As a young woman, entering a career in technology would have never crossed my mind. None of my friends did that. No woman I knew did that. And while I’m happy for the opportunities I have had with a career in communications, I’m thrilled to see that the possibilities for young women today are expanding. Even better, I get to support the next generation of women in technology as part of my work at Intuit.
For the last couple of years, I’ve had the pleasure of working with young women from all across the Bay Area via the Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program. This is one example of the diversity programs that Intuit sponsors (others include: the Anita Borg Institute & the Grace Hopper Celebration; the Technovation Challenge; the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) & the Pacesetters program; among others).
What is Girls Who Code?
Girls Who Code is a national non-profit on a mission to reach gender parity in the workplace by 2020. The program gives 10th and 11th grade girls an opportunity to spend the summer at a top tech company like Intuit while they learn about real-world technology through experiences in programming fundamentals, web development and design, robotics and mobile development. Intuit also matches a female employee in tech with each girl to provide mentorship.
In this supportive environment on our Mountain View campus, 20 girls were challenged to use technology to solve a problem in their community. They had big ambitions, but even within seven short weeks made amazing connections between what technology can enable and the people in need in their communities.
How did the girls describe this experience?
“My experience this summer has been amazing — I’ve learned the basics of coding, what it’s like to work in the technology industry, and it’s just been a really empowering summer being around girls who have the same dreams as me.”
“We are actually on our own building something, like our website!”
“As I went further into the program it made sense to me that the more I asked questions, the more I talked and the more I learned.”
“It’s something that I didn’t think I’d be able to achieve, but now that I have, I feel like I have set my future!”
“The future is open to our dreams; anything is possible.”
Learn more about their projects:
JobKit: This product helps the homeless population of San Francisco find and successfully prepare themselves for jobs, which will enable them to become self-sufficient and break out of the cycle of chronic homelessness.
Mindpal: MindPal is a website dedicated to changing the face of mental illness by providing factual information and helpful resources to those affected by it. Through a combination of informative and interactive features, MinPal aims to end mental health stigma and create more safe, helpful outlets for the millions of people affected by mental illness.
OK: In this project, a student created a wireless gesture-controlled robot that can be used for a variety of tasks.
Pawsitivity: Pawsitivity is a website to connect pet owners and shelters to the open arms of stressed teens. The team wants to help alleviate the pressures of high school by bringing dogs to schools and spreading pawsitivity. :3
Soteria: This team designed an app geared towards promoting safety on the streets of San Francisco by providing users with an app that features an interactive map of the reported crimes, safer alternative routes, an updated SFPD twitter feed, and an immediate police calling feature.
Wonder Womyn: This project aims to focus on a female audience to empower them with the resources they need to find a scholarship and/or a job, some being only aimed for women. Everything on the site is geared to empower women, either with resources or stories to show them that they can get ahead in life.
If you’ve read all the way to this point, there’s a good chance you have an interest in the diversity of our technology workforce. I encourage you to get involved!
Here are a couple of links to get you started:
- Girls Who Code: https://girlswhocode.com/volunteer
- Technovation Challenge: technovationchallenge.org/additional-resources/coach-mentor-training
Already involved? I’d love to hear about your story.
