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COVID-19 creates new barriers to getting girls into tech

As mentors leave and schools continue remote learning, lifting up the future female worker requires thinking differently, says the CEO of Girls Who Code.

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Bridget Carey is an award-winning reporter who helps you level-up your life -- while having a good time geeking out. Her exclusive CNET videos get you behind the scenes as she covers new trends, experiences and quirky gadgets. Her weekly video show, "One More Thing," explores what's new in the world of Apple and what's to come. She started as a reporter at The Miami Herald with syndicated newspaper columns for product reviews and social media advice. Now she's a mom who also stays on top of toy industry trends and robots. (Kids love robots.)
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Bridget Carey
2 min read

Even with all the progress made in getting more women to study computer sciences, this next generation of girls may have it harder than others trying to jump into a tech career. 

As students continue remote learning, a lack of resources at home can make it nearly impossible to study properly and connect with teachers. And when women do enter the workforce, it will be harder to find female mentors as we emerge from the COVID-19 era. Multiple family demands in the pandemic are causing women to abandon the workforce four times the rate of men.

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Girls Who Code programs are on a mission to close the gender gap in technology. Coding classes went virtual this summer.

Girls Who Code

Reshma Saujani is the CEO of Girls Who Code, a non-profit that became a movement to encourage girls to get into the field of computer sciences. In an interview with CNET's Now What (video embedded above), Saujani talks about the new challenges the next generation is facing during the pandemic.

The No. 1 problem being flagged by her team: a lack of mentors. As senior women leave the tech workforce, there are fewer in leadership roles to guide the way and show what's possible.

"You cannot be what you cannot see," Saujani said. "And that problem has been exacerbated post-COVID."

A lack of access to hardware is a setback for every student, but the pandemic's distance learning challenges led Girls Who Code to change how it approached summer coding classes. For students who may need to share equipment with a sibling, lessons allowed for more flexibility in the day. Hotspots were sent to all students who needed it. And, Saujani said, teachers met with students before classes to connect better. 

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American Girl launched a totally rad '80s gamer-girl doll with a working Pac-Man arcade cabinet. Girls Who Code partnered with the toymaker for a series of scholarships.

American Girl

The pivot to virtual did have its positives. Those who couldn't attend before because of distance could learn from anywhere — be it Alabama, Oakland, New Jersey, Bangalore or Jamaica.

"You've raised your hand, and you want to learn how to code. I can teach you. Now that's powerful," Saujani said. 

Part of the mission of Girls Who Code is also to help change the conversation within our culture. The organization recently partnered with American Girls dolls for a series of scholarships. This year, the doll maker launched a character that's an aspiring game developer: a Pac-Man wiz from the '80s named Courtney (and she even has a working arcade cabinet accessory). 

Of course a doll alone won't teach a child programming, but as Saujani explains, exposure at a young age to these concepts helps girls not think about developing video games as a girl thing or boy thing. "It makes girls imagine they can be anything and everything."

Imagery like that is just another tool in thinking differently to help inspire --  especially when a school's Zoom call may be quite uninspiring in a distracting home environment. 

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This past year has looked very different from 2018's Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program at EA. 

James Martin / CNET