International Women's Day 2022
We don’t need a day to remind us of the brilliant and inspiring women we have in our lives, but rather a celebration of the amazing females we are surrounded by. Whether that be a family member, a friend, a teacher or even your boss! March the 8th marks the international celebration of Women’s day, a day where we recognise and highlight the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women around the world.
The theme for this years International women's day (IWD) is #BreakTheBias. This aims to challenge the stereotypes and discrimination women face in industries and create a world that’s diverse, equitable and inclusive for all.
I’m sure it comes as no surprise that the tech industry is highly dominated by males, with only 19% of the workforce accounted for being women. The figure is even less for black and Hispanic women at just 3% and Asian women just 5%. And therefore, on our blog today we want to include some relevant resources to mentoring and networking organisations that encourage girls into coding.
Stemettes is an award-winning social enterprise that inspires and supports young women and non-binary people aged 5 to 25 into STEM. It was first set up to help combat the lack of women in STEM and aims to engage, inform and connect the next generation of women into this industry.
Girls who code is an organisation that works to close the gender gap in technology by teaching girls computer science, bravery, and sisterhood. They run a 2-week virtual summer programme for 14-18 year olds which teaches girls the computer science skills they need to make an impact in their community, while preparing them for a career in tech.
This organisation builds pathways for young women of colour to embrace the current tech marketplace as builders and creators by introducing them to skills in computer programming and technology. They are creating stronger economies and more equitable societies.
Furthermore, we’ve also found some online games for girls that already have the coding bug, or to encourage those who don’t to begin their coding journey in a fun way!
This game prepares kids aged 7-13 for 21st Century degrees and careers, by equipping them with professional digital skills that can be applied in the real world! It also supports the UK coding curriculum and encourages creativity and critical thinking!
The Hopscotch app allows children to easily credit games and learn to code at an early age. It has both an educational and entertainment value and is very interactive. You can choose whether you want to create a video game or animation through coding!
And then of course at BlueShift we have our own game development courses that we believe teach girls the key skills they’ll need to thrive in a tech-focussed future. For example our courses below:
So, happy International Women’s Day to you all. We hope to see your young girls #BreakTheBias and learn to become digital creators!