IT programme for girls expands to low decile schools

May 9, 2016

IT programme for girls expands to low decile schools

Alice Gatland, co-founder of Girl Code, is looking forward to growing the programme. Photo: Mandy Te

A free tech programme for girls will be introduced in low decile Auckland high schools, after receiving funding from Microsoft.

A course in writing code currently costs $400 per person, which means it “can’t reach everyone,” said Alice Gatland, co-founder of Girl Code.

Girl Code is an eight-week programme where young women aged 15 to 25 are taught the basics of writing code and creating web applications in a team setting.

Delivered through OMG Tech!, the programme has now received funding to target “under-served communities,” which in technology is “women and also low socio-economic groups”.

Ms Gatland said the funded programme will be available for girls in decile one to four high schools.

She founded Girl Code with her brother, Matthew Gatland because “we’re both really passionate about getting more women in the industry”.

“Diversity is good for any industry,” said Ms Gatland.

“You need different people solving problems and if you’re not represented in the people making software, the software probably won’t be made for you.”

Ms Gatland also said software engineering was a “sweet career path”, which “a lot of people aren’t aware of”.

“In high school, not many girls are being told that they could go into this industry. So, that’s what we want to be pushing.”

The pair also wanted to dispel any stereotypes of a career in software as being "some dude in a basement on a computer".

“[Girl Code] is a social course, you’re not just learning something on your own. Everyone is working together and we just wanted to show women, especially young women, that's what working in a software company is like. It's not just coding on your own.”

According to Edmund Lai, head of AUT’s Information Technology & Software Engineering department, across all six majors within the Bachelor of Computer and Information Sciences, “we roughly have just under 20 per cent female [students]”.

“Some places might have more, some less,” said Mr Lai, whose experiences at other universities saw that around a quarter students were female.

“We are always looking for more students,” said Mr Lai, but with the Tertiary Education Commission capping their intake, “we can only take so many [people]”.

Mr Lai said Girl Code was “a very good thing”.

“I think it would be important for anybody to get into this field.”

Girl Code’s term two course starts on May 12, and spaces are still available.

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