The Girls Who Code club is a great way for girls and non-binary students to explore their interest in coding. According to 150.statcan.gc.ca, from 2018 to 2019, only 38.3% of STEM majors were women, and, as of 2021, statista.com states that merely 5.31% of software developers worldwide are women. Due to the lack of representation, women’s viewpoints may be disregarded in the world of STEM since no one is there to speak on their behalf.
Girls Who Code’s mission is to break the gender barrier in technology and change the image of what a programmer looks like and does. Mr. Kasprzak, who helps run the club, says “Girls Who Code is important because there is a large gender gap in the computer science field. If we don’t do anything about it, this gap will only get larger. The girls in our club are helping to close this gap. The student leaders here are preparing Richardson girls to lead, improve and completely and totally transform today’s workforce.” and “Here at Richardson, we have continually tried to increase the participation of Girls in our computer science classes. GWC was a natural extension of this, and it’s been really successful.” They also want to show girls that the gender gap should not discourage them from going into computer science because they are just as capable as boys.
In this club, girls and non-binary students get to learn all about the world of code. Girls Who Code teaches various coding languages, such as python, and java, and they also teach languages that aren’t covered in school, so you will be engaged no matter the skill level. Don’t worry if you have no coding experience because they go over the basics of coding, and slowly work their way up to more advanced programs as the school year progresses. They started with covering how to code using python on the interface Replit, and how to use If statements, While loop, variables. Using this knowledge, they taught club members how to code their very own hangman game with limited guesses and user input. Later on in November, they are going to teach them how to build their own websites. The club also participates in various events such as hackathons where you have to create a functioning software in a limited amount of time. Girls Who Code also hosted a looking ahead webinar where JCR alumni came and talked about their experience pursuing computer science in university.
Their meetings take place every Wednesday at lunch in room 3219 and 3217, and you can follow @jcr.girlswhocode to keep up with the latest news. If you are a girl or non-binary student who wants to pursue computer science or just learn more about coding, then Girls Who Code is the perfect club for you.
