Formation 2012 Website girlswhocode.com | Founder Reshma Saujani | |
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Mission "to inspire, educate, and equip girls with the computing skills to pursue 21st century opportunities." | ||
Girls Who Code is a nonprofit organization which aims to support and increase the number of women in computer science. The organization runs summer programs which teach computing and programming skills to high school girls.
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Summary
Girls Who Code was founded by Reshma Saujani in 2012 who came up with the idea of creating the organization during her run for the United States Congress when she noticed that schools along her campaign route lacked girls in computer science classrooms. The organization runs programs during the academic year teaching high school girls computing skills like programming, robotics, and web design, with sessions including projects and trips to companies like Twitter and Facebook. There are now over 150 Girls Who Code clubs across America and the organization aims to teach one million girls to code by 2020. By December 2014, three thousand students had completed a Girls Who Code program, 95% of whom went on to major in computer science at university.
The organization is sponsored by a number of software and technology companies including AOL, Google, and Microsoft, and in August 2014 received a $1 million contribution from AT&T.
History
Currently, only 4% of females are interested or enrolled in a computing program in college. The founder of Girls Who Code, Reshma Saujani, believes that girls are raised to "be perfect" while boys are raised to "be brave". Reshma Saujani participated in a TED Talk where she spoke about the consequences girls face in their future if they don't start taking risks. She speaks of the tech industry and how she thinks there is a bias towards women in the industry. The company announced that in 2016 the non-profit organization will be expanding to all 50 states- making it the largest computing program for girls in the United States.
The organization's efforts to close the gender gap has resulted in several honors. The founder of Girls Who Code was recognized for 'her vision and efforts to close the gender gap in technology'.
Partnerships
Girls Who Code has recently partnered with Accenture to work on the future of tech.
Girls Who Code has also announced they will be releasing an app on the Apple App Store. This is intended to increase popularity and get more people involved.
Dell Technologies has partnered with the organization to support after school programs for young girls.