Why we’re starting codebar Boston

There has never been a better time than now to change lives through code.

The US is at a flashpoint of technological and cultural movements. First, our lives were driven online by the first truly global pandemic. Then, the death of George Floyd served as a harsh reminder that there is a long journey ahead to create a society of equal opportunity in the US.

These events have left many of us wondering what we can do — beyond an Instagram post, or reading articles online — to connect with the community around us and make a real difference.

Boston is known around the world for its accent, the Red Sox, and its concentration of universities. However, it also has the sixth-highest income inequality in the US with longtime residents finding themselves competing for space with employees of biotech firms. (You can see this visualised here. https://inequality.media.mit.edu/#) One way that we can address that income gap is by improving access to the skills that are needed in the ‘new normal’, like coding.

I’ve personally seen how coding opens up economic opportunities. As a 13-year-old growing up in a small town, building websites from scratch was a gateway to thinking about communication and design — a path that led me to build digital products across the world. In Kenya, I worked with graduates of Tunapanda Institute and Moringa School who had been able to shift from informal work to full-time roles by learning digital skills. And in London, I met women who had been able to launch a business or a new career by learning coding through forums like codebar.

Learning to code isn’t just about better job access. Being able to create in the digital space allows us to take part in global conversations. It also teaches us resilience: that facing tough problems is best handled by breaking it down and trying again until it works.

That is why I’m excited to launch codebar in Boston.

If you are an experienced developer in Greater Boston who wants to help improve diversity in tech while practicing your coaching skills, please sign up on the codebar website. Likewise, if you are part of an underrepresented group in tech, living in Greater Boston and you would like to explore a new coding language, sign up as a participant on the website. Once signed up you will receive email invites when workshops get announced.

Watch this blog for more updates, including more about the Boston organising team!

-Katherine, codebar Boston organising team

Header image: “BostonPublicLibrary54” by SafeLibraries is licensed under CC BY 2.0