News Details
Operating from HUSA - our office space here at Hall for Cornwall - Tec Girls is non-profit organisation inspiring girls to engage with the worlds of Technology, Engineering and Creative Digital (TEC).
By CAITLIN GOULD, TECgirls Founder and Director
Like many, I aspire to the idea that every child can be anything they want when they grow up. However, the reality is children as young as four are already forming in their minds what jobs are available to them based on
gender stereotypes. This is especially true in Technology, Engineering and Creative Digital (TEC).
At Bluefruit Software, we did everything we could to hire a diverse team of software engineers, but we struggled to find female engineers. This is because girls are opting out of a technical education.
In the last 20 years much has been done to encourage more girls into science and maths. Girls are now almost equal to boys and excelling in these subjects too. However, when it comes to computer science, engineering and design technology girls are still woefully underrepresented. In Cornwall only 4% chose GCSE computer science and only 5% chose design technology. I created TECgirls to inspire more girls to opt in!
Since 2019 TECgirls has run events in museums and schools across Cornwall, teaching children digital skills and that a digital future is open to all. We’ve also learnt that women feel they’ve missed the boat, wishing that TECgirls was around when they were children. So I set up TECwomen CIC, a Community Interest Company that provides training and support for women who work or want to work in technology, engineering and digital industries.
With inclusivity at its heart, I wanted to find us the right home - somewhere that shared our values. When we heard about HUSA, HfC’s co-working space, we wanted to be part of it. TECwomen has been based at HUSA for over a year. During this time, we’ve engaged over 3,000 children in 60 schools across Cornwall. We’re now running a free 8-week online digitalUPLIFT programme for women.
In the last three months alone, seven women from the first programme have found new careers in digital roles. And where TECgirls is active, schools are reporting an increase of girls taking up computer science, which is brilliant.
In February 2024, we hosted the Ctrl Alt Del Summit at HfC as a part of the Cornwall Festival of Tech.
We’re successfully changing the ratio of women in tech in Cornwall. And in case you are in any doubt TEC is a girl thing!
Images by Hugh Hastings.
- August 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- October 2024
- September 2024
- July 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- January 2022
- September 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- October 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- January 2019
- November 2018
- October 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017