Acquiring a new skill such as coding can be instrumental in enabling individuals to provide for their basic needs. In numerous instances, it can determine one’s ability to financially support their children’s education. Diane Kris brought to our notice the significance of women in coding through a tweet. For those unfamiliar, Kris, a software engineer at Tumblr, was a member of the inaugural cohort at Girls Who Code—an organization dedicated to reducing the gender disparity in technology occupations by empowering girls aged 13 to 17. Kris shared on Twitter:

Coding is frequently seen as a miraculous solution capable of resolving various challenges. Lately, there has been a significant emphasis on introducing more women to coding roles to address a persistently widening gender gap. However, a disconcerting statistic has emerged—only 14% of software engineers in the workforce are women. This isn’t merely a gender gap; it’s more accurately described as a gender ‘chasm.’ To understand whether this skewed gender ratio in technology has always existed or if it distorted over time, particularly since the advent of the first computers disrupting the landscape, we delved into the origins.

The prevalent, and somewhat stereotypical, image of the unkempt and reclusive male coder wasn’t always the standard. In the 1940s, coding was perceived as a task demanding precision and meticulous repetition—resembling activities such as knitting or diligently following a complex recipe, tasks often associated with women. Notably, women possessed an inventive spirit, exemplified by Lady Ada Lovelace, who authored the world’s first code. She crafted a code for calculating the Bernoulli sequence of numbers for Charles Babbage’s proposed Analytical Engine. Despite the machine never materializing, Lady Ada’s code stands as a groundbreaking achievement.

During World War II, women took the lead in codebreaking, utilizing large computer-like number-crunching machines. Their remarkable contributions to the war effort are vividly portrayed in films like “The Imitation Game” and “The Bletchley Circle.” Post-war, computers transitioned from being classified military secrets to disruptive scientific inventions. As computers were still in their infancy, both laboratories and companies sought individuals with the right aptitude, opening doors for numerous talented and renowned women coders in the 1950s and 1960s.

Examining the roster of renowned female coders and the timeline outlined above naturally prompts the question of what transpired with women in coding during the 1990s. In an article by The New York Times titled “A Secret History of Women in Coding,” several significant factors contributing to the decline in the representation of women in coding are elucidated.

1. Changing Perceptions About Coding
   Coding, despite great demand, was considered a menial or rather secretarial job till the ‘70s. But, as soon as coding started being perceived as cerebral, men, not women, were considered better suited to it. Looks like society pulled a Rosie the Riveter on women coders!
2. Lack of Equal Opportunities
   In the ‘80s, most American homes started having personal computers (PCs). These PCs were most often installed in rooms of boys, not girls. Like baseball, computers became a source of male bonding among fathers and sons or friends. So, when boys came to coding courses in college, they were already way ahead of their female counterparts.
3. Inclusion of Entrance Tests
   In the ‘50s and ‘60s, both men and women who trained in coding had never seen a computer before. So, women students got admission into courses on the basis of nothing more than an aptitude test. By the ‘80s, the demand for coding courses had snowballed and the universities had to add testing criteria for selection which ruled out many women students who had no prior experience with coding.
4. Cultural Hegemony
   The vibe in campuses and in the job market was that you needed to code obsessively to be a good coder. This is when the prototype of a reclusive and nerdy coder with screen tan became itched in our collective consciousness. While this persona fitted men very well, it wasn’t acceptable for women to exhibit these characteristics.
   The result? Fewer women applied to professional coding courses; even fewer graduated due to drop offs. And finally, the small number that made it to the job market did not end up getting a fair share there as well.

Although, The number of women in specialist IT roles in India is significantly higher than in the UK, a research by Open University has found.

In collaboration with the Indian IT trade association firm Nasscom, the study focused on IT professionals and middle management in companies in both the UK and India. The findings indicate that 35% of individuals holding specialized technology roles in India are women, in contrast to the 17% observed in the UK.

How can more women learn coding?

History may not have always dealt women a fair playing hand when it comes to coding professionally. But technology has leveled the playing field to a great extent. The constructive efforts by many organizations are also adding momentum to attempts at correcting this gender imbalance.

The following are some of the commendable highlights in the journey to having gender parity in coding jobs:

1. Toolkits
   Coding is a skill like any other and it cannot be completed without basic tools. Aspiring coders must learn to code. So, Girls Who Code catch them early between 13-17 years of age. They can enroll into various boot-camps and online courses on various platforms.
2. Peer-to-peer Learning
   The TinkerHub Foundation, based out of Kerala in India, has introduced an interesting concept of peer-to-peer learning that can help students on campuses learn new technologies from peers by picking up a problem-solving approach. The CEO of TinkerHub, Mehar Mossa tells us, “In India, we study to get a degree and then a job. But that cannot be the end of learning when technology is growing so fast. That culture needs to change.”
   Mossa started the Women in Technology wing of TinkerHub encouraged by the response he got from women on campuses. “We have the highest engagement from women participants for any tech events”, he explains.

Success Stories

Apart from the efforts mentioned above, success stories of other women coders can be a very strong impetus for more women to learn coding. So, we caught up with women from diverse backgrounds who have mastered the art of coding to know more about their inspiring journeys.

Coding for Working Moms

Emily Lubkert from North Carolina also comes from a teaching background and was looking to switch her career path. With two kids, she needed a job that had slightly more flexible timings than a school. She took the Professional Certificate in Coding: Full Stack Development with MERN from MIT xPRO without too much experience in coding. “I had a computer paper in college. But I never pursued it professionally so I assumed that door was shut,” she says. However, six months, a course, and some networking later, she is on her way to a new career! “I have been told that this is a good time to be a woman coder as a lot of companies are trying to correct the gender imbalance’, she says.

Leading by Example

Ananya R, a 24-year-old coder who works as a Community Manager at Google Developer Relations, told us that India has a unique problem. “Enough number of women study technology in India. But, they don’t pursue it as aggressively as men. Women usually leave tech careers after they get married or start a family,” she explains. Ananya, for the last one year, is trying to address this gender imbalance in her own way by working with Women in Technology, the women’s wing of TinkerHub. She conducts workshops in campuses and motivates more female students to take up coding seriously. “We have to put a face to women in coding. Only then can the girls relate,” she sums up, rather aptly.

Catch you in the next edition of