Researchers from Cal-Poly and North Carolina University recently found that the open-source programming women provided on code repository, GitHub, was rated higher than then their male counterparts, yet was often rejected due to gender bias. And last week job specialist, Glassdoor, announced that men computer programmers still make almost 29% more than women coders. But instead of giving up, more ladies are learning programming thanks to groups like Women Who Code, founded in 2011, whose number of lady coders has grown to exceed over 12,000 members in 14 different countries. Known for its technical study groups, hack nights, and speaking events featuring influential technology industry experts and investors, Women Who Code also teaches career development, getting ready for those 1.4 million technology jobs that will all need to be filled by 2020.
Today on ‘Dot Complicated with Randi Zuckerberg’ Randi sat down with Women Who Code NYC Co-Founder, Elizabeth Ferrao, and Alicia Carr, a self-taught coder who created a domestic violence app and runs the WWC chapter in Atlanta:
“This week’s ‘The Good Wife’ was just all about drones and security.”
“65% of toddlers will have jobs that don’t exist right now.”
“3D printing gives you the things you need for a fraction of the cost.”
“Everyone on the internet has an inner troll in them.”
“Coder Dojo has been the way I’ve roped in my brother. It’s a once a month exploration of different software.”
“I attended a magnet high school, I thought I was going to be a mechanical engineer. I started at Google being taught to how to code.”
“Coding is a way to create ideas and test them out to see if they work.”
“I spent a summer in SF and was going to Women Who Code Meetups. They were free and gave me a sense of community and social structure.”
“My co-founder Stella works on the details while I work on the big picture.”
“Keeping in touch with everyone and hosting everything is all on a volunteer basis.”
“There’s a variety of events we host. Lightning Talks are 5-10 minutes about something we’re working on.”
“People who haven’t heard about a certain script or bootcamp are exposed to accessibility resources through our WWC talks.”
“One of the best panels we had was how to be a mother in the tech industry. We talk about the problems we’re facing.”
“My friend was talking about her sorority in college and could describe people in such detail. There’s such active promotion.”
“I would like to say there’s a lot of opening for Jr. Devs who invested money in their career and see the returns. A lot of the companies are looking for Sr. Devs.”
“Build something, don’t spend your time looking for a job.”
“There’s so much interest from women. The pipeline problem is something being actively worked on in WWC.”
“There’s so much potential for women who code.”
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“I don’t think Microsoft tested Tay properly. That’s why it failed.”
“I have 8 grandbabies, 3 of them wanted to learn to code. I directed them to Scratch. It’s online coding to know if you’re really interested in it.”
“Girls Who Code is huge. Find a local chapter near you. 100 Girls of Code is another.”
“My husband was in the military so I took college courses for DOS classes. I got hired as a database programmer. I fell in love it.”
“In high school was the first time I ever touched programming: The IBM touchcards.”
“I was standing in line getting an iPad and a 16-year-old was in front of me getting one. No 16-year-old has $800 to buy an iPad. He earned by learning to code on YouTube.”
“I found the Atlanta Developers Group. I got a mentor, he helped me build my confidence.”
“PEVO gives women the necessary info to get out of their situation. It gives them the law and plans their exit strategy.”
“PEVO took two months to build. But took longer to get through Apple.”
“Women Who Code was started in 2013, I came in at 2014. I was having several problems with my app. It wasn’t passing the submittal process.”
“For Apple you have to resize storyboards to fit to the phone size.”
“We taught women on getting Github. We’re working on making better profiles on LinkedIn. I help women learn iOS development.”
“My husband taught me that the main focus of passion should be in my LinkedIn.”
“I was a Zumba instructor, I’m an amateur photographer—I put those on LinkedIn. People get to see who you are.”
“When I was looking for someone to help me become a mobile developer it was different than asking men.”
“I’m trying to make PEVO national. It’s become a challenge because I’m a woman.”
“WWC has a newsletter with companies looking for women for job opportunities. But right now it’s very slow for women.”
“I built an app thinking I could get a job. Now that I built the app, they aren’t interested. They say they want to diversify, but there’s still a lot of change that has to happen.”
“I have pitched to one investor, he referred me to another investor. Where I wanted to be in a year is not going to happen.”
“It’s hard to be a woman entrepreneur nowadays.”
“I’m a black, 53-year-old woman. I have three strikes against me.”
“I’m working on the national app. I hope to be done in a few weeks.”
PEVO.us & Women Who Code Atlanta
Join Dot Complicated with Randi Zuckerberg’ next Wednesday, April 6th when the founder of Laan Labs, creators of Face Swap Live, sit down to discuss creating apps. Only on SiriusXM Business Channel 111 at 12pm ET/9am PT.
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