Coding Girls on Being Human: Closing the Gender Gap. Are You Ready?

Inspired by Zsófi Major’s motivating blog post about Being Human At DrupalCon Vienna, I couldn’t help but write this blog post and prepare a session proposal.

I share the same views with Zsófi that all people have stories to share and inspire and that we need support not only from a technical perspective but also from the personal, human side.

The gender gap in technology has actually been getting worse since the 1980s. Each and every community needs diversity. The Drupal Community is no exception.

In our session, I and Maria Totova are going to tackle the problem of women in tech and provide a solution on how we can build a safe, empowering, and inclusive community for everyone. Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right but also an indispensable foundation for a peaceful and prosperous world.

The aim of the speech is to provide the tools and to outline the roadmap of how the Drupal community can encourage women to start and continue their careers in technology

  1. Identify the problem of the gender gap in tech and illustrate the related numbers;

  2. Present the results of the “Coding Girls” video survey. (Currently, we are conducting a survey and interviewing women in coding to find out what motivated them to get started in coding and what coding means to them);

  3. Introduce role models from tech communities to empower girls and women;

  4. Share a personal story by a passionate developer Maria Totova;

  5. Provide a roadmap on how we can close the gender gap in technology and build the foundations of trust, respect and support with the help of Coding Girls.

"Coding Girls started as a small workshop with 16 girls and a boy and turned into an exciting journey with the aim to open Coding Girls Clubs (CGCs) all over Europe" Anna Radulovski

Our mission is to empower girls to change the world through technology and to inspire them to become innovators and leaders.

Our key focus is preparing girls to become the role models of the next generation, to shift the paradigm and to create a balance.

About the speakers: 

Anna Radulovski is an activist and advocate for gender equality in the tech world. With her unwavering belief in gender equality and her commitment to achieving it, she aims to empower girls all over Europe to access the same resources and opportunities to become the innovators and tech leaders of the future.

Anna is a passionate people-person who spent several years in Education teaching English until a sudden event inspired her to get into Technical Education for girls. Two of her key skills are coming up with big ideas and developing the strategy to achieve them.

Maria Totova is a Drupal developer at Trio Group and a teacher at Coding Girls. Her passion for studying both arts and science has defined her professional path.

Maria holds a BA in English Language and Literature and an MS in Software Engineering. She enjoys programming and teaching and goes to work with a smile every day.

When Maria is not glued to a computer, she loves travelling and spending time with her family and friends.