Courtesy of CODE

Robin Hauser Reynolds

Robin Hauser Reynolds is Director and Producer of CODE: Debugging the Gender Gap.


What is CODE: Debugging the Gender Gap?

The CODE documentary exposes the dearth of American female and minority software engineers and explores the reasons for this gender gap and digital divide. The film highlights breakthrough efforts that are producing more diverse programmers and shows how this critical gap can be closed. CODE asks: what would society gain from having more women and minorities code and how do we get there?


Why did you decide to make this film?

My daughter was studying computer science in college. She was one of two women in a class of 25. Even in entry-level CS classes, she felt that the men in the class had a much stronger knowledge of CS than she did. By her sophomore year, she was convinced she “didn’t fit in” and that she wasn’t cut out for CS. She called home discouraged. At the same time, newspaper articles across the country touted the importance of CS education if you wanted job opportunities when you graduated. The White House issued a report that by 2020 there would be 1 million unfilled SC related jobs in the USA. I was interested in this supply / demand imbalance.

Producer Staci Hartman’s daughter was working at a start-up during this same time period in a non-tech role; she had first hand insight to the misogynistic culture that is prevalent in startups.

Both Staci and I were fascinated by this situation and we decided to look deeper into the issue of the gender gap and digital divide.


What do you believe are the biggest challenges women and minorities in tech face today?

  1. Gaining access to computer science education since it is not taught in most schools.
  2. Lack of role models and support for women and minorities while studying CS in school.
  3. Thriving in the misogynistic culture of most startups


How do you hope this film will help underrepresented groups in tech?

I hope that CODE: Debugging the Gender Gap:

  1. inspires change in the way girls and minorities see themselves in the STEM fields.
  2. inspires parents to look at our own unconscious gender biases toward our children.
  3. encourages educators to incorporate computer science and programming into their classrooms.
  4. encourages men to self-reflect on their role in misogynistic behavior in the workplace.