Girls Who Code (https://girlswhocode.com/) is on a mission to close the gender gap in technology and to change the image of what a programmer looks like and does. In 1995, 37% of computer scientists were women. Today, it is only 24%. The percent will continue to decline if we do nothing. We know that the biggest drop-off of girls in computer science is between the ages of 13 and 17. Girls Who Code is striving to building the world’s largest pipeline of future female engineers. They are reaching girls around the world and are on track to close the gender gap in new entry-level tech jobs by 2030.
The values that define Girls Who Code are:
- Bravery: We believe being brave is about being resilient, persistent, and ambitious.
- Sisterhood: We believe that diverse ability, culture, identity, and opinion makes our organization stronger.
- Activism: We’re not just preparing our girls to enter the workforce; we’re preparing them to lead it, improve it, and completely and totally transform it.
At Casa Grande Union High School, the Girls Who Code student activity club is in its fourth year. Their current project is designing and coding a murder-mystery game. The girls aim to release version 1.0 of their game by the end of this school year. Additional club activities include sisterhood activities, teamwork activities, and design activities. The girls participate in Girls Who Code Tech Spotlights where they learn more about computer science pioneers, various high-tech industries, and hear inspiring talks from women in technology.
Girls Who Code welcomes into our club anyone who identifies as female regardless of assignment at birth. Our programs also welcome people who identify as non-binary or gender nonconforming and want to be in a female-identified environment.