Girls of Code takes aim at gender gap
One thing is blindingly obvious to anyone who has attended a few accelerator demo days: the dearth of women pitching startup companies. And this is not just an anecdotal observation: Fewer than 10 percent of venture-backed startup companies are led by women.
One reason for this disparity is the low number of women with a technology-related education, as many new ventures are technology focused. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, women earn just 18 percent of the computer science undergraduate degrees awarded in the United States.
Two of the programs in Tennessee’s unique network of accelerators are doing something about this problem, one in Memphis and one in Cookeville. In Memphis, the Upstart accelerator focuses solely on supporting women-led businesses. I will talk more about Upstart in an upcoming column about women in entrepreneurship.
Today, I am focusing on the Biz Foundry’s Tennessee Code Academy, which has created a program called 100 Girls of Code to increase young women’s interest in computer science.
The program is on our radar these days because it is currently raising funds on Indiegogo (and has already surpassed its goal!) to take this innovative program throughout the Southeast. The target is to hold workshops in eight states that would each teach 100 aspiring female technologists in each state.
100 Girls of Code kicked off last summer with free workshops in nine cities across Tennessee: Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Jackson, Spring Hill, Cookeville, Oak Ridge and Tullahoma. Each one-day workshop was led by a female instructor who introduced the attendees — girls ages 12 to 18 —to the basics of computer programming, the latest website development techniques and gaming development strategies. Tennessee Code Academy hoped to reach 100 attendees in its first tour and exceeded that goal by 50 percent — 150 girls participated.
The workshops helped reach people who don’t have an opportunity to learn subjects not taught in most public schools, like computer science. Attendees came from all socioeconomic levels, and 20 percent were minorities. Ninety percent of the attendees had a positive experience, and 22 percent indicated they liked programming enough to consider learning more or pursuing a career in the computer science field.
Even just getting more girls thinking about coding and making positive associations with the industry in their minds can help us narrow the gender gap in this field.
Tennessee Code Academy also is partnering with Tennessee Technological University to provide scholarships for some 100 Girls of Code participants. The details are still being finalized, but this is obviously more great news and will help spread the impact of 100 Girls of Code beyond the workshops.
Martha Kosa, associate professor of computer science at TTU, said she is optimistic that the university’s partnership with 100 Girls of Code will help expand the pipeline of female students in Tennessee who choose computer science as their major. She also noted that the partnership will be a great opportunity for TTU students to serve as mentors. In fact, two of TTU’s female computer science students served as instructors for the 100 Girls of Code program in the summer of 2014.
Tennessee Code Academy is making great things happen across the state, and we are thrilled to see them expand to the entire Southeast. Leading the charge to increase the number of women in computer science is another way Tennessee is distinguishing itself from other states.
To learn more or donate to the 100 Girls of Code fundraising campaign, visit www.indiegogo.com/projects/100-girls-of-code--101.
Charlie Brock is CEO of Launch Tennessee (www.launchtn.org), a public-private partnership focused on supporting the development of high-growth companies in Tennessee with the ultimate goal of fostering job creation and economic growth.