US-based not-for-profit organisation CodePath.org has announced a partnership with AnitaB.org, an organisation that helps women succeed in technology, to create initiatives to help close the diversity gap in tech. CodePath.org also focuses on increasing diversity in tech through college education for underrepresented minorities and underserved populations. Together both organisations aim to create “programmes that will identify, inspire, and prepare minority and female computer science students for careers in Silicon Valley”.
Recent research from the University of Texas at Austin reveals that although Black and Latinx students join STEM majors at roughly the same rate as their white peers, they are far less likely to complete the programme. And despite the fact that women account for 57.3% of all US bachelor’s degrees, only 17.9% specialise in computer science degrees.
TARGETING UNDEREPRESENTED COMMUNITIES
“This initiative provides a path of exposure, access and opportunity for underrepresented communities in computer science,” stated Brenda Darden Wilkerson, President and CEO of AnitaB.org. “Investing in talented college students and equipping them with coding know-how, will enable a more inclusive future of work.”
CodePath.org will work on-the-ground across college campuses to launch programmes that teach up-to-date, industry-relevant coding skills. Eligible students will receive free access to Codepath’s 2019 ‘virtual course’, which provides personalised instruction on the technology industry’s most in-demand skills, such as iOS and Android development.
“Our work is focused on shifting the conversation from inclusion to influence. These students are not simply meeting the bar for success in tech – they’re raising it,” added Michael Ellison, Founder and CEO of CodePath.org. “We’re proving that when students from underrepresented backgrounds, who often attend less-selective colleges, have access to personalised instruction that meets them where they are, they demonstrate every bit as much potential as peers from the nation’s most elite institutions.”
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