Software.org’s Eighth Annual Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program Starts Today
Virtual Classes Teach Coding Skills and Guest Speakers Encourage Young Women to Pursue Careers in Software
WASHINGTON – June 17, 2022 –This summer, Software.org: the BSA Foundation begins its eighth year sponsoring the Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program. The two-week virtual course teaches students coding languages including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. With their new training, the students will develop projects ranging from art, robotics, and video games to websites and apps.
High schoolers from across the country will take part in the virtual courses while learning about the many career opportunities available to them with their newfound expertise. Throughout the program, women in leadership positions in government and at global software companies will share how the students can use their newfound knowledge to develop career skills in many different industries.
In 2021, only 25 percent of jobs in technology and only 14 percent of software engineering jobs were held by women. Girls Who Code works to close this gender gap in technology by inspiring and educating young women with computing skills. These classes provide students with a technical framework for software jobs, a curated portfolio of projects, and a network of tech professionals.
Software.org has organized several events throughout the program for students to engage with guest speakers and learn about their experiences working with tech policy issues. This year’s keynote speakers include Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.); Representative Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.); Dr. Alondra Nelson, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; and Julia White, Chief Marketing and Solutions Officer and Executive Board Member at SAP. Software.org’s supporting companies, Adobe, Autodesk, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Salesforce, and SAP, will all have guest speakers interacting with the class this summer.
“Software skills play an important role in every industry across the world. Working and learning remotely for the past two years has allowed us to make the Girls Who Code curriculum accessible to more students in more places across the country, and this is the third year that we’ve been able to expand the reach of our program beyond the DC area,” said Victoria Espinel, President of Software.org: the BSA Foundation and President and CEO of BSA | The Software Alliance. “Software.org supports programs like Girls Who Code so that we can help ensure that anyone who wants to pursue a career in software has the skills to do so. I’m excited to welcome this year’s class and cannot wait to see what they accomplish during their time in the classroom and beyond, in whatever career they choose.”
Learn more about Software.org’s Girls Who Code classroom at software.org/girlswhocode.