IWD: She Codes launches virtual coding challenge for women
To mark International Women’s Day, coding company She Codes and global recruiter Robert Walters Group have teamed up to develop a virtual coding challenge with the aim of providing women – and minorities – with a taster of the technology field.
As the technology industry continues to grow at three times the pace of the national economy – a decades-long skills and gender gap persists. Just 30% of women are employed within the tech industry, and over three-quarters of director roles (and above) are held by men.
The initiative – #IWDCodingChallenge – launching today on International Women’s Day will provide participants with a tutorial on how to code a cupcake smash’ style mini-game, which will take just an hour to complete.
Entries close on 29 March and will be judged by She Codes founder Kate Kirwan, digital transformation specialist Anle-Marne Pretrious, data-consultant and She Codes alumni Sarah Levins, and technology recruitment specialist Jodie Gillespie. Judging criteria will be based on the creativity entrants apply to their coding by changing colours, altering the speed of the game, or even adding a new level!
Open to coding novices aged 18 & over, the prize winner and select runners-ups will have the opportunity to further explore a career in technology with the opportunity to win the following:
- 1:1 virtual session with She Codes founder, Kate Kirwin.
- A virtual session with a Robert Walters expert on technology recruitment
- She Codes merchandise goodies
Says Tom Chambers, Head of Technology & Growth at Robert Walters Group:
“The sector has consistently been faced with the challenge of there not being enough talent in the market to fulfil demand. In fact, in our most recent company survey 37% of hiring managers within tech stated that they were concerned about an acute skills shortage in their field – resulting in 27% of professionals who receive job offers from UK companies coming from abroad.
“With 42% of women seeking employment or a change in job role this year, a gender imbalance does not make economic sense given the pool of talent we may have available locally – if recognised by employers.”
Adds Kate Kirwin, Founder of She Codes:
“Three-quarters of the fastest-growing careers require some level of technical skills – and so the opportunities within the tech sector are far-ranging yet it continues to be an industry dominated by men.
“The technology sector is known for its adaptability and flexible working – which is such a plus for women. Added to that, it is a relatively high paying industry and so I truly believe that if we could solve diversity in tech it would solve so many other economic problems for women.”
In the UK, jobs within coding – from software engineering, data scientists, to web developers, and UI/IX designers – can fetch £25k at entry-level and reach as high as £180k at the top level.
Download the Robert Walters Salary Survey 2021 to see what pay you can get for different job roles in technology.
