While the demand for professionals in the field of digitization is growing, the percentage of ICT specialists in Italy, in which only 49% of women work, stands at 14.8%. It is to overcome these invisible (but very real) barriers made of gender prejudices and stereotypes, that the Girls Code it Better initiative was born.
The Officina Futuro Fondazione W-Group project aims to bring girls closer to Stem technology and careers (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).
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Made for lower and upper secondary schools, Girls Code it Better allows female students to participate in extracurricular workshops, called clubs, focused on digital and entrepreneurship paths.
They can apply until April 23 by accessing the Girlscodeitbetter.it website and reaching the section dedicated to applications for schools.
In the afternoon and free extra-curricular clubs in the first grade (45 hours) and second grade (35 hours) secondary schools, 20 girls led by a coach-teacher, a school teacher and a figure with technical skills tackle a theme and elaborate a project that involves the development of a technical area chosen from:
• Electronic cards and automation;
• 3D design, modeling and printing;
• Web design e web development;
• App and gaming programming;
• Virtual and augmented reality;
• Videomaking.
The initiative
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“Much research suggests that already in primary school many boys and girls assimilate the idea that talent is a male quality. This stereotype soon begins to shape interests in childhood and is likely, especially for girls, to contribute to narrow the range of choice of future career. – commented Costanza Turrini, creator and manager of Girls Code it Better – The program was born precisely from the desire to favor the thinkability of paths close to aptitudes, of great appeal for the world of work and not necessarily linked to gender models and the social roles assigned to women. “
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Started in the 2014/2015 school year, Girls Code it Better has created 309 clubinvolving more than 6,000 girls and 155 schools in 14 regions around Italy. In the current school year 80 Clubs have been activated, for the next one the aim is to reach 150. The candidacy will also be made by those schools that have participated in past editions.