The tech industry has long struggled with a lack of diversity. This existing imbalance combined with social and educational problems such as early gender bias still tends to prevent lots of people, including women, from entering the field. Girls Can Code aims to help young women learn programming and gain valuable experience working on projects alongside other like minded individuals.

Tarides is proud to share that we sponsored a Girls Can Code summer camp! Between Aug 22nd and 27th, the camp offered participants a fully-packed week of programming, socialising, and learning.

What is Girls Can Code?

Girls Can Code is an initiative launched by the organisation Prologin, hosting summer camps specifically aimed at teaching young women about computer programming. No prior experience is required, and they accept participants from secondary school and up through the equivalent of A-Levels. Attendance is free, since the events are run by students who generously volunteer their time and expertise.

Camps come in two variants: long and short. The long camps last for a week and the short ones for a weekend. The short camps cover less content, but can be organised more frequently. They are always in the form of a practical introduction to computer science, but may focus on special topics. The week-long summer camps start with an introduction to Python and then continue with several tutorials on various topics. Finally, all participants have the chance to complete a personal project on either robotics, video games, or microcontrollers.

Impact

At Tarides, we’re committed to using our resources to foster diversity and inclusion. Our own goal is to have 50% of our tech roles be filled by women. For that to be a reality, not just at Tarides but everywhere, more women need to feel welcome in the tech space. Sadly, according to this Le Monde article, only 11% of French women chose to pursue IT careers in 2010. A more recent survey by Tech Nation showed that in the UK, only 26% of the tech workforce is made up by women. While this number is better, there’s still a lot of work to be done before women make up 50% of the workforce in tech.

Girls Can Code works proactively to inspire a generation of young French women and make a difference in the sector. They have been arranging summer camps since 2014 and have been growing steadily since. We’re proud to support their efforts for a more equitable future!