Kids, Coding and Equality in Education
An interview with Elizabeth Tweedale for Women’s History Month
“I try to act on these prejudices positively. They’ve given me the drive to keep going and the ambition to show people just how much women can accomplish.”
In honour of Women’s History Month — which falls in March in the UK — I’ll be publishing a series of interviews with female authors, entrepreneurs and leaders to get an insight into themes like (in)equality, empowerment and self-development.
I was introduced to Elizabeth Tweedale through a mutual contact. She is a highly successful working mother — an author, entrepreneur and advocate for gender equality through education. In 2016 she founded Cypher, a company that runs computer science holiday camps for children.
During our Zoom interview, she paused to take an urgent call from her son — the embodiment of a working mother who has learnt to balance her personal and professional responsibilities. I was eager to understand how she managed to juggle her work and family life.
What does success mean to you, as a woman and as an entrepreneur?
Everyone has different ways of measuring success — whether that’s how many sales you make or the number of people hired each month — so I try not to compare myself and my successes to others.
My biggest achievement has been developing a career alongside raising a family. When I was in my early twenties, I had my first child while completing my masters degree. I then had my third child while scaling my company, Cypher, in 2018. A lot of my peers have built their careers before having children, so I feel blessed that I’ve been able to do both at the same time. My kids have grown with me as I’ve learnt to navigate the business world and be an entrepreneur.
Have you experienced any challenges as a founder and CEO that you think are unique to women in business?
For any female founder there are plenty of obstacles to overcome — from raising investment and not being taken seriously, to male-dominated boards and a lack of female co-workers. These are only a few of the many challenges women face.
Personally, one of the biggest challenges has been raising capital. Pitching for investment can be hard, and women are often overlooked by investors and potential partners as they’re less likely to take on big risks. More often than not, people don’t give you the credit you are due. They see you as a female first and an entrepreneur second, instead of the other way round.
In a way, I try to act on these prejudices positively. They’ve given me the drive to keep going and the ambition to show people just how much women can accomplish.
As a working mother of three, how do you achieve a work-life balance? Have you noticed any conflict between your personal and professional goals?
Pre-pandemic, my normal day was 9am - 6pm in the office with my team; but since we’ve been working from home it’s been more difficult to switch off from work, which has blurred the line between my professional and personal lives.
Trying to run a business and homeschool my kids simultaneously has been a challenge to say the least, but I think it’s important to focus on the positives. As a working mum you carry around a lot of guilt, and it’s difficult not to feel like you’re expected to do it all. I’m lucky that I have a very supportive husband — when I’ve taken on too much, he’s always there to help me make a plan or pick up the kids, no questions asked.
Working from home makes you create a mental filter: I’ve learnt to block out the housework and non-essential family demands so I can completely focus on work. However, I’ve also recognised that you can’t always be in control of what’s going on around you, so I just let the kids get on with things and make a mess. It’s made me realise that you shouldn’t sweat the small stuff — awkward and embarrassing things will happen on Zoom, you’ve just got to learn to roll with it!
What inspired you to get children into coding and computer science?
I’ve always been a bit of a tech ‘geek’ and have loved playing video games since I was young. But it was at university where my love of technology flourished; I joined the computer coding society, and was both the only girl and president of the group. Ironically, I was also the cheerleading captain, living in two completely opposite worlds!
After graduating I worked as an architect, and I was the only woman on the coding team to build Apple’s headquarters in California. Going from being the only girl in computer coding society to the only woman in my team made me wonder why my female peers didn’t share the same interests as me.
Cypher, which I set up in 2016, was born from a belief that coding is the language of the future. I wanted to encourage both boys and girls to approach tech with equal amounts of enthusiasm. Coding needs to be taught from a young age to help create a more diverse workforce for the future, and it should be taught in a way that appeals to both girls and boys.
What role does education play in the fight for equality?
Education is power — it has the ability to tackle gender disparities in all aspects of business, politics and everyday life. Within the tech industry it’s crucial to create equality; more often than not, subjects like technology are stereotyped, which can be incredibly damaging to young girls and closes the door on those who are interested in these fields early on.
To prevent this, schools need to spark their students’ imaginations with topics and themes that they are genuinely interested in. That’s why, at Cypher, we incorporate different themes into our teaching — such as fashion, food, animals, superheroes and so much more! Once more girls start to learn to code or develop an interest in tech, it means that more of them will take these subjects at university and maybe even pursue them as a career. By educating girls early on, we can help them become ‘future ready’ and part of a more diverse workforce.
Education is necessary to change the preconception that computer science subjects are ‘just for boys’, so that we can influence how both men and women view tech in the future. Broadening children’s minds will help them view these subjects as intrinsic to every aspect of their lives and future careers.
Can you recommend any books that have inspired you or that provide an accessible introduction to coding?
Leadership and success guides:
- Leadership: It’s in Your DNA by Rhea Duttagupta
- Female Firebrands: Stories and Techniques to Ignite Change, Take Control, and Succeed in the Workplace by Mikaela Kiner
- Leading Change by John P. Kotter
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
Coding books:
- Coding All-in-One For Dummies by Nikhil Abraham
- Coding as a Playground: Programming and Computational Thinking in the Early Childhood Classroom by Marina Umaschi Bers
For more information about Cypher’s creative coding camps and online sessions for children aged 5–14, visit the website or follow @cyphercoders on Twitter.
