Thank you for having me here today on behalf of Canada Learning Code, and please note that I'll be happy to answer any questions following my statement.
As the youth programming director of Canada Learning Code, I have the great privilege of working with my team to develop and provide accessible technology education experiences for the youth of our nation, particularly young girls.
I have the lived experience of a woman in STEM, particularly the “T” in STEM, the technology side. I am able to teach digital literacy skills at the post-secondary level, and I have held positions within organizations requiring me to hire for technology-related careers. This experience has helped me to understand just how problematic the gender gap is in this nation, and it ultimately led me here, with Canada Learning Code, to address this issue in a very systemic design lens on education.
The stark reality of the gender gap in technology is made evident by taking a quick scan across the room in your average computer lab classroom, by looking at the teams who build all the mobile applications we use on a daily basis, and by considering some research.
Studies state that women represent less than 25% of technology roles within Canada, and that of those women who make it in the industry, 25% are exiting the industry due to sexism or the experience of unwelcome workplace environments—all this while women make up half of our population. This is a problem.
Women are key decision-makers in Canadian households. Women are influencers of our next generation of scientists, technologists, engineers, and mathematicians. Actually, women represent the larger proportion of educators in our classrooms.
Because technology is an ongoing and ever-growing driver of innovation within multiple industries, we have an opportunity as a nation to minimize the gender gap and to ensure that we are working towards a more prosperous and unified nation.
How can we address this issue? There is no one causal factor. It is very complex, very systemic, and therefore there is no one solution to all of this.
What we do know, however, is that the causes of the gender gap in technology have nothing to do with biological differences. In fact, while many of us doubt it, there have been numerous research studies out there to demystify this. There is zero evidence that there are aptitude differences in math between women and men.
What we should be assessing is the design of things. What I mean by this is the design of experiences that we are all exposed to from the moment we are born. These are the experiences that shape what we feel we are capable of doing and what we can do. They shape our understanding of how the world works, of what leadership looks like, and of who can play a role in developing new technology.
We must empower women and young girls to feel confident, to equip them with the skills and knowledge to go beyond being consumers of technology and become creators.
We believe at Canada Learning Code that tech education can play a significant role in this. With Canada Learning Code, we have the privilege of designing accessible, inclusive learning experiences for women and young girls, who make up two groups of Canadians that have been historically marginalized and under-represented.
We have programs for adult women. The ladies learning code program aims to provide beginner-level technology experiences for adult women along with mentorship from those in the industry.
Our youth programs are all about sparking the curiosity and interest of girls at an early age, and then providing support along the way as they bloom towards adulthood.
Our programs for teachers are for educators of all sorts, which are meant to equip educators with all of the resources, the skills, the confidence, and the training to enable them to introduce digital literacy within the classroom at the primary school level.
As we work towards having equity, diversity, and inclusion by being better represented within the workforce, at Canada Learning Code we really hope to continue to grow that pipeline within the workforce and education with young women and girls.
I'd be happy to answer any questions.