Let’s get more women to code.

Here at Turing, our mission statement is as follows:

“Turing is on a social justice mission to open the world of computer programming to more great people.”

Turing is not a typical coding bootcamp. In addition to learning to be great software developers, we participate in regular community activities called “gear-ups” which focus on personal and team development. Oftentimes, we discuss issues facing the whole of the software industry, the industry we are about to be a part of in just a few months.

Most recently, our gear-up session focused on the large gender participation gap in the tech industry.

This article high-lights 15 important statistics that are worth understanding.

The state of women in technology: 15 data points you should know - TechRepublic

A few of the most important for our interests:

1. Women made up 26% of the computing workforce in 2013

That’s according to the National Center for Women & Information Technology’smost recent statistics. They also broke down the numbers even more:

2. In the mid-1980s, 37% of computer science majors were women; in 2012, 18%

In a study Google released last month, the company surveyed about 1,600 men and women. It showed that girls aren’t really taught what computer science actually means, and are half as likely to be encouraged to study it. The words females unassociated with computer science used to describe it were “boring,” “technology,” and “difficult.”

3. 57% of bachelor’s degrees earned by women, 12% of computer science degrees

Much of this has to do with exposure to computer science before college and during college. According to Code.org, nine out of ten schools don’t even offer computer science classes, and in 28 out of 50 states, computer science doesn’t count towards a math or science credit.

Our group of Turing students discussed some possibilities as to why these statistics are true.

A few things we came up with:

1. There’s a lack of women role models for young girls to look up to and encourage them to start programming.
2. There exists a stereotype that the programmer is an unkempt, anti-social, overweight and generally an unappealing person to be.
3. Women might tend to blame themselves instead of their environment when learning programming, and may give up more easily on the task than men, especially without a strong support network.

Sounds valid.

But…what can we do about it? That’s the hard question.

Turing is doing their part by intentionally marketing towards under represented groups and offering diversity scholarships — but what can we as individuals in the software industry do?

As a group, we decided it mainly comes down to deliberate education. This is not a problem that will be solved quickly. It will take years of hard work and real, system-wide efforts to enact effective education policy. Our children need to understand that coding is cool — and that it’s a career for both men and women. We can do this just by purposeful alterations in how we market both schools and products. The US needs more people in computer science, as software jobs are currently being created faster than they can be filled.

Our Turing group thought of a few possible steps we as developers could take.

1. By creating open, supportive, and diverse workplaces, we attract women, and people of different backgrounds, to come and stay the tech industry.
2. Always go out of you way to speak positively about how software development is a career for both genders.
3. When encountering gender-bias in the workplace, do your part to educate and attempt to change the situation.
4. Think of ways to provide incentives marketing code schools to women specifically. Only if we focus on attracting women to the industry, can we begin to tip the scales.

Every day and increasing amount of people use the products that software engineers develop, and having a diverse team only creates better products for everyone to use, equally.

From the article linked above-

Women in western countries use the internet 17% more than their male counterparts, according to 2012 research by Intel’s Genevieve Bell. They use their mobile phones more, use location-based services more, are the fastest-growing and largest number of users of Skype, and use most social media sites more often. They are also the majority of owners of tech devices.

So, this study concluded that women are using new technology MORE than men are. This means they should have at least an equal part in actually creating the technology, right?

These tasks are by no means easy, and many challenges lay ahead. Every single person in the tech industry can do their part by speaking positively about their experiences, and how people of all genders and backgrounds gain to benefit from the inclusion of more women. Creating a welcoming and encouraging atmosphere is crucial to success, and it is up to every individual to take this upon themselves. The success of this undertaking truly makes the world a better place. Products that are used by everybody, should be created proportionally by the people that use them.