And, she said, reaching young kids — as Girls Who Code has done on a smaller scale — is key to improving tech's gender problems long-term. “That’s why we’re teaching computer science in kindergarten.”Another reason could be that making such a change on a bigger scale takes time. Many of today's most visible programs launched to get girls interested in coding have started within the past decade. At the other end of the pipeline, Saujani said she thinks that it's possible to close the tech gender gap in a decade — if advocates can direct the energy, focus on gathering good data and setting metrics, and follow through on their goals. “We have their attention — policy is being sought out right now about how to get to every child interested in computer science.

Source: Washington Post February 17, 2017 18:36 UTC