Girls who code

CEDAR RAPIDS — Looking at the numbers, coding still is an industry dominated by men.

With Girls Who Code, NewBoCo is looking to even the playing field.

NewBoCo is currently accepting applications from local students between third and 12th grade for a Girls Who Code club. The program, taking place every Saturday for 10 weeks this fall, is free.

“We’ll be learning about coding, learning about career opportunities, building a positive relationship with their peers in the group, and then doing projects throughout,” says Samantha Dahlby, director of K-12 education at NewBoCo. “We want to support a demographic that is not typically represented.”

Fixing the balance

According to a survey shared by Statista in 2022, female developers made up just 5 percent of all respondents.

To change that, Dahlby says, girls need to learn at an early age about opportunities for them in coding and then be encouraged to pursue those opportunities.

“We’ve had students take part who are now thinking about majoring in computer science,” Dahlby says. “We had one student who told us that she knew she wanted to start her own business one day and would need to understand how to have a website.”

One former student is Allyson Schmidt, the business development leader at Bio::Neos Inc., a software development company in Coralville.

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In July, Schmidt gave a presentation at EntreFEST in Iowa City, where she credited Girls Who Code with helping her decide to continue studying computer technology at the University of Iowa, where she graduated in 2021.

“I attended Girls Who Code during my senior year of high school, unsure of what I wanted to pursue,” she says. “Surrounded by other girls coding inspired me and made me feel empowered.”

Dahlby says it’s the community and encouragement of fellow students that make as much of a difference in the classes as the coding lessons themselves.

“Some of it's just getting to know each other’s favorite foods, or other things, that create a connection so that when they're working together they have peers that they feel safe with,” Dahlby says.

“Some students start off very shy and hesitant to engage, and now they are leading and engaging and helping other students learn. You can tell their comfort level has changed and they're feeling more active and engaged in group activities in terms of projects.”

What’s involved

The 10-week programs — featuring a maximum of 25 students each — will meet for an hour each Saturday. Registration is open, with exact dates for this fall’s camp to be announced soon at newbo.co.

The Girls Who Code camp is broken into two different age groups:

Dahlby noted that even though it’s called Girls Who Code, the classes are open to students of any gender.

“The focus is supporting female-identifying students and making them feel safe and excited about learning about coding and computer science,” she said. “But we also want to include allies so having those who do not identify as female as a part of the group is a way to fulfill that mission.”

The programs are free, thanks to support by sponsors BAE Systems and Collins Aerospace. Both companies also provide volunteers to help with the camp, with Dahlby saying other interested adults can volunteer as well.

“We’re always open to having additional mentors,” she says. “They don't have to have the technical background. If they do, that's great, but if they can just be another adult that helps the students feel welcome, that’s totally wonderful as well.”

Snacks will be provided, and laptops are available for students who do not have their own.

Dahlby says programs like Girls Who Code are a crucial part of NewBoCo’s work to ensure equitable access to computer science education.

“I really enjoy that we can find gaps that exist in our community, region and state, and that we can develop or partner to create programs that address those gaps,” she says.

To register for Girls Who Code, visit https://newbo.co/education/k-12/girls-who-code/.

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