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Coding Girls Stories

Coding Girls Stories

Coding Girls Stories

Shirley de Wit from the Dutch national expert organisation on girls/women and science/technology is motivated to contribute to her organisation’s mission: to bridge the gender divide in STEM increasing the participation of women and young girls in these areas. Thanks to her background in computer science, Shirley is mainly interested in making technology accessible to everyone. Besides participating in projects at VHTO, Shirley is also working on her research doctorate on gender issues and programming at the University of Leiden.

 

Last Tuesday, Shirley participated in a Coding Girls session to share her experience with students [see news: Coding Girls in Naples]. We would like to share an excerpt from her presentation at the International Day for Women and Girls in Science (Feb. 11).

 

I don’t believe that programming is just an ability of coders. Computers have a major impact on our daily lives and news is increasingly about technological issues. We should all be capable of understanding what is happening around us and participating in the digital society. Unfortunately, our environment (schools, parents, but also media) neither stimulate all children in a similar manner, or do they drive them to explore their talents and interest in coding, both of which can help fight the gender gap. Breaking away from stereotypes and assuring girls that they can code means giving them equal opportunities to participate in digital society and develop an interest in STEM.

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