Girls Who Code Alum takes the stand to fight for girls’ participation in CS
Girls Who Code Alum, Brenna Nieva testified on behalf of Girls Who Code to the Washington State House and Senate Education Committees, advocating for passage of an act that would track and report data on girls’ participation in K-12 computer science courses (HB 1577 / SB 5574)
Written by Brenna Nieva, Girls Who Code Alum
Each one of us has a flame inside us, a desire to change the world. We grow up surrounded by stories of superheroes saving the day. Naturally, we aspire to become one, although not all heroes wear capes.
For me, I wanted to be a superhero who changes the world through technology. I took my very first computer programming class in 7th grade. On the first day, I was the first to arrive. As the other students trickled in, I waited for another female student to arrive, hoping to find a friend. Eventually, I realized that I was going to be the only girl in the entire class. That sparked a flame to go above and beyond. I was lucky to have the encouragement and support of my teacher, Mr. Madison, and completed the class with multiple acknowledgments for projects I had completed. I left knowing that coding was something that I wanted to pursue.
In every other computing class I have taken, I have been the only girl until I was introduced to Girls Who Code’s Summer Immersion Program a few years ago. This seven-week program taught my class of 17 girls the skills that we needed in able to pursue a career in computer science. We had an amazing team of support from both the Girls Who Code and the Twitter staff that hosted us. On the very first day, we were told that this career wasn’t going to be easy, that we were going to be the minority in a male-dominant field, but that is exactly why we were needed. Their belief in us made us believe in ourselves. The mentors that I had met there encouraged me throughout high school and while applying to colleges. It was only with their support and inspiration that I am here advocating that all girls have access to similar opportunities and support.
Too many girls in Washington don’t have access to the same programs and inspirational mentors that I did, and we are losing out on their innovations as a result. HB 1577 would take the first step toward closing the gender gap in computer science classrooms by shining a light on where those gaps are. What gets measured gets managed, and you can’t change what you can’t see. And right now, we can’t see the full extent of the gender gap in computer science classrooms because we aren’t tracking it. Knowing that huge equity gaps exist in computer science jobs and higher education, we must ensure that our schools are not perpetuating these gaps. This bill will allow us to create effective interventions that will effectively close the gender gap and bring girls into the forefront of computer science classrooms.
Today’s modern day superheroes keep our world turning, and spark innovation and change at every turn. In 2016, of the 64,000 students graduating with computer science degrees, only 18 percent were women. HB 1577 is the opportunity to right this imbalance, and ensure that we are teaching girls to become wonder women. We are the future of the STEM field. With your support, we have the power to change the world.
Brenna Nieva is a high school senior and a Girls Who Code Alum. She participated in our Summer Immersion Program hosted by Twitter in 2017. She spoke on behalf of Girls Who Code in support of HB 1577 on February 14, 2019 to the Washington State House Committee on Education.
