Girls Can’t Code And Other Modern Myths

Coding essentials

The annual intake of computer professionals ranges from about 418,500 openings. The job outlook in the computer and information technology domain is projected to grow 15 percent from 2021 to 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations. Women make up 47% of the U.S. workforce, yet women software engineers are just over 25%.

Girls and Coding

The myth that girls can’t code is disrespectful; not only to young women who might have wanted to pursue careers in coding but also to the industry and our economy as a whole. The fact is, the idea that males are better coders than females is a myth. Female coders are not exceptional.

There are several top professionals honored in the IT field who are women, including:

• Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) – is arguably one of the pioneers in computer programming
• Grace Hopper – Developer of the early COBOL programming language
• Anita Borg – Founder of Systers- mailing for technical women in computing
• Marissa Mayer – CEO of Yahoo, former the first female engineer at Google.

The researchers found that the software repository GitHub approved code was written by women at a higher rate (78.6%) than men (74.6%), regardless of the gender gap. 

The gender gap in Indian IT companies is closing, and IT companies are targeting 45-50% of their total female workforce.

Modern Myths

There is still a widespread common myth talked about “Women are less ambitious than men.” A Boston Consulting Group survey of data collected from two global BCG data sources of more than 200,000 respondents clearly shows that women begin their careers with just as much ambition as men.

Another modern myth about women is they competitive –as they lack testosterone but estrogen. This is baseless because what do hormones have to do with competitiveness? There is no relation between masculinity and intelligence as far as coding is concerned. The Journal of Social Psychology suggests that self-estimates of the intelligence of non-gender-typed men and women should be similar, as should ratings of the intelligence of other men and women.

The same goes for emotions. Another myth ‘Women are more emotional’ is a way not true, as emotions depend on personal traits and character building rather than gender. Scientific studies show that men are just as emotional, if not more so than women, but they are better at hiding it.

Psychological and sociological studies show females are more empathic and better adaptive to changes and new situations compared to men. For coding, the ability to empathize with others can make women better leaders in teams or understanding and coding for computer systems. On the other hand, adaptability is great when understanding and solving problems, or even analyzing code while they learn as a part of a regular curriculum.

Girls should code

Girls learning to code is not a new marvel. On the contrary, girls can excel better in coding than another gender. Women are now breaking out of the barrier of traditional social etiquette and shyness and gaining the same confidence as men.  In today’s era of gender equality, it is absurd to believe that modern mythology discriminates against women’s power.

In the context of the computerized world, given that coding is one of the fastest growing fields today, women coding can become part of a larger job market and command a higher premium for their work than the other fields.

One of the best outcomes of learning to code is how girls can overcome the stereotype that men can do technical tasks better. Given the opportunity to learn to code, girls can excel at coding and do anything in STEM if they work hard. So coding is ideal for girls who think big.

Reasons why girls should learn coding

Some of the key reasons why girls should learn to do coding are:

• Girls who learn to code are ahead of the curve. After all, the world of technology is shaping the times we live in and the way forward. In today’s world, the computer-literate are more poised for success than simply the illiterate.
• Girls who learn to code are better placed to keep up with men in the workplace.
• Girls who know coding can work in some of the fortune 500 companies and biggest brands like Google, Facebook, NASA, etc.
• Coding can open up a world of possibilities for girls too, allowing them to develop their apps, and web portals and shine in specialized fields like automation and robotics.
• Learning to code enhances critical thinking, maths, and logical reasoning and encourages girls to tackle bigger problems. Coding teaches them to manage tasks by breaking them down into smaller, more manageable bits and work resolutions.

One of the best outcomes of learning to code is how girls can overcome the stereotype that men can do technical tasks better. Given the opportunity to learn to code, girls can excel at coding and do anything in STEM if they work hard. So coding is ideal for girls who think big.

Also read, the importance of coding .