When it comes to entering a male-dominated field like tech, there’s a lot standing in a girl’s way. Girls, after all, are just too beautiful and emotional to truly succeed at something as intense as coding, right?
If that sounds ridiculous, it’s because it is — and Girls Who Code is starting a conversation about these bogus stereotypes.
The nonprofit, which works to close the gender gap in tech, launched a new three-part video series this week called Girls Do Code. Using satire and deadpan humor, the series sheds light on offensive stereotypes surrounding girls in tech, all while highlighting the need to change them.
The videos focus on three main topics that, according to misguided popular opinion, keep girls from being successful coders: boobs, beauty and menstruation.
“When I’m not menstruating, I’m ovulating so there’s no time to code at all.”
“When I’m not menstruating, I’m ovulating, so there’s no time to code at all,” laments one girl.
“I don’t even have boobs yet and they still get in the way,” another says. “It’s crazy.”
The humor in the videos is silly and shameless, but places much-needed attention on a topic that is anything but laughable.
“There are already a ton of inspirational videos about why girls should code,” Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of Girls Who Code, said in a release.
“We wanted to try something different … Our hope is these videos will spark a much-needed conversation about the messages we send our young women, and what we can do to create a more inclusive, well-rounded image of a programmer.”
Girls are constantly shamed for being “too sensitive” and their bodies labeled “too distracting” to men in school or the workplace. This devaluing of women exists everywhere — but it’s especially apparent when looking at the tech industry’s gender problem.
In middle school, 74% of girls express interest in science, technology, engineering and math. But when choosing a college major, only 0.4% of high school girls choose computer science. By the time they reach college, women make up only 1 in 5 computer science grads.
That gap, according to Girls Who Code, starts when adolescent girls are taught — implicitly and explicitly — that coding is too nerdy and too male for them.
“These videos may seem absurd, but sadly they’re not so off the mark.”
“These videos may seem absurd, but sadly they’re not so off the mark,” said Margot Richaud, a Girls Who Code alumna. “As a high school senior, I’ve had classmates and teachers tell me that coding is not for me, or that I’d be better off focusing on design and making something look pretty.'”
Richaud said these comments, plus the stereotypes we see every day, keep a lot of her friends from considering computer science as a career path.
But blasting stereotypes around women in tech isn’t the only barrier-busting part of the series. Susan Young, group creative director of the campaign, said that the series highlights another misconception about girls.
“There’s also the notion that girls can’t appreciate this kind of humor — also a ridiculous stereotype,” she said.
According to Adweek, the campaign may also move to television, depending on donated media. But, for now, you can check out all the humorous and thought-provoking videos here.
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