Groups that support girls in tech

[Cathy Moya]

At the #WomenITPros EU meeting we talked about groups that are encouraging girls in technology. Ideally we'd like to find groups that promote all parts of the tech industry, though right now we understand that some may be more focused on coding. Maybe we can change that, and come up with ITPro "lessons" for these groups. 

To start with, let's get a list of all the groups you know about that are encouraging girls - 

Name, website, city/country, mission of group

[#2]

Hi

There's a community space here called Diversity and Tech. https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Diversity-and-Tech/ct-p/DiversityTech

May be you can find other folks through that space.

Thanks

Thanuja

[#3]

Hello everyone!  Great conversation today!

Below are some groups I have started to work with in my area.

Rite (Regional Information Technology Engagement) – This group works with local high schools to bring students interested in technology together with IT Professionals. They also hold local competitions and events for high schoolers. https://ohiorite.com/

Some of the women I work with have started reaching out to our local technical high schools to see if there are additional engagements we can do to encourage students to enter the IT field and next month we have been invited to talk to middle school girls about a field in IT.  Here is an example of the local tech school in my area:  http://www.cvccworks.edu/

Society of Women Engineers – In October 2018, they held a conference which included a career fair for girls considering a career in a STEM field. http://societyofwomenengineers.swe.org/

I have also been looking at the local "Meet ups"  (https://www.meetup.com/) and recently started attending a group for Women in IT.  It is interesting group of women that are in all different stages of their career and all different areas within IT.

[#4]

Here's the local group I work with for girls in tech:
Name: IGNITE Worldwide (Inspiring Girls Now in Technology Evolution)
Website: www.igniteworldwide.org
Locations: US - Many chapters in the greater Puget Sound area, San Francisco bay area, and international: Uruguay, Uganda, Riwanda, Nigeria

Mission: IGNITE’s mission is to create opportunities to spark girls’ excitement about technology careers and inspire them to new possibilities.

[#5]

Wow, these are some great leads on groups. Thank you for sharing these.

[#6]

I struggled to find a group that I could work with that did STEM for high school/middle school girls to get them into technology. All of the ones that I could find or were suggested to me were coding only. 

However, I did manage to find Techgirlz. They are a non-profit out of Philly that focuses on exposing girls to technology. They have premade "techshops in a box" plans to make it easier to put together an afternoon of technology exploration for girls. It's primarily for middle school age girls, but I bet the teens would like it too.

Their link is: www.techgirlz.org

Here's some blurbs from their site, to give you an idea.

Techgirlz- Inspiring girls to explore the possibilities of technology."

What is Techgirlz?

TechGirlz is a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing the gender gap in technology occupations, by focusing on girls at the crucial middle school age. We offer free workshops to get girls interested in different kinds of technology, show them varied career options, and connect them with professionals in technology fields.

Why we exist?

There's more to tech careers than just coding. We're here to show middle school girls just that. Through our free hands-on TechShopz, we show them that technology can match their interests and be fun and rewarding.

The fact that they flat out say that there is more to tech than coding is what sold the organization to me. If you are interested, please check it out. They need more of us. Thanks

[#7]

Wow.  This is really neat!  I have been looking for something like this to be able to break down and teach some of the things my team does in infrastructure.  Thank you for sharing.

[#8]

I'm glad you like it. Check out the techshops in a box- they are really, really cool. And open source, available to anyone with attribution (please).

I am really looking forward to trying my hand at the micro:bits stuff. I have home automation devices that are DIY, and I've looked at littlebits. This stuff is really, really fun and gets right to the point of why to build, why to code, and why to tech.