Why do we exist?
Code for Cape Town
We are a community of young tech leaders
- All our members are women
- All our members can code
- Our members are in secondary or tertiary studies
- Our community is represented in over 60 schools and study institutions
The ability to code gives a person influence
Technology is infused into the 21c work environment and civic society and so the people who are best positioned to contribute to the global economy and civic society are those with a 21C skill set, which includes being able to code.
Women are unnecessarily excluded from civic society and the economy by a lack of technical expertise.
Only 1 in 5 global IT executives are women. That means that women are not fairly represented in the big decisions about the technology we use everyday.
To change this in the future, we need young women to be equipping themselves with technical expertise, but of the learners enrolled in IT as a school subject in the Western Cape, only 23% are girls.
It is not true that women are inherently less likely to be good at coding.
But then what is going on?
Gender norms mean that many girls choose against IT related career and study paths.
Societal structures maintain a cycle that keeps women out. A person is more likely to be able to use technology effectively in the economy and civil society if they have high levels of education, employment and income. However, the structure of society means that globally women, and particularly black women, are undereducated, underemployed and underpaid which has a negative effect on women’s likeliness to use technology effectively.
We can break the cycle that keeps women from having influence in the global tech economy.
By giving young women a sought-after, highly paid skill we give them access into a competitive industry.
By making young women in IT visible we can shift gender norms and stereotypes that result in women self deselecting from IT study paths.
We believe society and our economy stand to benefit from the contributions of women, and that by including women we bring positive change for all.
What do we do?
Code for Cape Town intervenes so that young women, particularly black women, can be equipped with the skills they need to have influence in the global tech economy.
- We create an educational community that is in favour of women in IT.
- We identify talented young women with strong technical aptitude as well as leadership potential.
- We equip our members with a 21C skill set through a series of events, workshops and online course materials.
- We connect our members to opportunities to grow their professional network.
- We provide financing for our members to study in the field of IT.