Fifty-seven percent of bachelor’s degrees are earned by women, but just 12 percent of them are in computer science. Convincing girls—especially right before they apply for college—that they need this skill set in the 21st century is the most important goal of the Summer Immersion Program.
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Women use technology as much as men so why are there so few of them choosing computer science? The article explores it in depth, but I think that surely it has to do with the preconceived notions of what is appropriate for women and how hard it can be to penetrate the technical sphere. I know from personal experience that males who work in technology can be condescending, disrespectful and just plain old ignorant, no matter how technically proficient they are, and they defend their “territory” with great zeal, which could leave anyone with a distaste for the entire profession.
But this program run by Girls Who Code, is trying to help and I’m all for it. Anything that puts people in a position to win has my support and I see no reason for any young lady not to at least give it a sniff, because i believe that you don’t know what you do and do not like if you’re not exposed to it and don’t give it a chance.
I only wish that I had have seen this sooner, then I would have been able to encourage more young ladies to get involved in this. I continue to try to interest every child and parent in coding. It will be the difference between the have’s and the have nots in the future as we move into a world where there is an increasing divide between the computer users and the the people who create the things that computer users use.