Local Girls Who Code chapter aim to close gender gap in STEM careers

FSU Panama City will host an interest meeting for Girls Who Code, a national organization that aims to close the gender gap in STEM careers, at 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20, in the Holley Academic Center. All middle- and high-school girls are welcome to join. No coding experience is necessary, and past members are welcome.

Using fun, collaborative projects, Girls Who Code equips sixth- to 12th-grade girls with technical skills that will provide a foundation for a future in technology. The FSU Panama City chapter will work with Girls Inc., ASAP and other local organizations.

According to the organization’s website, 1.4 million jobs will be available in computing-related fields by 2020. Only 3 percent of those jobs are expected to be filled by women educated in the U.S.

Girls Who Code Clubs aims to build the largest pipeline of future female engineers in the United States through high-quality computer science education. Curriculum is designed for students with a wide range of computer science experience, from no coding experience to college-level concepts.

For more information about the Panama City chapter, contact FSU Panama City STEM Institute Director Ginger Littleton at (850) 770-2152 or glittleton@pc.fsu.edu. Applications are available online at http://pc.fsu.edu/about-us/stem-institute.