Computer science is a fascinating field filled with endless opportunities to grow your technical skills while making a tangible difference in the world around you. Coding is an extraordinary superpower that can change your personal life and address prevalent societal issues! However, these opportunities aren’t evenly distributed to all students. There are evident gaps in the frequency of CS interest between families with lower or higher incomes. Students in lower-income households face financial and access barriers. Students from higher-income families typically have significantly more chances to explore CS in afterschool programs, classes, activities. They are three times more likely to participate in a summer STEM camp than those from low-income households. Gender is another significant gap in CS. Though girls don’t majorly differ from boys in their STEM capabilities, there is much less female participation in computer science. In 2016, 81% of enrolled AP Computer Science students were males, and only 19% were girls. STEM is our society’s future, with 80% of future jobs requiring a STEM education.
Along with a gap in knowledge and experience, underrepresented populations also suffer from less confidence. They often feel out of place in such an intimidating field of boundless concepts and people who fit the more traditional image of a computer scientist. However, empowering these students to feel included and capable can make them skilled programmers and aspiring leaders. Now more than ever, it is imperative to address the education gap in STEM, more specifically, the imbalance of representation in computer science. As students from a Title I school, we feel it is our responsibility to close this gap with the resources we have! By addressing this gap, G4CSE paves a future of opportunity for countless underrepresented students and more inclusive innovation in society itself.