Inspiring the next generation of women in tech

TORONTO – A hush falls over a crowd of 40 young girls gathered in a conference room in Google’s Toronto office as they watch a YouTube video of Google’s Project Glass.

“Whoa… It’s epic,” gasps a young girl in the crowd as the video plays.

As the video comes to an end the girls are asked if they have any questions – and almost every hand in the room shoots into the air. “When is it coming out,” asks one. “Do you have one here,” asks another.

These girls, brimming with curiosity and energy, may be the next generation of women in tech.

The group, made up of girls ages 9-12, visited the Google office Tuesday as part of their March Break camp with Toronto based non-for-profit group Girls Learning Code. The startup, founded in August 2011, runs workshops for women and girls who want to learn computer programming and other technical skills.

During their visit, the girls had the chance to ask questions to a panel of female Google employees, each from a different area of expertise, to learn more about careers in tech.

Panelists ranged from a software engineer from Google’s Kitchener-Waterloo office, a YouTube products specialist and a partnerships specialist.

Dossani, account coordinator in sales at the Google Toronto office, led the discussion which included topics like cloud technology, YouTube trends, UI design and career paths at Google.

“What we were trying to achieve with this panel, was not just to say that you want to be a software engineer, or that you want to be in ‘tech,’” said Dossani.

“As women we want to promote more female engineers, but we also want to promote that there are many kinds of jobs like designers, sales, and marketing in tech.”

The number of Canadian women getting into engineering careers has been on the decline for years.

According to Engineers Canada, the portion of licensed engineers who are women has grown from seven per cent since 2000, but the number sat at only 10 per cent in 2010.

But organizations like Ladies Learning Code are working hard to encourage women of all ages to embrace their love of technology and learn to transform it into a hobby, or even a career.

“We started Ladies Learning Code because we were looking for something for ourselves that didn’t exist – a beginner-friendly, social and collaborative environment to learn some of the more complex technical skills,” said Laura Plant, one of the founding members of the group.

In just under two years, the program has seen 3000 women participate in their programs and workshops.

Plant and her team started Girls Learning Code last March, with the March Break camp, and already had about 300 young girls come through the program.

“We have seen a lot of support from the tech community; certainly the tech industry recognizes the value of gender diversity particularly on their technical teams, where it’s lacking. That became a part of our mission and because of that we started Girls Learning Code – we realized that if we did want to have a true impact on closing that gender gap we needed to start working with the younger demographic,” said Plant.

The team runs workshops for the 9-12 demographic two times per month, featuring content such as Python and Ruby programming, web design and even 3D printing workshops.

“There are several girls who come back time and time again and we have seen so much growth with those girls, even hearing from their parents that their confidence has been built up since last year and that their inspiration to work with technology – and be a builder of technology – has been truly ignited,” said Plant.

“I definitely have my eye on a few girls and see them as future engineers.”

The group returned to Google as part of their March Break program due to the overwhelming success of their first trip. Plant was thrilled at the idea of having a panel of Google’s female employees, noting that it was very inspiring for the girls.

Google has also worked hard in promoting women in tech careers.

On Wednesday, Google Canada, partnered with Girls in Tech, Girl Geeks and Women & Tech, celebrated International Women’s Day with “A Hack for Her.” The groups teamed up in Kitchener, Ont. at Google’s Waterloo office to discuss issues facing women and develop a technical solution to those issues to be judged by a panel.

Google has also celebrated the careers of Ada Lovelace, often credited with being the world’s first computer programmer, and Anita Borg, a U.S. computer scientist and founder of the Institute for Women and Technology.

Google’s Toronto office is planning to partner with Ladies Learning Code in the future in order to get more age groups educated about career paths at Google.

Girls Learning Code is also hosting a summer camp for 9-13 year old girls in Toronto. To learn more or register visit www.girlslearningcode.com.