According to Code.org, there are currently more than 500,000 open computing jobs nationwide. Yet last year, only 42,969 computer science students graduated into the workforce. Through our commitment to education, we’re working to bridge this skills gap, encouraging youth to pursue computer science and participating in initiatives that bring digital literacy to our schools. Despite our progress, female interest in computer science still drops off between the ages of 13-17. While 66% of girls express interest in computing programs, only 4% of college-aged young women express that same interest (and enrollment). Enter Girls Who Code.
Girls Who Code (GWC) is a national nonprofit organization that promotes bridging the skills gap and subsequent gender gap that is plaguing the tech sector. In 1984, 37% of all computer science graduates were women. Now, that number has dropped to a mere 18%. Girls Who Code programs battle that by engaging young girls in direct, hands-on computing education, from coding sessions to building hardware, creating their own apps, and meeting with female leaders in the tech industry.
Since its inception, Girls Who Code has gone from 20 girls in New York to 10,000 girls in 42 states. And we’re proud to partner with this organization, bringing girls into our Microsoft offices every summer to take part in the Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program. Our hope is that these girls will take what they learn and help make the world a better place through technology. After all, isn’t that what tech is for?
As GWC founder Reshma Saujani says, “When girls learn to code, they become change agents in their communities.” And we can’t wait to see that happen.
Stay posted on MicrosoftNewYork.com for more updates on Girls Who Code and the Summer Immersion Program.