Black Girls Code: Committed to increasing representation in tech fields

By Ariayana Griffin

Black Girls Code (BGC) is an organization dedicated to breaking down barriers to access to science, technology, engineering and mathematics for Black women and girls ages seven to 25 years old.

The organization’s work is essential due to the low numbers of Black women partaking in fields related to technology. A research report conducted by Accenture showed that “27 percent of computing roles in the U.S. market are held by women,” however alarmingly “just 3 percent and 2 oercent are held by African-American and Hispanic American/Latina women.”

Since 2011, Black Girls Code has been on a mission to change the numbers, remove barriers, and increase representation in tech spaces for Black girls and women. The organization’s work has led to an increase in the number of Black girls and women pursuing careers in STEM fields, contributing to a more diverse and inclusive tech industry.

Tamika Tretu, vice president of programs for girls ages seven to 18, said that the organization is all about the business of helping craft the next generation of leaders.

“[We’re] committed to preparing the next generation of Black girls and expansive youth of color to be developers, builders, designers, innovators,” said Tretu.

This is working towards their goal of allowing Black women and girls to be more than consumers of technology–but the creators, pushing the new wave of technology innovation.

“We have to work in tech to remove the biases that exist and to also be a part of the room and have those critical conversations of what our perspective knows could be missing,” Tretu said. “We want to launch one million Black girls, women, gender expansive youth into tech by 2040 – we want them to be the leaders.”

The organization has three pillars that inspire, educate, and launch, which are divided by age groups to provide students with programming and hands-on experiences. Blending students’ interests, such as coding video games, music, and arts through coding languages, starting with Scratch and advancing to Python and Javascript, allows them to see that they can code and hold space in the sector.

“We are one of the only organizations that take girls from childhood all the way into womanhood, nourishing and fostering their tech journey,” Tretu said.

BG has three pillars, inspire, educate and launch, that are divided in different age groups to help them evolve their skills.

Inspire prepares students ages seven to 10 with the tools and skills to learn Scratch, a coding language, through various workshops, enrichment field trips, camps and more. The training allows the students to help boost their confidence and learn more about coding.

Educate is for students 10 to 13, which progresses the coding language to a more challenging one while providing workshops, after-school coding clubs, online tools with experts, field trips, and more to create more learning experiences.

The next pillar, launch, prepares high school students ages 14 to 17 and students ages 18 to 24 with the tools and prep needed to enter college or the work field. Students are able to partake in apprenticeships, receive help with job and college applications, and hone the skills they have learned throughout the program. At this level, students are also encouraged to volunteer and mentor the programs with younger students, providing opportunities for community within each pillar.

These workshops and opportunities for each pillar take place in over eight cities, including Los Angeles, Washington D.C., New York City, and Oakland; within the next year, the program plans to expand to over ten cities across the U.S.

However, BGC has created a massive online community within their YouTube channel, Code Along, garnering over 18 million subscribers and over four million views.

Code Along and Code Along Jr., launched in 2023, are comprehensive online resources that include tutorials, vlogs, expert interviews, and more. These resources cover a wide range of topics in the tech industry and are designed to be accessible to students who may not have access to in-person events.

“The United States [has] our top viewers, but so does Brazil, India and Ghana,” said Tretu. “Countries where they have predominantly large populations of Black and brown girls are seeing themselves in our content and clicking in to learn how to code.”

The organization reported that 52.0 percent of viewers had no knowledge of coding prior to viewing its Code Along series.

This year, BGC sponsored 16 Tech Prep Fellows to attend AfroTech, a multi-day conference for tech enthusiasts to engage in community building and panels, as well as participate in an onsite job fair.

Tanesha Fuller, a junior at New York University studying Quantitative Economics and Computer Science, expressed that going to AfroTech with BGC was a great learning and networking experience.

“When I went to AfroTech, out of the 16 girls that went, I was the only one that’s interested in ‘fintech,’ which is where quantitative economics come in,” said Fuller. “I spent a lot of my time during the day going to workshops and seminars about AI and Fintech.”

She shared that her experience with BGC has been inspiring to meet others in the field who look like her as well as the continuous support they have provided her with. Currently taking 18 college credits, she expressed that the guidance, resources and scholarships have provided her with a great opportunity to propel and gain experience in the industry.

“Knowing that there’s people who support you through and through and wanna see you win is important,” said Fuller. “But, having an organization dedicated to saying, ‘I know that there’s a lack of resources and you may not know these resources, so we’re gonna hire people to make sure we get you those resources’ is helpful.”

BGC is dedicated to introducing Black girls and women to the world of coding and technology through their programming. To learn more about the organization, or sign up for an in-person or online workshop.