February 07, 2025
Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program 2025 Applications Are Now Open!
Spreading the Word: Do You Know a Girl Who Wants to Code?
February 10, 2020
It may seem like 2020 only just started, but summer will be here before we know it and students are already planning how to make the most of their summer breaks. Many rising high school juniors and seniors across the nation from New York to Los Angeles are gearing up for the 2020 Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program (SIP), a free, seven-week introductory course for girls of all backgrounds to learn computer science skills among their peers.
Recent research has found that girls’ participation nationwide in K-12 computer science courses averages just 37.5 percent of all CS students1. The figure falls to 15.5 percent of students when considering participation by girls in historically underrepresented groups (HUGS)2. With women representing fewer than 1 in 5 computer science degrees earned and just 24 percent of computer scientists in the workforce, it is no secret that the gender gap in STEM is stark.
By encouraging young women to participate in programs like Girls Who Code, girls who may not have otherwise considered computer science as a career path develop tangible coding skills increasingly sought by employers in nearly all sectors of the economy. Students also hone important and highly in-demand skills such as teamwork, leadership, communication, and time management while working among their peers on collaborative projects. In addition, they are also exposed to female mentors at various stages of their STEM careers, demonstrating it is in fact possible for women to “make it” in the tech industry.
Software.org: the BSA Foundation is committed to expanding opportunity for women in STEM, which is why we are proud to once again sponsor a Washington, DC, chapter of the 2020 Girls Who Code SIP in partnership with the Georgetown University Law Center Institute for Technology Law & Policy. In our classroom, over 20 girls from DC, Maryland, and Virginia will have the opportunity to spend their summer learning coding fundamentals, building websites, learning about career opportunities in STEM fields from female mentors currently working in the software industry, and interacting with female Members of Congress and Congressional staff leading the charge to diversify the computer science workforce. We hope this program will – as it has been the case for years – cultivate an interest in computer science and inspire these young women to pursue careers in STEM.
Even if students ultimately decide a career in STEM is not for them, initiatives like the Girls Who Code SIP help promote digital literacy, equipping students with the understanding of how emerging technologies work in an increasingly digital world.
Interested students are welcome to learn more and apply for one of the roughly 80 Girls Who Code SIP programs across the United States before the Friday, February 14 deadline. Help spread the word about this great opportunity!
Recent Posts
Jake Morabito
Program Coordinator,
Software.org
Jake Morabito serves as Program Coordinator at Software.org: the BSA Foundation. In this capacity, he provides research, analysis, and project management support for the Foundation’s key organizational initiatives and events.