MADE WITH CODE

I once heard that when you’re seriously studying for something your brain trains itself to retain information which means that it’s primed for new information.

I heard this nugget of information when I was studying for my dissertation so I thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to take advantage of my knowledge sponge brain and teach myself a couple of new things.

Over the next few months I took it upon myself to learn the entire back catalogue of the band Beirut on a newly purchased ukulele, how to speed read and last but not least I bought myself a book entitled ‘How to Teach Yourself Code in 24 Hours’.

I learned a couple of Beirut songs, I’m still pretty quick at reading but unfortunately I never managed to master the art of coding.

But my (rather long-winded) point is that I did attempt to learn it, the interest was there.

According to the American Association of University Women (AAUW) less than 1% of high school girls in the states are interested in any form of computer sciences. I never thought of computer sciences as a gender related issue, for me it was kind of just a given that computer nerds were guys.

And that is the stereotype that Google’s Made With Code is trying to get rid of. Google has partnered with some truly impressive names including Chelsea Clinton, Girls Inc., Mindy Kahling, MIT Media Lab and TechCrunch to name a few.

Google held an event in New York last week which aimed to help girls realise that the things that they are passionate about whether it’s film, fashion, music, science or almost anything; is made with code.

“Coding is a new literacy and it gives people the potential to create, innovate and quite literally change the world” stated YouTube CEO Susan Wojcick. “We’ve got to show all girls that computer science is an important part of their future, and that it’s a foundation to pursue their passions, no matter what field they want to enter” she continued.

The event included talks from comedienne Mindy Kahling and demonstrations as to how code works in everyday life.

Not only is Google challenging the gender gap in the tech industry but have pledged $50 towards the good cause. The Made With Code website will offer resources and projects for young people to get more involved with coding.

Made with Code looks to solve a multitude of problems inherent in the tech industry and on our part we couldn’t be more on board with the initiative.