Just because we’ve talked our heads off about the technology industry’s diversity problem doesn’t mean it’s better now. Only years of work will resolve it.
Still, progress is being made. On Thursday, Code.org announced a major milestone: More than 1 million girls and more than 1 million African American and Hispanic students have now enrolled in the nonprofit’s Code Studio learning platform.
Code Studio offers a 20-hour introductory course, multiple subsequent 20-hour courses for beginners, and several “Hour of Code” one hour classes. One of these is a partnership with Disney that uses the Frozen characters to get children, specifically girls, interested in code.
See also: Companies Team Up With Nonprofits To Fill The Learn-To-Code Gap
Students can enroll in Code Studio either through a participating teacher or as individuals. When they’re part of a school program, Code.org said they aren’t just taking a one-hour class, but “a full introductory computer science course.” The average student age is 12.
Code.org acknowledges that most of these participants won’t become software professionals and “that’s not our goal anyway.” Instead, it’s about expanding accessibility.
“We believe every child deserves to learn the foundational basics of how software and the Internet are changing their world,” the organization wrote. “But we also know that solving the diversity problem in CS education will dramatically address diversity in the tech industry as well.”
Lead photo by Milan Vrekic; infographic by Code.org
