Girls Who Code

(To register, please contact Courtney Klein at the Sebastopol Library: cklein@sonomalibrary.org)

Do something brave... Learn to Code!

This is a free (and extremely fun and satisfying) club for 7th-12th grade students to join a sisterhood of supportive peers and role models using computer science to change the world. This summer our club will be 100% virtual and facilitated by an Industry Professional, Sharon Kotal. We are particularly excited to welcome students from typically underrepresented demographics in the tech industry!

The Club sessions involve cumulative learning experiences that include teamwork and skill-building, so it is necessary to attend all sessions.

More background information about Girls Who Code:

THE GENDER GAP IN COMPUTING IS GETTING WORSE. In 1995, 37% of computer scientists were women. Today, it’s only 24%. The percentage will continue to decline if we do nothing. We know that the biggest drop-off of girls interested in computer science is between the ages of 13 and 17. 

GIRLS WHO CODE IS CHANGING THE GAME. We're reaching girls around the world and are on track to close the gender gap in new entry-level tech jobs by 2030.

GIRLS WHO CODE: DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

Girls Who Code is an organization that values diversity, equity, and inclusion as essential to the mission.

We acknowledge that historical and institutional barriers—particularly racial bias and discrimination—play a role in the widening gender gap in computer science and who has access to opportunities in these fields. Girls Who Code focuses our work not only on gender diversity but also on young women who are historically underrepresented in computer science fields, specifically girls who:

• Come from underrepresented minority groups, including African American/Black, Hispanic or Latina, Bi/ Multiracial, Native American/Alaskan, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander;
• Come from low-income backgrounds, specifically free and/or reduced lunch eligible;
• Have had a lack of exposure or access to computer science.

Girls Who Code acknowledges and values the intersections of race/ethnicity, gender identity and expression, class, sexual orientation, ability, age, national origin, and religious/spiritual identities.

Girls Who Code welcomes into our community and programs anyone who identifies as female regardless of assignment at birth. Our programs also welcome people who identify as non-binary or gender nonconforming and want to be in a female-identified environment.