We Need More Women on the Technical Side of Things
Without more women, can the technology industry reach its full potential?
The majority of computer science graduates are male: 81.8% in 2013, according to the NY Times. What’s worse is that this percentage has actually increased over the past decade. If we don’t engage more women in computer science, we will not be able to meet the growing need for programmers in our economy. Forbes says there will be 1.4 million computing positions in the U.S. by 2020, and without women, we will be able to fill about a third of them. The lack of women in computer science has the potential to actually decelerate the U.S. economy.
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Candace Mitchell is the co-founder and CEO of Techturized, a technology company that aims to improve women’s hair care through innovative apps. Mitchell is in the rare position of simultaneously being CEO and the technical lead for the company. As a female entrepreneur, the ideas she has don’t always resonate with male coders. Having female programmers would make it much easier.
According to a 2010 report, women account for half of science and engineering degrees, but only 18.2% of those studying computer sciences. Having more females in the world of coding will broaden perspectives on IT development and increase the number of programmers. The world of coding will only benefit from being more inclusive. “The under representation of women in computer science tells us that the technology industry has not yet reached its full potential,” Mitchell says.
Give it a shot. Learn to code.
Here’s some advice from Mitchell on taking your first steps – “I taught myself HTML and CSS while still in high school. It’s not as complicated as it appears, much like learning a new language.” Don’t get scared off, start small. Mitchell suggests taking a look at Codecademy, which offers free, interactive courses on coding. In time, more female coders will unleash new creativity and begin to change the perception of the average coder as a guy wearing a ‘hoodie’. With more women in the technology industry, we will find more role models, which will only expand the world of coding. We can not only build effective role models and expand the world of coding, but we can create better economic opportunities for our future.
So, why do we need more women in technology? There are three reasons that comes to mind. One, we want to close the gender gap in the tech field and overall diversify the field. Two, women think, act and approach problems differently than a male period. Because women are believing to lead this era of innovation, we can apply of knowledge and skills to a given situation and be received for the solution rather than our gender. Three, the more women in tech now, will encourage more girls to pursue their own interest in tech. When we see another woman doing something we are passionate about, we have a sense of confidence and support versus going into a field and feeling like tech isn’t for you and socially you do not fit in.
