Promotion of Women in Computer Science
It's no secret that there is a huge gender gap in STEM-related jobs, one being computer science. There needs to be more promotion for women and girls to continue pursuing their interests in this rapidly growing field.
Dear Mr. or Madam President,
The STEM industry is, arguably, the most rapidly increasing in the world. From the discovery of technology that may lead us to self-driving cars to the constant work towards sending mankind to Mars, there is huge demand for more people studying STEM. Computer science is one of the most quickly growing of these fields, and while many girls express interest in computer science when young, most of them eventually give up their dreams in this as they grow up and make their way through school. This needs to be changed.
In the past thirty years, the percentage of female computer science majors has actually decreased, from 37% to a mere 18% today, despite the number of people in the field increasing. By the year 2020, there will be 1.4 million computer science jobs available in the United States. While only 29% of those jobs are set to be filled by college graduates, only 3% of the jobs are predicted to be filled by women.
Girls Who Code, a national nonprofit organization, works to inspire high school-aged girls to pursue computer science and close the gender gap. Last year, I participated in the Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program, a seven-week "coding camp" that provides incoming female high school juniors and seniors with the opportunity to learn to code along professionals in the top companies in the country. I participated in their program held at The Honest Company in Santa Monica, and ever since, I've been incredibly passionate about computer science and inspiring more women to learn about and work in STEM fields.
President Obama has done a great job in this mission to empower girls to continue studying the STEM subjects that interest them. He has been very vocal about his belief that without representation of all sorts of people in this industry, our country could be missing out on some amazing ideas that could change the world. I ask you to continue the legacy President Obama has left behind and encourage the end of the gender gap in computer science.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth E.