Girls’ participation in technology and engineering activities gaining momentum as community and corporate organisations collaborate to ensure change reaches the workplace.

Dublin: October 11, 2016 – More girls are participating in technology and engineering activities because grassroots, academic and industry organisations are working together, with events like Coder Girl Hack Day leading the way.

Taking Place on October 15th at Dogpatch Labs, in Dublin's CHQ Building, the Coder Girl Hack Day introduces girls and their families to the possibilities of technology and engineering careers through free learning sessions that include Maker Craft, Wearable Electronics, Web Development, and Python workshops.

Mary Finegan, Vice President Program Management at Movidius, offers:

Today, computer programmers are expected to be male, nerdy and antisocial - an odd, and self-fulfilling prophesy that forgets the women that the entire field was built upon.

We in Movidius feel that this Coder Girls Hack Day is an excellent initiative to encourage more balance in this very ‘male’ leaning industry. It is our hope that the day will give girls insights into the profession, remove the mystery and ‘nerdy’ undertones and showcase a sector that is highly creative, dynamic and offers excellent career opportunities and satisfaction.

By experiencing what it is to code, design and build, girls gain an insight into the exciting opportunities available to those graduating from third level courses in technology and engineering. Hands-on activities have proven to result in increasing girls’ interest in these fields, with Coder Girl Hack Day Co-Founder Niambh Scullion citing CoderDojo as an example:

CoderDojo is passionate about gender equality. Over the past few years the movement has striven to increase the participation of girls in the CoderDojo community. Success has been seen through the Coolest Projects Awards, where the percentage of young girls participating reached 33% in 2016 rising from 30% in 2015.

As numerous studies, including those commissioned by Microsoft and Accenture, have indicated that parents are a major influence on a child’s decision to pursue STEM courses and careers, Coder Girl Hack Day also draws the girls’ parents into the learning in order to perpetuate interest in technology and engineering into the home.

Fellow Coder Girl Hack Day organisers Vicky Twomey-Lee, who is a Co-Founder of Coding Grace, and Jeffrey Roe, who is the CEO of Tog Hackerspace, identify this parent element is in keeping with their organisations’ remits to bring knowledge to the whole family.

Coding Grace runs diversity-friendly coding workshops for adults. We've successfully partnered with Coder Dojo Girls in the past running parent and child coding sessions. We are delighted to do the same with Coder Girl Hack Day which gives parents and guardians an opportunity to learn about Python on the day.

Tog Hackerspace is delighted to be a part of Coder Girl Hack Day see the event as a vital part of our outreach program in bringing hackerspace style learning to all.

Joining Coder Dojo Girls, Coding Grace and Tog Hackerspace at this year’s Coder Girl Hack Day—which occurs during EU Code Week and celebrates International Day of the Girl—are Movidius, Intel, GitLab and Python Software Foundation as well as University of Limerick’s Course Director for Digital Media Design, Nora O Murchú. Working together, these organisations hope to inspire girls to pursue technology and engineering careers.

High Resolution photography available For Information:

Email: girls@coderdojodcu.com web: https://codergirlhackday.com/

Booking a place: http://www.eventbrite.ie/e/codergirlhackday-10am-4pm-tickets-27380915054