What Would the Internet Look Like Without the Contributions of Women?
Girls Who Code is a nonprofit organization aiming to support and increase the number of women in computer science by equipping young women with the necessary computing skills to pursue 21st century opportunities. At Endless, we believe coding games are a fun way to involve girls in coding and STEM fields. We supported Girls Who Code in their international expansion and new gaming tutorials. This programming has been able to fill a critical gap during this uncertain time and their new, free virtual activities are already connecting millions of students, caregivers, and educators with desperately needed at-home educational resources.
What would the internet look like without the work and contributions of women? Determined to show just how important female coders are, Girls Who Code, in partnership with IF/THEN and Mojo Supermarket, launched a website and video that let users experience that glitchy, chaotic alternate reality.
From “Missing Code,” a collaboration from Girls Who Code, IF/THEN, and Mojo Supermarket
The “Missing Code” campaign features an interactive portal where visitors can surf an alternate, dystopian internet that’s missing code written by women. The portal features mocked up homepages platforms like Instagram and Twitter and popular websites like TeenVogue reprogrammed to show how crucial women are to the field.
With letters and words dragging across the screen, glitches in photos and graphics, the internet presented by “Missing Code” is a stark reminder that female coders are critical for making the internet as we know it. In fact, Girls Who Code reports that in 1995, 37% of computer scientists identified as women. Today that number has dropped to just 24%.
“There is still a perception out there that coding isn’t for girls, but that’s not true—we know that a huge part of the web was coded by women,” said Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of Girls Who Code. “With this campaign, we’re hoping to inspire the next generation of women coders by showing them what the world would look like if they weren’t building it, designing it, coding it. Because without their contributions, the world as we know it, would fall apart.”
The experience highlights these facts, links to famous coders like Ada Lovelace, and to the AAAS and If/Then “This Is What A Scientist Looks Like™” Ambassador program, which recognizes talented women STEM professionals across a variety of industries and pairs them with middle school girls in a mentorship program.
Today and every day, Girls Who Code reminds us how important it is to close the gender gap in technology and to change the image of what a programmer looks like and does.
We spoke with Michele Giordano, former Senior Director of International Expansion for Girls Who Code about their global mission, here.