Embracing Equity

This is the theme for International Women’s Day 2023 and we thought it would be fantastic to hear how our Code Clubs across Australia do this every week.

At Code Club we have a mission for all young people to have the same opportunity to learn coding and dive deeply into computational thinking, a skill that is vital in everyday life.

The STEM Equity Monitor, updated in September 2022, has shown gains for girls and women in STEM but acknowledges there is still work to do.

Improvements

• 67% of girls know which subjects make up STEM (was 64%)
• Number of women enrolling in STEM courses increased by 24%
• 15% of STEM qualified occupations are filled by women (was 13%)

Places to make improvements

• On average women earn 18% less than men across all STEM industries
• In STEM-qualified industries 23% of senior management and 8% of CEOs are women
• Girls' confidence in STEM subjects is generally lower than boys, and this falls as they get older.

What can we do?

Firstly, we need to celebrate all the things that Code Clubs do that embrace equity and encourage girls to engage and enjoy coding. We asked some Code Clubs to share what they do to engage all students, and in particular girls.

One of our newest Code Clubs in the Northern Territory started at the end of last year after one of their teachers offered Moonhack to students in years 3–6. The students voiced their joy of coding and asked to have a Code Club, so their teacher Eirini started one for them. By listening to student voice, we are supporting youth to engage in their passions.

To celebrate engagement the Code Club offers certificates and stickers to all students. Collaboration is encouraged and champions are identified to support their peers. One of the coders has told us, “Code Club is fun because I’m learning about algorithms. It helps me learn and I find it relaxing. I come into the STEM room and do all sorts of stuff on the computers like coding and algorithms.”

At CoderDojo Altona North their aim makes it very clear about how they support all youth to learn, be inspired and engage with projects.

At CoderDojo Altona North our aim is to Ignite, Inspire and Create. We strongly believe that every child is a born maker. A child needs the right environment to Ignite those interests and Inspire them to Make, Create. At CoderDojo Altona North there is a strong focus on community, peer learning, youth mentoring and self led learning, with an emphasis on showing how coding, making and creating is a force for change in the world.

The CoderDojo is led by Trevor who is very passionate about the value of Code Club in a child’s life, and also the value of volunteers and what they gain personally from being involved in a club and supporting all youth to engage.

Trevor has recently documented his journey starting a Code Club and it has great insights and tips for those who are about to begin or have an established club.

Next, we hear from one of our Code Club leaders, Michele P

Discover coding with Code Club Australia’s resources and exciting coding challenges

Last year I was nominated for and awarded the 2022 Women in Technology (WiT) Community Impact Award, and my goal is to become a strong female role-model and advocate for coding and STEM opportunities for all students. As we mark International Women’s Day in 2023, it’s important to remember that we all have a role to play in advancing gender equality. #IWD2023 #EmbraceEquity. As part of our code club, we will be researching female role models and creating an animation in Scratch to celebrate and raise awareness of their achievements.

At Worongary State School, I have incorporated Code Club Australia resources into my lessons as well as during our lunchtime STEM club where students are able to come together to learn how to code in a fun and supportive environment.

There are many benefits for students to participate in code clubs including:

• Developing problem-solving skills as coding requires our students to think critically and solve problems as they work on coding projects.
• Enhancing creativity as coding enables students to be creative and express themselves through coding projects.
• Build teamwork and communication skills as students work together and talk about their ideas.

A code club is a place where students can come together and learn how to code. Code clubs can be hosted at schools, libraries, or community centres and it couldn’t be any easier to encourage all students to begin coding and participate in a code club as Code Club Australia provides all resources you will need to run a successful code club. Register your club today!

Some small things we can all do

There are some simple actions that we can all take to #EmbraceEquity in Code Club, and ensure that girls, and all youth, develop confidence that they can succeed in computer science and any STEM field that they choose.

• Ensure everyone feels welcome. Create posters and imagery that shows a diverse range of people, use role models to inspire and let kids know that they can all choose career paths that are STEM related.
• Create context for coding. The projects that we choose to share with our coders can have a big impact on their level of engagement. Choose projects that make links with their life and experiences. Encourage coders to use projects to share their thinking by changing and manipulating the base projects as much as they want.
• Use research-based practices that are known to embrace equity. Choosing projects that use storytelling and animation are top choices for our youth.
• Find role models. This could be the volunteers in your club or other adults who you showcase through video, interviews, online chats or stories.
• Share successes. No matter how big or small, we need to celebrate achievements made. The same celebration that was given for a completed project, may also be given to a student who has persevered in debugging. Never underestimate the impact that praise and celebration can have.

Do you have other ways that you #EmbraceEquity? We would love to hear from you.

Happy coding!

Kaye North, Code Club Australia