Bita Milanian, Senior Vice President Marketing Communications at GENBAND, shares why she is in support of non-profit DIY Girls, which encourages young girls to code.
Who says girls can’t code? I say, let’s lose the saying “throw like a girl” and replace it with “code like a girl.”
One of the coolest, technology-focused non-profits I’ve come across recently is the DIY “Do-It-Yourself” Girls. This organisation’s mission is to “increase girls’ interest and success in technology, engineering and making through innovative educational experiences and mentor relationships.”
This is a really great initiative. Women in technology are still outnumbered by men, even though we have so many amazing women driving software, mobile, and computing companies. Additionally, salaries for women vs. men in the technology field continue to fall way behind as they do in many industries, however one holds out hope that in the most modern fields there would be more natural equality.
Not only do the girls and young women in the DIY Girls world work on coding and software, they also work in the areas of hardware and emerging fields of 3D printing and interactive textiles using conductive ink technologies.
Since starting up in 2012 in Los Angeles, DIY Girls has:
- Served nearly 400 girls through programs and workshops
- Taken 103 5th grade girls through afterschool programs
- Welcomed over 1,000 women to its Meetup group
- Won Startup Weekend Edu in LA
Their “Fifth Grade” program was sponsored this year by the California Endowment with a special project asking the girls to design and build interactive games and exhibits that address community health issues. If you want to be truly inspired today, check out their blog on the results.
My personal favorite from the many creative ideas the girls came up with is “Wheelchair 2.0.” Wheelchair 2.0 gives people who can’t walk a comfortable, fun and fashionable way to get around. This wheelchair features massage capabilities, a fan and storage. It is fashionable and even lights up when you are traveling at night, and above all makes you feel special, which is important for a person who has lost their ability to walk.
You can support DIYGirls through donations, volunteering, and programs and, for the grown up girls among us, you can join their MeetUp group if you happen to be in the LA area.
I look forward to personally meeting and mentoring DIYGirls and have signed up to spend three hours volunteering at a workshop since I’m an LA resident, and am looking forward to learning at least as much as I can teach – these girls sound amazing!
