Cox Automotive and Band of Coders Girls Academy announced a collaboration to offer a free one-day #GIRLSCAN coding workshop open to 50 middle and high school girls across schools located in Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Cobb, Clayton, Coweta, Douglas, Fayette, and Henry Counties on Dec. 17 at Band of Coders headquarters, 643 Mt. Vernon Road, Dunwoody. The goal is to inspire young women to pursue a promising career in technology.
“Less than 1 percent of high school girls study computer science,” explained Band of Coders Girls Academy Executive Director Titania Jordan. “As encouragement from adults and peers is the No. 1 contributor to
a teen girl’s decision to pursue CS, and CS jobs will be the highest-paying sectors over the next decade, it’s crucial to support young women who express an interest in STEM. ”
This #GIRLSCAN Workshop provides foundational learning into what goes into creating an app. The
girls will gain vital entrepreneurial skills and interact with successful female executives. The
#GIRLSCAN Workshop contains a character-building component, comprised of group discussion,
gender-based learning, interactive modules, and merging technology with social good.
“The ultimate goal of these programs is to spur girls to explore technology as a career option,” said
Cox Automotive Chief Information Officer Ed Smith. “We saw how successful they can be when we
hosted our own Girls Academy at our office in July, with the one-day experience increasing the
number of attendees interested in technology careers from 25 to 100 percent.”
To date, Band of Coders Girls Academy has empowered over 500 girls who have completed over
17,000 hours of coding and created 72 social good apps. Together, Cox Automotive with their Inspire
100 campaign, and Band of Coders Girls Academy seek to impact, inspire, and motivate thousands of
young girls from 100 schools across the nation by 2020.
Apply at: bandofcoders.com/girlscan/
Cox Automotive is a subsidary of Cox Enterprises, parent company of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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