Code Huntresses : Promoting gender equity in ICTs

Abstract

Multiple metaphors are used to describe the gender gap in areas of knowledge linked to careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. One of them is the existence of a "glass ceiling" that prevents women from reaching higher levels in their professional development. There is also talk of the "leaky pipeline" to describe when women begin an educational or professional path, but gradually leave it, either for personal reasons or because of institutional barriers, stereotypes and other forms of discrimination. Many of these "leaks" are encountered from their passage through secondary education. Working with adolescent girls at the secondary school level, seeking to provide them with key knowledge of these disciplines and encouraging them to choose careers in this area, has been a strategy chosen by several organizations around the world. In this sense, and taking advantage of the celebration of the International Day of Girls in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), the Faculty of Engineering of the University of the Republic has been giving technological workshops for several years to adolescents between 12 and 16 years of age as a way of promoting ICT careers in Uruguay. This article presents in detail the "Code Huntresses" workshop so that it can be replicated and/or adapted by other institutions, and also presents the results obtained from the first edition of the workshop.