TRENDSETTING:
Inspiring Girls Who Code
Photo by Kyle Cavallaro
By Mayra Flores De Marcotte
I
t’s identified as the gender gap and has been a topic of heated discussion in recent years. According to various organizations, statistics and studies, there is a significant gap between males and females entering – and staying in – the computer science fields.
These trends are important to note because of the impact computer science will have on the future job market. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, there will be more than 1 million computer specialist job openings by 2020, but our universities will only produce 29 percent of the qualified graduates needed to fill these jobs.
The National Science Foundation found that computer science is the only field in which women are receiving fewer degrees since 2002 – only 18 percent compared with 37 percent 12 years ago.
At The Harker School, however, administrators, educators and students are setting their own trend by embracing computer science education and the school is encouraging all its students to explore the field by making it a graduation requirement. Robust class offerings include Digital World, a foundational class that offers insights into computer science history, the digital representation of data and computer architectures. Other classes offered include introductory and advanced programming, data structures, AP Computer Science and 11 courses in advanced topics
Even before getting to the college level, only 23 states – including California – and the District of Columbia count computer science as a graduation requirement and those offering AP computer science classes are down 35 percent since 2005, according to the National Center for Women and Information Technology. 6
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in computer science, seven of which are UC-approved courses. According to the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, only 5 percent of U.S. high schools are certified to teach AP computer science courses and only 10 percent of U.S. K-12 schools offer computer science classes at all. Harker’s dedication to teaching and inspiring all students equally, regardless of gender, makes for an inviting classroom atmosphere. “I think Harker is unique because it creates a safe environment where everyone feels like they have the chance to try anything without worrying about factors that could potentially ostracize them such as gender,” said Shivali Minocha, grade 11. “While students at other schools may find it unconventional to take computer science