As part of the European Coding Week, the Fondazione Mondo Digitale, the United States Embassy and Microsoft Italy are with young women to accelerate gender equality on the labour market.
On Wednesday, October 11, at 11 am, the United States Embassy in Rome will host a press conference for the presentation of the fourth edition of Project Coding Girls with 4000 young women from Milan, Rome, Naples and Catania. Moreover, Coding Girls will create the first Italian association for the promotion of Italian talent in STEAM for a multiplier effect on gender equality in education and the development of female e-leaders.
Italian graduates in technical and scientific subjects have an employment rate that exceeds 90% (Almalaurea, 2017); however, in 2015, 39% of young men and women graduated with a degree in Humanities or Social Sciences (Education at a Glance, 2017). The situation is even more critical if we analyse the number of women employed in the ICT sector worldwide: 20% according to OECD. And the gender gap is not only quantitative, but qualitative, too: women only occupy 15% of managerial positions.
Emerging economies seem to be conquering positions more rapidly than the so-called advanced economies. In Estonia, there are just as many women in ICT as men, while in Italy the ratio is 1:3 and in America the proportion has been falling steadily. In fact, the White House has announced a 200,000-dollar campaign for ICT education in all schools.
Building on the success of the third edition, which saw the participation of over 2000 high school students, Coding Girls is back. The project was conceived by the United States Embassy in Rome and the Fondazione Mondo Digitale, in collaboration with Microsoft Italy, to overcome the gender divide in the field of technology and attract young women to a digital career.
Ove 60 talented young women who attended the Coding Girls Summer School will work to transmit their own enthusiasm for coding and open thinking to 4000 younger peers. They will be headed by Emily Thomforde, Code Educator and Science Technology Engineering Art and Mathematics (STEAM) Specialist.
From November 6 to 17, the Coding Girls will work on a travelling educational relay that will involve young women in 20 schools in Milan, Rome, Naples and Catania. The students will participate in four regional hackathons, along with local monthly training sessions for the young women who wish to become tutors.
On Wednesday, October 11 at 11:00 am, there will be a press conference at the United Sates Embassy in Rome to present project activities, the Coding Girls and the launch of the National Coding Girls Association, a grassroots movement based on Italian schools, but which aims to involve all of society, network female excellence and promote the emergence of talent “in pink” in the ICT sector.
