“technology and its effect on humanity depends upon women being at the table.” – Tim Cook, Apple CEO

This week, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook said there’s “no good reason” more women aren’t in technology.

We can see many reasons women don’t think technology is a career option, especially as software developers. Here are three that we’re busting every day at 01Founders!

– Coding and Computing is a man thing – 

From the earliest computer invented by a woman (thank you, Ada Lovelace) to the ‘human computers’ that propelled man to the moon (thank you to the Hidden Figures at NASA)! A love of logic, order, problem-solving and creativity to produce technology solutions aren’t exclusively male preserves. We can see this in the near 40% of women who’ve joined our programme and are very quickly developing the skills they need to thrive as Developers.

– Working in Technology is a boy’s club – 

When Technology became male-dominated, it would become a bit of a boys club. But, as the world has proven before, when you mix up the party, it gets a lot more interesting. At 01Founders, we’re 75% ethnically diverse, and over 55% of our intake is from disadvantaged backgrounds. With our current female representation, we’re uniquely bringing together diverse people with a master’s in science to sit alongside someone who has spent the last ten years raising a family. We’re building a space where indeed, everyone is equal. With a consistent application of effort and motivation, we can see that anything becomes possible.

– If people can’t see it, they can’t aspire to it.

In my past life, I helped Kidzania do a deep dive into their data. One fact that didn’t emerge in the press release was that girls are 2000% more likely to choose a gender-normative career. Suppose you are a big sister, a mother, an aunt, a grandmother, or a cousin. In that case, you have a responsibility to choose a technology career if it’s interesting to you to enable others in the future to see coding and software development as viable options.

Sign up for our upcoming Women Focused Immersion Session

On 7th October, our Head of Technology, Hana, will be hosting a special session aimed principally at women to have a go at coding. It’s a chance to connect with other women interested in learning about technology and preparing to participate in our next Selection Pool to join the 01Founders Fellowship in January 2023. You can book your place here!