We are at a pivotal moment in history in the US for everyone and an important step for women with the first female Vice President-elect. It is time that we celebrate, and shed light on the achievement of women across industries. today, we will focus on women who code.
SindyXR has always believed in diversity and the power of inclusivity. Starting from a diverse team to ensure that different points of view are considered, to the founder Charles Kirby who made sure that women are a part of the process of developing Sindy.
Let’s take a step back and think of the first pictures of the electronic digital computers, who were the women in the black and white photos?
It is those women who were the first modern computer coders and programmers in the US during WW2. A group of amazing women whose work led to the development of computer storage, memory, software, etc, but were unrecognized for their work. By the time soldiers returned from the war, women were the only programmers who had the needed skill set. More women joined the field, the post-war boom pulled in more women into the field.
However, programming was considered a low-level clerical work that is commonly performed by women like typing or filing.
Grace Hopper who invented the first computer helped perpetuate the stereotype of women coders by writing articles on “The computer girls”
What changed?
When you think of coders and programmers, the stereotype is no longer of women, nor a low-paying clerical job. Overtime, stereotypes about the field changed and shifted towards a view that programming is a job better suited for men. The stereotype of the ideal programmer moved from women who are detail-oriented, collaborative, and planners into antisocial and “geeky” boys.
There are many reasons behind the shift in stereotypes such as the aptitude tests of the 50s and 60s that favored masculine attributes, thus, excluding women. However, to this day
STEM Fields desperately need more girls and women, and the statistics prove it!
According to the research conducted by Accenture and Girls Who Code, the number of women in STEM has decreased since the 1990s, and if we do not reverse this trend, the number of female computer scientists will fall from 24% to 22% by 2025.
The absence of female programmers in the field is detrimental to the innovation of all kinds. Because women globally make the majority of buying decisions and there are apps and products that only women use, female product designers, are likely to bring relevant and needed perspectives that otherwise might be missing.
When girls — and also people of color — don’t see others like themselves succeeding in a field, they’re more likely to choose other career paths in areas that seem to be a more obvious choice for women.
The question here is not about the gender of coders, however, it is about inclusivity!
How do we bring women back into the field?
Girls Who Code, the international non-profit leading efforts to close the gender gap in tech, released a report in partnership with Accenture (NYSE: ACN) in late September indicating an inclusive culture is a key to unlocking opportunities for women who are studying and working in technology.
Women are more likely to join STEM if they can see themselves in those roles, changing the stereotype again is important!
The research revealed that, while women leave technology for various reasons, a non-inclusive company culture accounts for 37% of those making it the number one cause.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris's election is important and crucial, it sheds a light on the industries and positions where including women is an achievement. therefore, it is now more important than ever to ensure that more girls and women see themselves in different roles and fields that they usually don’t see themselves in, including STEM and programming.
Here at Sindy, we believe in the importance of inclusivity and diversity, that is why we are partnering with Essteem to ensure that more women, LGBTQ, LatinX, people of color are involved in tech.
It’s our time to think as a field, as companies, as people: how can we help? How can we include everyone, and lead to a more inclusive and diverse environment?
Share your thoughts with us!
Sincerely,
Sindy
