Graham Jaehnig/Daily Mining Gazette Laura Albrant (right), and Alex Gore, students at Michigan Technological University, offer a new course, Girls Who Code, to elementary and middle school girls at the Hancock Public Schools. They are members of the international nonprofit Girls Who Code.

HANCOCK — As the future moves closer to the present, Hancock Public Schools is preparing its students to meet it by introducing Girls Who Code to students grades 3-8.

Girls Who Code is an international non-profit organization working to close the gender gap in technology, and leading the movement to inspire, educate and equip young women with the computing skills needed to pursue 21st century opportunities.

Since launching in the United States in 2012, the GWC website states, Girls Who Code has reached 185,000 girls through its programs (Clubs, Campus, Summer Immersion Program, College Loops), and 100 million people through campaigns, advocacy work, and 13-book New York Times best-selling series.

Girls Who Code has made a tremendous impact on the pipeline of girls and women entering computer science, states the organization’s website. Girls Who Code has reached 185,000 girls across the country, 30,000 of whom are now college-aged. GWC remains committed to supporting this growing cohort of alumni as they begin to enter the workforce. It is a body of work GWC considers increasingly urgent, particularly given the well-documented, highly-publicized history of bias, sexism, and discrimination within tech. GWC believes it is likely there is a direct connection between the discrimination women face in recruiting, and the harassment and retaliation that awaits them once they enter.

In 2018, GWC administered a survey of college-aged women within its network to better understand and quantify their experiences applying for internship and jobs in computer science.

The results revealed that the experiences ranged from bias to discrimination, to harassment, and were representative of startups and Fortune 500 companies alike. Respondents reported interviews doubting their abilities, facing all-white, all-male interview panels, feeling of overwhelming pressure to consider their appearance, being passed over for less qualified male candidates, and even being the targets of unwanted advances by male recruiters.

To counter these negative experiences, the GWC is committed to working with corporate partners, and the community, to put in place equitable hiring practices so that every girl has the opportunity to thrive in tech, the website states. Just part of that community outreach is comprised of GWC classes like the coding classes now offered at Hancock Schools.

To learn more about the program, and the Girls Who Code organization, visit their website at https://girlswhocode.com/.