Women in Coding – The Future Belongs to Them

The tech industry is witnessing an increased participation from women in coding. Female coders are creative and have the potential to handle various challenging positions in the industry. An Accenture Report indicates that there could be more than 3 million young women working in the tech industry by 2030 due to the inclusive culture. Most women are taking up coding classes online to upskill themselves and then find a job in the IT industry.

In the IT industry in India, the ratio of male participants is higher than female participants. The dynamic IT industry needs more female coders and programmers to reduce this gender gap.

A UNESCO Report aptly highlights the rising gender gap and inequality in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.

• In higher education globally, out of all the students enrolled in the STEM and related fields, only 35% are female.
• Only 28% of the researchers around the world are women.

Women taking up key leadership roles

• Participation of women in the IT industry is no longer confined to only programming and coding.
• More and more female coders are taking up leadership roles and positions such as CEO, COO, project manager, tech leader, and others.
• In the coming years, there will be a drastic increase in the number of women in coding, since the Government has taken important steps in introducing coding in schools.
• According to the National Education Policy 2020, coding has been made a mandatory subject from Class 6.

Coding – An important 21^st century skill

• Coding is one of the most essential skills to learn in the 21^st century.
• Female coders think creatively and out-of-the-box, communicate better, and can adapt easily to the changing work environment in the IT industry.
• The use of digital skills and tech gadgets have become an indispensable part of our day-to-day life.
• Many activities in everyday life are powered by technology.
• The apps that we use for booking a cab, or games that we play on the smartphone, coding is involved in everything.
• Hence, coding is an important skill of the 21^st century that women need to learn if they want to make a career in STEM or any related field.

Organizations encouraging female coders

• Many top companies in the IT industry are encouraging women who were on sabbatical after marriage or maternity to join back.
• To encourage the participation of women in coding, several organizations are offering a hybrid work option.
• Many companies are even continuing the work from home option, which allows female coders to work and take care of their family as well.
• There is a huge scarcity of female resources in the IT industry, especially when it comes to female coders, programmers, and analysts.
• The demand for women in coding and other functional roles is huge.

Many women are pursuing coding classes

• It is a myth that in order to be a successful coder, one must be an engineer or have a professional degree in science and mathematics.
• Even a woman who is from a non-science background can learn to code and make a successful career.
• At present, almost 40-50% of girls are going for coding classes, compared to merely 20-30% in the past. 
• There are many women, especially those who have taken a break from their career, pursuing a formal course in coding to upskill themselves.
• There are many coding classes online that encourage women coding.
• One such course to encourage mothers and inspire them to learn coding skills and artificial intelligence is Indian Mama’s Code.
• The Indian Mama’s Code is specifically designed and created by AI School of India for all mothers who want to update their tech skills by learning to code at their own pace
• The Indian Mama’s Code offers coding and AI courses exclusively for women, especially young mothers.
• In order to upskill and get well-paid jobs in the IT industry, it is important for women in AI to improve their qualification and gain hands-on learning experience in coding and programming.
• Coding classes like Indian Mamas Code encourage women in coding and provide them with the necessary skills they need to compete in the industry.

Representation of women in coding is a major problem

• One of the biggest reasons for the gender gap that exists in ICT is the lack of representation of women.
• Representation is crucial to encourage other women in coding, because women need to see other female coders succeed in the IT industry.
• Even if women enter the STEM or any other related tech industry, the sense of belongingness amongst the male counterparts is another challenge.

The creative and analytical bent of mind along with the self-awareness, and innovative ideas give women in coding a competitive edge over men in the IT industry. The world, especially the STEM field, requires more women in leadership roles. To witness a greater number of women in coding, it is the responsibility of parents, teachers, and the society to encourage women to pursue a career in the IT industry. For this purpose, it is vital to encourage learning STEM skills for girls from school.