According to a 2015 report from the
National Center for Women & Information Technology, in 2014 women only held 26 percent of computing occupations, down from 36 percent in 1991. (Black women only held three percent of these occupations; Latinas held one percent.)
Memphis has caught the bug of organizations trying to reduce the gender (and racial) disparity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), specifically in the area of coding and computer science.
In 2013, Black Girls Code, which was founded by Memphis-native Kimberly Bryant in San Francisco, established a Memphis chapter. Since then has followed day-long workshops from 100 Girls of Code,
Code Crew (which is for boys and girls), and even summer coding camps at the University of Memphis and Rhodes College.
For the second year in a row, the West Tennessee NCWIT committee is hosting its Awards for Aspirations in Computing event to inspire teens and young women who show promise in computer science.
NCWIT created the award to provide motivation for young women interested in computing careers, provide leadership opportunities, and provide visibility for women in computer science. Nationally NCWIT is a coalition of more than 450 universities, corporations, and other organizations working to increase women’s participation in computer science.
The West Tennessee region’s committee is composed of professors, students, and professionals from Rhodes College, the University of Memphis, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Lokion Interactive is the biggest sponsor and host of the March 17 awards, which are open to the recipients, as well as their parents and teachers. Other event supporters include Start.Co, TEKSystems, and the University of Memphis.
This year’s awards in Memphis will go to 12 young women, double the number of honorees last year.
The Dreamer Award, which will be given to ?Taelen Boyd, Baili' Johnson and Sara Kurosu, is for girls who have proven or shown potential in innovation by coming up with new and unique ideas related to the field who have shown the ability to lead and inspire others.
The Thinker Award, which will be given to ?Abby Shutzberg and Jocelyn Wong, is for girls who excel while tackling challenges and are eager to find solutions to problems.
The Doer Award, which will be given to ?Divya Pinnaka and Kareiel Roberson, is for who girls who take ideas from thought to action, pay attention to detail, and hone their craft to get things done well.
And finally, honorable mentions will be awarded to ?Conner Johnson, DeKyla Little, Sydney Shelby, Amber Edwards, and Xinyi Tan.
One of the recipients, Pinnaka, said her father is into information technology, and that she was drawn to it and the idea of making complicated tasks and day to day life simple with just the click of a button.
As a 14-year-old high school sophomore, Pinnaka is a self-taught certified C programmer, who is also enrolled in her school’s International Baccalaureate program. She is a part of the STEM program at East High School where she is currently learning Java programming.
As a freshman Pinnaka started an Innovation Club at her high school, attracting 30 members.
“Coding is perceived to be a rocket science – if you have a passion to learn something, you can learn it,” Pinnaka said. “Coding is simple. Most of the girls in my school never had an exposure towards computer science and hence don't know about it, so I want to help by giving others the exposure to this wonderful science.”
According to NCWIT regional lead Laney Strange, who is a mathematics and computer science professor at Rhodes College and executive director of Code Crew, schools can foster girls’ interest in learning computer science with workshops, advanced placement classes, mentoring, afterschool coding programs, computing clubs, awards like the NCWIT Aspirations, and by publicizing and encouraging girls to participate in coding events put on by local organizations.
“Every time I organize a coding workshop, especially a girls-specific workshop, we end up oversubscribed,” she said. “There’s definitely demand out there, and we have to meet it in all the ways we can.”
Strange said that parents can foster interest by encouraging girls to learn coding, take computer science classes, and joining coding activities.
“Around the time of middle school, girls begin to “drop out of the pipeline” of science and math,” she added. “Girls might not self-select into these kinds of activities, but many enjoy coding once they give it a try.”
STEM is often sold to students as a way to get good financial return on their college degree. However Strange offers additional reasons girls should consider it as a major and/or career field.
“When you study computer science you learn things like computational thinking, critical analysis, problem solving, mathematical proofs,” Strange said. “These kinds of skills are applicable to software engineers, entrepreneurs, product managers, project managers, chemists, fashion designers, business leaders, writers, you name it.”