Posts tagged with ‘videos’
Girls DO Code.
This week we released a series of videos satirizing ridiculous theories about why girls can’t code. Of course we know that girls CAN code, but each day women in tech - and many other industries - are faced with negative biases simply for being women. Thus, in addition to teaching girls to code, we have to change culture.
These videos are meant to spark conversation and reclaim stereotypes related to gender and appearance that have been used to exclude women from traditionally male-dominated fields like technology. We’re seeing an impact. The conversations in the comments sections of our videos and on social media are proof that there’s still work to be done to close the gender gap in tech, and we’re here to keep fighting the fight.
Here are some of our favorite comments:
“da fuck is this…”
“i love tits tho lol”
“You are wasting electricity with absolutely ridiculous tweets.”
“Feminism is about unattractive women whining for attention.“
“See? This is how you can tell western women really are privileged. They just make shit up to be upset about. Nobody has said women can’t/shouldn’t code. Fuck outta here lmao.“
“Why can’t girls code? Maybe because they are all busy getting gender studies degrees.“
“Instead of grandstanding and using your genitalia as a means of broadcasting this, start coding things. build yourselves up in the industry. Create startups and actually put that coding know-how to good use.”
“This is bullshit, no girls are excluded from tech stuff. It’s just that most girls prefer to cry about not having enough girls in tech instead of just learn science.“
“This is pathetic and ridiculous.”
“Why the fuck do women have to “womenize” every single fucking thing these days and make a fucking campaign or a hashtag out of it?”
“Yea we know you are a woman and can do everything a man can do and u deserve equal chance and shit bla bla… Now Calm d fuck down already… 😑😑”
And this comment sums it up:
“lmao this comment section is a clear example of why this video was needed and something so obvious like ‘girls do code’ be highlighted.“
Want to support the Girls Who Code movement? Start a , , or .
Margot Richaud: First Generation Coder
“With code, I was able to create a video game to raise awareness on gun control laws. The video game is called Gun Cleaners, and players use the up and down arrows to collect the assembly’s votes to help pass the gun control bill while avoiding being shot by guns. With a fun and addicting video game, we were able to help raise awareness about one our society’s most pressing problems.” - Margot Richaud
Meet Margot Richaud, one of the stars of our new YouTube Series, “My Code!” Margot is a 17 year-old from New York City. She’s the first person in her family to go to college and just received a Gates Millennium Scholarship for college. Margot plans to use her coding abilities to make a social impact - by educating people about gun laws and space debris - and one day hopes to start her own school that teaches computer science.
Learn more about Margot in our Q&A below and on
Q&A with Margot Richaud:
What’s your favorite subject?
My favorite subject is Computer Science. Ever since I learned how to code Computer Science has become more than just a subject, it has become my passion. I love that I can feed my curiosity of technology and be able to code fun video games, apps, websites, and so much more!
What was your dream job growing up?
Growing up, I wanted to be everything! I wanted to be an actor, veterinarian, dancer, and the typical jobs every kid would say. But the only job I truly remember pretending to be was a teacher. When I was little, I had a small black chalkboard and I would sit my dolls as if they were in a classroom. I would pretend to be a teacher and teach them the lesson I had learned earlier in school that day. I loved being able to teach my “students” and share my knowledge with them.
What’s your dream job now?
When I entered high school and took a computer science class, I realized I want to be a computer programmer. I have been coding for the past four years and I plan on expanding my programming skills in college to be a computer programmer!
You’re the first person in your family to go to college. How does that feel?
I am in the process of breaking my family’s barriers and going beyond their experiences and expectations. No one in my family has ever coded, much less heard about coding! When I told my family I loved coding and plan on majoring in Computer Science at college, they were stunned. It’s scary but also really exciting at the same time.
What made you join the Girls Who Code movement?
I was always surrounded by technology and never understood how it worked. Filled with curiosity, I questioned my family a lot about technology. Unfortunately, I never got any answers due to their lack of knowledge and understanding of how technology actually worked.
It wasn’t until my freshman year in high school that I became the first person in my family to know how to code. I joined the movement because I loved coding. Even though I knew how to code a little bit in Adobe Flash CS6, I craved for more knowledge. The Summer Immersion Program helped support and encourage me to follow my dream. I may not be fluent in coding but I do have a passion to become proficient at it.
Did you always like computers?
I was always interested in computers! I remember when I was elementary school, my mom would either take me to the park or let me play games on the computer after I finished my homework.
Whenever I used and played games on the computer, I couldn’t stop wondering how it was possible to make a computer function and see all of those cool animations in the games. All we have to do is push the power button to turn on the computer and push the arrow keys during the game, but there must be sooo much more behind it. It wasn’t until I learned how to code that I finally had the answer to the wonders of how computers and video games functioned. Even though I really don’t know how to code a computer yet, I at least know the gist of why computers work!
Do you think coding is creative?
Coding is beyond creative! With code you can create almost anything that comes to your mind. You can code a video game, app, website, and even a robot! During the , I was able to code a robot that danced to “Can’t Feel My Face” by The Weeknd. With code, I was able to create a video game to raise awareness on gun control laws. The video game is called Gun Cleaners, and players use the up and down arrows to collect the assembly’s votes to help pass the gun control bill while avoiding being shot by guns. With a fun and addicting video game, we were able to help raise awareness about one our society’s most pressing problems.
What’s the hardest part of learning to code?
The hardest part of learning to code is not getting it right the first time, but that is a huge part of coding. When I was first learning how to code in Java, I kept forgetting to place a semi-colon at the end of some statements. There will be many times when our code does not function, but it’s only up to you to take the challenge and work to fix the error.
Have you ever experienced stereotypes as a girl who codes?
I go to an all girls school and my computer science class is filled with all girls. However, there are times when I wonder what it would be like to be in a co-ed computer science class. Eventually, I am going to have to code and work in a co-ed environment but I’m glad that I started to learn to code in an all-female nurturing environment.
How has coding made you more confident?
I have learned to be okay with failing. Additionally, I am one of the few percent of women and latinas who know how to code and that is amazing. Being a girl who codes is truly empowering. My programming skills helped me create and grow, making me more confident in my abilities and myself.
Tell us about a time you overcame failure.
I honestly have overcome many failures. At the end of the day, how I got back up is what truly matters. After I fail, I work twice as hard the next time so I don’t crash again. It it my persistence and strong ambition that motivates me to do better.
Which of your recently used emojis describes you perfectly?
💩 ⭐️ 👑 . The poop emoji is the most used in my keyboard haha. I am the one who greets my friends with the 💩 emoji and call them my “poopers”. Also, instead of cursing (which I don’t) I use 💩 emoji haha. The ⭐️ represents me because I think of myself as a ⭐️. I always work my hardest so I can win wear the 👑 .
What’s your favorite piece of technology?
My absolute most favorite piece of technology is my phone! I think it is beyond amazing how I can communicate with my friends, take pictures, play games, and keep updated on the world with just my phone!
Who is your role model?
My mom is my #1 role model! She is the most hard working, loving, and inspiring person in my life. She is a single mother who takes care of two kids, works for hours, and always pushes me to do my best. My mom is the one to put her kids before her, she prefers to give us the best because she wants us to have what she may have not always had. The stories she tells me about her past, sacrifices, and moments of struggle motivate me to have a successful future so I can finally take care of her. Apart from being my mom, she is also my best friend. I have such an amazing relationship with my mother because we joke around like little kids, talk in funny voices, share gossip, and obsess over clothes.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received from your mom?
The best piece of advice my mom ever gave me was, “trabaja duro, lucha por lo mejor, y nunca te des por vencida.” Which translates to: “Work hard, strive for the best, and never give up.” My mom has always told me that the decisions I make about my life will only affect me. If I decide to work hard or not, that will only affect me and my future. Whether I continue striving for the best or give up, it will also affect my future. I only have one life and I must make the best out of it.
What would you say to the girl who thinks coding is not for her?
I would tell her, “Maybe. But have you actually tried coding?” Coding probably seems and sounds geeky, hard, and not something a girl would usually do. Then I would say, “Keep going at it, girl!” Never give up because you find something too hard. Once you get it right, all the struggle will be worth it.
Follow Margot:
- Instagram: @mar.richaud
- Twitter: @MargotRichaud
- Snapchat: @mar_margooot
- Pinterest: @LittleMargot
- Linkedin: Margot Richaud
Interested in learning how to code like Margot?
COMING THIS SPRING: “MY CODE” ON YOUTUBE!
“My Code” is a show with your new BFFs Audrey, Brittney, Margot & Shannon. They’ll be giving you tips and tricks on how pursue your passions and build the world of your dreams through code.
Audrey Thompson
Brittney Hill
Margot Richard
Shannon Yan
What’s your code? Let us know in the comments!
Subscribe and spread the word!
Reshma Saujani’s TED Talk: Teach Girls Bravery, Not Perfection
The following is a transcript of Reshma Saujani’s TED talk at the annual conference in Vancouver.
A few years ago, I did something really brave. Or, some would say really stupid.
I ran for Congress.
For years, I had existed safely behind the scenes in politics, as a fundraiser, as an organizer. But in my heart, I always wanted to run.
The sitting Congresswoman had been in my district since 1992. She had never lost a race and no one had really ever run against her in a democratic primary. In my mind, this was my way to make a difference, to disrupt the status quo.
The polls, however, told a VERY different story. My pollster said I was crazy — that there was no way that I could win. But I ran anyway, and in 2012 I became an upstart in a New York City Congressional race.
I swore I was gonna win! I had an endorsement from , , and. I raised money from everyone I knew, including Indian aunties that were just so happy an Indian girl was running.
On Election Day, the polls were right and I only got 19% of the vote. The same papers that said I was a rising political star now said I wasted $1.3 million dollars on 6,321 votes.
Don’t do the math! It was humiliating.
Now, before you get the wrong idea, this is not a talk about the importance of failure. Nor is it about “Leaning In.”
I tell you this story of how I ran for Congress because I was 33 years old, andit was the first time in my entire life that I had done something that was truly brave, where I did not worry about being perfect. I’m not alone. So many women that I talk to tell me that they gravitate towards careers or positions that they know they’re gonna be great in, that they know they’re going to be perfect in. And it’s no wonder why.
Most girls are taught to avoid failure and risk. To smile pretty, play it safe, get all A’s. Boys, on the other hand, are taught to play rough, swing high, crawl to the top of the monkey bars and then jump off head first. By the time they’re adults and whether they’re negotiating a raise or even asking someone out on a date, men are habituated to take risk after risk. They’re rewarded for it. It’s often said in Silicon Valley that no one even takes you seriously unless you’ve had two failed startups. In other words, we’re raising our girls to be perfect and we’re raising our boys to be brave.
Some people worry about our federal deficit. But I worry about our bravery deficit. Our economy, our society, we’re losing out because we’re not raising our girls to be brave. The bravery deficit is the reason why women are underrepresented in STEM, in C-suites, in boardrooms, in Congress, and pretty much everywhere you look.
In the 1980s, . She found that bright girls were quick to give up. The higher the IQ, the more likely they were to give up. Bright boys, on the other hand, found the difficult material to be a challenge, they found it energizing. They were more likely to redouble their efforts.
What’s going on? At the 5th grade level, girls routinely outperform boys in every subject, including math and science. So, it’s not a question of ability. The difference is in how boys and girls approach a challenge. It doesn’t just end in 5th grade.
found that men will apply for a job if they meet only 60% of the qualifications. But women? Women will apply only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. 100%! This study is usually invoked as evidence that women need a little more confidence. But I think it’s evidence that women have been socialized to aspire to perfection and are overly cautious. Even when we’re ambitious and we “lean in”, that socialization of perfection has caused us to take fewer risks in our careers.
So, , women are being left behind. It means our economy is being left behind on all the innovation and problems women would solve if they were socialized to be brave instead of socialized to be perfect.
In 2012, . What I found is that by teaching them to code, I had socialized them to be brave. Coding is an endless process of trial and error, trying to get the right command in the right place, with sometimes just a semicolon making the difference between success and failure. Code breaks and falls apart. It often takes many, many tries until that magical moment when what you’re trying to build comes to life. It requires perseverance. It requires imperfection.
We immediately see in our program our girls fear of not getting it right, of not being perfect. Every Girls Who Code teacher tells me the same story. During the first lesson, a young girl will call her over and say she does not know what code to write. The teacher will look at her screen and she’ll see a blank text editor. If the teacher didn’t know any better, she’d think her student spent the past 20 minutes just staring at the screen. If she presses “UNDO” a few times, she’ll see that her student wrote code and deleted it. The student tried. She came close. But she didn’t get it exactly right. Instead of showing the progress that she made, she’d rather show nothing at all. Perfection or bust!
It turns out that our girls are really good at coding. But it’s not enough just to teach them to code. My friend Lev Brie, who teaches intro to Java at Columbia University, tells a story about his office hours with computer science students. The guys who are struggling with an assignment will come in and say “Professor, there’s something wrong with my code.” The girls will come in and say, “Professor, there’s something wrong with me.”
We have to begin to undo the socialization of perfection — and we have to combine it with a sisterhood that lets girls know that they are not alone, because trying harder is not gonna fix a broken system. I cannot tell you how many women tell me, “I’m afraid to raise my hand. I’m afraid to ask a question because I don’t want to be the only one who doesn’t understand, the only one who’s struggling.”
When we teach girls to be brave and we have a supportive network cheering them on, they will build incredible things! I see this everyday. For instance, take — yes, Tampon Run — to take on the menstruation taboo and the sexism in gaming. Or the Syrian refugee who dared to show love for her new country by building an app to help Americans get to the polls. Or a 16-year old girl who built an algorithm to help detect whether a cancer is benign or malignant, on the off chance of saving her daddy’s life because he has cancer!
These are just three examples of thousands. Thousands of girls who have been socialized to be imperfect. Who’ve learned to keep trying, who’ve learned perseverance. Whether they become coders or whether they become the next Hillary Clinton or Beyonce, they will not defer their dreams.
Those dreams have never been more important for our country. For the American economy, for any economy to grow, to TRULY innovate, we cannot leave behind half our population! We have to socialize our girls to be comfortable with imperfection and we need to do it now. We can’t wait for them to learn how to be brave like I did when I was 33 years old.
We have to teach them to be brave in school and early in their careers when it has the most potential to impact their lives and the lives of others. We have to show them that they will be accepted and loved — not for being perfect, but for being courageous.
So, I need each of you to tell every young woman you know — your sister, your niece, your employee, your colleague — to be comfortable with imperfection. Because when we teach girls to be imperfect, and we help them leverage it, we will build a movement of young women who are brave and who will build a better world — for themselves, and for each and every one of us.
Thank you.