#techies!

NYT » Opening a Gateway for Girls to Enter the Computer Field

The gender gap in the tech industry is severe and getting worse ("women earn just 12 percent of computer science degrees, down from 37 percent in 1984"). In response, new organizations and programs have sprung up to get girls interested in tech long before they go job-hunting. Girls Who Code, founded by Reshma Saujani, is one of these.

Ms. Saujani, the daughter of two engineers who were refugees from Uganda, developed the idea while she was running for Congress, a race that she lost. As she traveled from school to school on the campaign trail, she said she saw the same thing over and over: computer science classrooms without a single girl.

“I saw the ability of technology to either enhance poverty or reduce it, and I saw girls not getting the same opportunities boys were,” said Ms. Saujani, who is now campaigning for public advocate in New York City. “Back in the ’60s, you didn’t have gender parity in law or medicine, but something happened and women started opting into these professions. We have to do that in computer science.”

[…] To develop the classes, the women recruited academics and people who worked in tech to design the curriculum, which includes topics like robotics, animation and mobile app development, as well as skills like introducing yourself in a business setting and presenting your product onstage. By Week 2, students learn what an algorithm is and how to write one to program a robot. By Week 5, they build their own mobile apps.

Having had the good fortune to work with a broad range of entrepreneurs and get a front-row seat to the foundations of their success, I thought it'd be good to share 10 key tips that I've found work 100% of the time to increase your odds of startup success. Try to execute on as many of these as you can!

Be raised with access to clean drinking water and sanitation. (Every tech billionaire I've ever spoken to has a toilet!)

Try to be born in a region that is politically and militarily stable.

Grow up with a family that is as steady and secure as possible.

Have access to at least a basic free education in core subjects.

Avoid being abused by family members, loved ones, friends or acquaintances during the formative years of your life.

Be fluent in English, or have time to dedicate to continuously improving your language skills.

Make sure there's enough disposable income available to support your learning technology at a younger age.

If you must be a member of an underrepresented community or a woman, get comfortable with suppressing your identity. If not, follow a numbingly conventional definition of dominant masculinity.

Be within a narrow range of physical norms for appearance and ability, as defined by the comfort level of strangers.

Practice articulating your cultural, technological or social aspirations exclusively in economic terms.

By following these ten simple tips, you'll massively increase the odds of success of your startup! I guarantee it, or your money back.

is a thing, guys.

I'm so happy.

Jessica McKellar describes many very good, specific strategies for teaching Python (though it goes for any "techie" thing) to absolute beginners, reaching out to women (including trans women!), getting publicity, and setting goals.

I really admire initiatives like this, but I'd like to see stuff aimed at women of colour. All too often "get more women into programming" just means "more white women".

On LJ, delux_vivens posts a list of works that may be of interest:

Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures

Science and Technology in African History With Case Studies from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, and Zambia

African Fractals: modern computing and indigenous design

Vivek Wadhwa addresses the underrepresentation of women of colour in Silicon Valley:

At an event I attended this week, called Alley to the Valley, at the overpriced Rosewood Sand Hill Hotel in Menlo Park, I discussed this subject with 50 very successful women. Half of the attendees were from the east coast, and half were from the west coast. We agreed that the best way of supplying this dearth is through recognizing that there is indeed a problem; providing mentoring, encouragement, and assistance to all aspiring women entrepreneurs; and showcasing the successes.

I have already presented hard data that show that there is a problem, and I’ve suggested remedies. Now I’ll showcase some successes—black women CEOs that graduated from Founder Labs, a pre-incubator for emerging entrepreneurs and from a related organization, Women 2.0. I’ll let them tell you their own stories.