A number of initiatives are working to encourage more women to get into coding to eradicate old fashioned viewpoints and boost female participation. As well, the annual Women Startup Competition is recognising female-led coding startups, awarding a Romanian woman first prize in a semi-final.
According to survey by TechCity UK, young women are more likely to perceive that they do not have the skills to work in tech (45%), lack tech knowledge (38%) or that it is not for people like them (24%).
WellCode, a startup led by Bianca Costin, aims to lead individuals on a step-by-step journey of programming, from beginner to expert. It is a platform that focuses on theoretical knowledge, testing users through quizzes and interactive learning. They can then move onto advanced content that relates to writing in code.
WellCode will go to the finals in London from September 15. It is a five-day training and mentoring programme.
As well, an initiative supporting female coders has been set up in the UK. Trainline has partnered with Code First: Girls with the view of helping 20,000 women learn to code for free by 2020. It will offer financial support and training. The project aims to raise £1.5 million by 2020. Trainline and Code First: Girls seek to tackle the divisions within tech as, currently, only 3.9% of tech and telco professionals in the UK are female programmers or software developers.
For other women interested in getting into coding, another initiative called Women Who Code has currently 100,000 members. It is a global community offering benefits like coding resources, scholarships and free tickets, as well as leadership opportunities, a WWCode job board to help pursue the next step, and awards. European networks can be found in Romania, the UK, Bulgaria, France, Germany and Ireland. But the networks also spread worldwide.
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