomic groups, but that focus has yet to come as a great result.

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