How does the tech world measure up against other industries in terms of diversity? Many major CEOs have discussed the importance of diversity, but the tech industry still has a long way to go with incorporating women and minorities. But there are many organizations who have taken great strides towards making this a thing of the past. Here’s a list of extraordinary coding programs boosting diversity in tech around the world.
1. Girls Who Code
“What started as an experiment has grown into a national movement. Girls Who Code has gone from 20 girls in New York to 10,000 girls in 42 states. That’s the same number of girls who graduate each year with a degree in computer science. That’s progress!” – Reshma Saujani, Founder and CEO of Girls Who Code
Learn more here.
2. Women Who Code
“Women Who Code (WWCode) is global non-profit dedicated to inspiring women to excel in technology careers. We work to support this generation in being and becoming leaders and role models in the tech industry.”
Learn more here.
3. Rails Girls
“Learn sketching, prototyping, basic programming and get introduced to the world of technology. Rails Girls was born in Finland, but is nowadays a global, non-profit volunteer community.”
Learn more here.
4. #YesWeCode
“#YesWeCode is a Dream Corps initiative that works with partners to help connect 100,000 underrepresented minorities to careers in technology.”
Learn more here.
5. Processing Foundation
“The Foundation’s mission is to promote software literacy within the visual arts, and visual literacy within technology-related fields — and to make these fields accessible to diverse communities.”
Learn more here.
6. Black Girls Code
“By launching Black Girls Code, I hope to provide young and pre-teen girls of color opportunities to learn in-demand skills in technology and computer programming at a time when they are naturally thinking about what they want to be when they grow up.” – Kimberly Bryant, Founder of Black Girls Code
Learn more here.
7. Code Liberation
“We work together with only one simple mission: teach women, nonbinary, femme, and girl-identifying people to program using creativity as a pedagogical approach. Our aim is to reach women that have never considered entering into the field of computer science or who have left it because it is male dominated.”
Learn more here.
8. Women in Machine Learning (WIML)
“Our goal is to enhance the experience of women in machine learning, and thereby increase the number of women in machine learning, help women in machine learning succeed professionally, and increase the impact of women in machine learning.”
Learn more here.
9. We Can Code IT
“We Can Code IT teaches people how to code, with a special emphasis on inclusion and diversity in tech. We bridge the gap for those underrepresented in tech, the same groups susceptible to low to moderate incomes, through education in software engineering and web development.”
Learn more here.
10. She’s Coding
“She’s Coding is an open-source project developed in cooperation with the documentary film CODE: Debugging the Gender Gap. She’s Coding provides education, resources, and actionable guidelines for anyone who wants to help bridge the gender gap in the field of computer science.”
Learn more here.
11. Code.org
“Launched in 2013, Code.org® is a non-profit dedicated to expanding access to computer science, and increasing participation by women and underrepresented students of color. Our vision is that every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn computer science. We believe computer science should be part of core curriculum, alongside other courses such as biology, chemistry or algebra.”
Learn more here.
12. she++
“she++ works to empower underrepresented groups in technology by dismantling the negative stereotypes surrounding the industry.”
Learn more here.
13. Girl Develop It
“We are committed to making sure women of all races, education levels, income and upbringing can build confidence in their skill set to develop web and mobile applications. Our goal is to provide powerful hands-on programs to women seeking professional help in software development and create basic to advanced web and mobile applications.”
Learn more here.
14. Ladies Learning Code
“We are a not-for-profit organization with the mission to be the leading resource for women and youth to become passionate builders—not just consumers—of technology by learning technical skills in a hands-on, social, and collaborative way.”
Learn more here.
15. PyLadies
“We are a group of women developers worldwide who love the Python programming language. We write code by day or night. Some of us hack on Python projects on the side, while others work full-time on Python development. But it doesn’t matter. We all just like writing Python code, and that’s what brings us together.”
Learn more here.
16. Code First: Girls
“Why aren’t there more women in tech and entrepreneurship? It’s a complex issue, but here at Code First: Girls we do believe one thing—tech shouldn’t just be a boys club.”
Learn more here.
17. CodeChix
“Founded in 2009 in San Jose, CA, CodeChix is the first organization of its kind and is run by local women developers in a non-alpha, language/os agnostic, supportive environment.”
Learn more here.
18. Women’s Coding Collective
“The WCC is a web development community with a mission to narrow the gender gap in technology. We cultivate supportive, no-stupid-questions environments where women can learn, build, and code together.”
Learn more here.
19. Tech Girlz
“We develop fun and educational hands-on workshops, called TechShopz, and an annual Entrepreneur Summer Camp. These efforts aim to get middle-school age girls interested in different kinds of technology and demonstrate the varied options of careers available.”
Learn more here.
20. Geek Girl Tech Con
“Geek Girl empowers women & girls (and dudes!) of all ages and all financial levels in technology, from beginner newbie to startup savant. We do this through full day Tech Conferences, workshops, seminars, public speaking, consulting and Geek Girl for Hire.”
Learn more here.
21. Techne
“Techne was started in 2010 by Suzanne Thorpe and Bonnie Jones, educators and musicians active in electronic music communities in the US and abroad. Techne’s mission is to democratize technical tools within a safe environment for exploration, risk taking and creative expression.”
Learn more here.
22. MotherCoders
“MotherCoders, a 2015 Google Impact Challenge | Bay Area finalist, was founded in 2013 by Tina Lee, a working mom. Unable to find a resource that worked well for her when she wanted to get more proficient in computer programming, Tina launched MotherCoders because she had a hunch there might be other moms like her out there, yearning for a learning experience that involved lots of social interaction and support from like-minded peers.”
Learn more here.
23. Tech-Girls
“With the support of awesome volunteers and local organizations, Tech-Girls brings hands-on tech-related programming to girls throughout the region. In 2014, Charlottesville Women in Tech was formed to provide human connections and resources for local women in tech. Tech-Girls and Charlottesville Women in Tech have joined forces with the goal of supporting and helping women and girls begin their journey and stay in the technology pipeline.”
Learn more here.
24. Girls in Tech
“GIT is not just for professional women. We exist for anyone with an interest in technology, startups and providing women with a platform for growth. But we operate with the spirit of the girl within all of us—fearless, lively and determined.”
Learn more here.
If you know of any other groups doing great work carrying diversity in tech forward, tweet them to us @KadenzeOfficial.
The post 24 Coding Programs Boosting Diversity in Tech appeared first on Kadenze Blog.