“When you teach a girl to code, you give her the skills to be a change agent and advocate in her community, and the world.”
-Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of Girls Who Code
At Capterra, we believe in the power of coding. Think about it: without coding, we wouldn’t have software. And Capterra believes that software makes the world a better place.
Capterra’s foundation is built upon the belief that by helping businesses find the right software for their needs, we’ll help them save time and solve problems. To put it simply, software helps make life convenient; it allows us to manage our day-to-day work stream effectively. Because of this, software encompasses the many aspects of our life.
With such high demand for software technology, there is an even greater need for computer scientists.
That’s why computing is where the jobs are. Tech jobs are among the fastest growing in the country, with the greatest job security. The issue? The number of women in tech is diminishing. Today, only 24% of computer scientists are women. That’s compared to 37% just 20 years ago.
The big picture: girls (and thus, women) are being left behind.
How you can help
The fact that fewer than 1 in 5 computer science graduates are women doesn’t sit well with us. That’s why it’s important to Capterra that organizations such as Girls Who Code are inspiring more young people to pursue a career in computer science fields.
Starting this month, we’re teaming up with Girls Who Code to help close the gender gap in tech. When you write a review of a software product you use via Capterra’s charity landing page, we’ll donate $10 to Girls Who Code to support their efforts to provide girls with more pathways to the computing workforce.
You can help out by writing a review here!
Girls Who Code offers the three big C’s: capabilities, career, and community. By providing girls with the opportunity to learn computer science skills through after-school clubs and summer immersion programs, they are providing pathways at an early age to the computing workforce.
Why we’re helping out
Between the ages of six to 12, 66% of girls are interested and/or enrolled in computing programs. By the time they reach age 13, that percentage drops to 32%. By the time they’re college freshman, it’s a mere 4%.
Is your head exploding yet? (Spoiler: ours is.)
Where the interest in computer science starts to fall apart, Girls Who Code is picking up the pieces. Girls Who Code hosts free after-school clubs where volunteers teach girls grades six through 12 to use coding to solve everyday problems.
As a tech company with 55% of our employees comprised of females, we feel passionate about promoting women in tech—and about teaching girls at an early age that not only is coding cool, but can make a positive impact in their life (and the world).
Because of the work of CEO and founder Reshma Saujani, countless volunteers and teachers, and donors, Girls Who Code is now in all 50 states, and will have taught over 50,000 girls to code by the end of the school year.
Of all the girls who participate in their yearly Summer Immersion Programs, 93% want to major in, or are interested in, computer science. You’re probably thinking this, but we’ll go ahead and say it: that’s pretty awesome. But not only is this awesome, it’s important for the future of the tech field.
We’ve all seen the news as of late—diversity in the tech industry is, to put it plainly, a huge issue. In fact, no major tech company currently has gender parity. Because of this, Girls Who Code is working to change this inequality with their #HireMe program, where 60 companies have pledged to hire Girls Who Code alumni.
There’s still work to do, and Girls Who Code is up for the challenge. By providing girls with the background, experience, and inspiration to pursue a career in computer science, they’re providing them with the passion to use their newly developed skills to make an impact. To be brave. To inspire. To change the world.
Join us in supporting Girls Who Code
We hope you’lljoin us in helping to close the gender gap by supporting Girls Who Code. You can even help by sharing this with your friends and colleagues to help further support this cause by using the social media links below:
If you’d like to donate directly instead, that helps too! Just follow this link to make a donation.