Coding Clubs Offer Connection and Impact For Middle and High School Students

“My favorite reason for sponsoring a Girls Who Code (GWC) Club is seeing them grow more confident in themselves,” said a Club facilitator in Grain Valley, MO. “Girls who probably would not have been friends during the school day actually realize they have more in common than they know and become great friends. Coding takes away the barriers.” 

Launched in 2013, Girls Who Code’s Clubs offer young women and non-binary students in grades 3 through 12 the chance to form bonds with supportive peers and role models, using computer science to change the world. Free and fun, the Club activities offer a flexible curriculum to adapt to each group’s unique needs. 

In less than a decade, Girls Who Code has nurtured a network of nearly 6,000 Clubs across all 50 states. They have addressed an unmet need – opportunity for young girls and non-binary students to get excited about and learn skills in computer science. “In addition to learning, [the students] are developing new friendships, confidence, and passion for the [computer science] discipline,” said a Club Facilitator at Herriman High School in Utah. 

Girls Who Code, a New York City-based nonprofit focused on closing the gender gap in technology, partners with school districts, library networks, and afterschool programs to launch Clubs in rural, urban, and suburban communities throughout the U.S. During the 2022-2023 school year, more than 71,000 young people participated, learning the concepts that form the basis of all programming languages, like loops, variables, conditionals, and functions. 

Clubs can take place after school, on weekends, or during the summer, and they can be held in-person or entirely online. On average, GWC Clubs serve 12 students, and while the focus is on centering the experiences of girls and non-binary students, students of all genders are welcome to join and participate. “I was given the opportunity to talk to women who have successful careers in the field,” said Myisha Kinberg, Club alum. “They made me understand that computer science isn’t just about 1’s and 0’s, it’s about combining your interests with technology to better the future.”