Report No: AUS23845 WOMEN WAVEMAKERS Practical Strategies for Recruiting and Retaining Women in Coding Bootcamps 1 © 2018 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank 1818 H Street NW Washington DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000 Internet: www.worldbank.org This volume is a product of the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/ The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of The World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. The material in this publication is copyrighted. Copying and/or transmitting portions or all of this work without permission may be a violation of applicable law. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/ The World Bank encourages dissemination of its work and will normally grant permission to reproduce portions of the work promptly. For permission to photocopy or reprint any part of this work, please send a request with complete information to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA, telephone 978-750- 8400, fax 978-750-4470, http://www.copyright.com/. All other queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to the Office of the Publisher, The World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA, fax 202-522-2422, e-mail pubrights@worldbank.org. 2 Table of Contents Abbreviations 4 Tables, Figures and Boxes 5 Tables 5 Figures 5 Boxes 5 Authors and Acknowledgments 6 Executive Summary 7 The Case for Women’s Participation in Coding Bootcamps 7 Key Insights 8 Introduction 11 The Decoding Bootcamps Initiative 11 Chapter 1: Coding Bootcamps: 13 An Overview 13 What are Coding Bootcamps? 13 Design Features & Approaches 15 Chapter 2: Bringing a Gender Equality Lens to Coding Bootcamps 16 The Business Case for Women in Technology 19 Chapter 3: Characteristics of Participating Bootcamps 20 Curricula and Program Design 22 Business Models 22 Chapter 4: Approaches to Recruitment 23 Challenges 23 Strategies 24 Insights for Implementation 30 Chapter 5: Strategies for Inclusive Program Design 32 Challenges 32 Strategies 33 Insights for Implementation 42 Chapter 6: Creating Linkages to the Labor Market 44 Challenges 44 Strategies 44 Insights for Implementation 50 3 Abbreviations AGI Adolescent Girls Initiative CIRR Council on Integrity Results Reporting CSS Cascading Style Sheets FCI Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation Global Practice FLFP female labor force participation FT full-time HTML HyperText Markup Language ICT information and communication technology IFC International Finance Corporation ILO International Labour Organization PT part-time STEM science, technology, engineering and mathematics WBG World Bank Group All dollar amounts are U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated. 4 Tables, Figures and Boxes Tables Table 1: Models of Newly Emerging Tech Skills Training 14 Table 2: Participating Coding Bootcamps 20 Table 3: Typology & Target Demographic 21 Figures Figure 1: Workers in Information & Communications Job by Sex (ILO, 2016) 17 Figure 2: Global Female Graduation Rates in ICT Tertiary Education (2015) (%) 18 Figure 3: Counteracting stereotypes through marketing messages 25 Figure 4: Programs are using female role models to recruit female students 26 Figure 5: Snapshot of Validated Employment Outcomes 49 Boxes Box 1: A Note on Costs 22 Box 2: Women Coders: Spotlight 1 26 Box 3: Women Coders: Spotlight 2 27 Box 4: Technovation: Working to Build the Pipeline of Women in Technology 29 Box 5: MotherCoders 34 Box 6: Spotlight on Graduates from MotherCoders 35 Box 7: Agile at Laboratoria 39 Box 8: AkiraChix: Developing the Workforce of Women in Technology in Kenya 40 Box 9: Defining Socioemotional Skills 40 Box 10: Cyber Violence/Technology-Based Gender-Based Violence 46 Box 11: Laboratoria’s Talent Fest 46 Box 12: Feedback from Participating Firms on Laboratoria’s Talent Fest 47 Box 13: Coding and Entrepreneurship 50 5 Authors and Acknowledgments Women Wavemakers: Practical Strategies for Recruiting and Retaining Women in Coding Bootcamps is a joint output of the Gender Group and the Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation Global Practice (FCI) at the World Bank Group. It was developed under the guidance and leadership of Caren Grown (Senior Director, Gender Group) and Stefano Mocci (Manager, Gender Group). Alicia Hammond (Gender Specialist, Innovation and Technology, Gender Group), Victor Mulas (Senior Operations Officer, FCI) and Loren Nadres (Senior Consultant, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Gender) are the main authors of the report. Danielle Robinson (Consultant, Solutions for Youth Employment, Social Protection & Jobs Global Practice) led earlier research. David Young (Communications Consultant, Gender Group) offered invaluable communications and editorial insights. Sai Krishna Kumaraswamy (Consultant, Gender Group) contributed specific analyses and Mame Fatou Niasse (Program Assistant, Gender Group) provided coordination support. We also thank the following colleagues for their thoughtful peer review and technical advice: Samia Melhem (Lead ICT Policy Specialist, Transport and Digital Development Global Practice), Namita Datta (Senior Private Sector Development Specialist, Social Protection & Jobs Global Practice), Noa Catalina Gimelli (Senior Operations Officer, Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions Strategy & Operations), Siddhartha Raja (Senior Digital Development Specialist, Transport and Digital Development Global Practice), and Cecilia Paradi- Guilford (Private Sector Specialist, FCI). The team would like to extend a special thank you to the coding bootcamps and digital skills programs that took the time to share their perspectives: 23 Code Street, Ace Hacker, Ada Developers Academy, AdaLab, AkiraChix, Andela, Apps & Girls Foundation, Awele Academy’s (S)He Hacks Africa, Code Astra, Code to Inspire, Cymetria, Django Girls Mombasa and Nairobi, Girls Develop IT, Girls in Tech Cameroon and Kenya, the Grace Hopper Program at Full Stack Academy, Hacktiv8, Israel Tech Challenge, Jaaga, Laboratoria, Moringa School, MotherCoders, Plataforma 5, Pwani Teknowgalz, SkillsFirst, The Hacking School, V School, We Can Code IT, WeThinkCode, and Women EdTech. Iridescent and the International Center for Research on Women also contributed to the report. Women Wavemakers: Practical Strategies for Recruiting and Retaining Women in Coding Bootcamps was supported in part by the World Bank Group’s Umbrella Facility for Gender Equality (UFGE). It is an important catalyst for work that pushes the frontiers of gender equality and promotes smart project design by equipping policymakers and development experts with data, knowledge, and evidence. The UFGE has received generous contributions from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States. The report complements previous work from the Decoding Bootcamps initiative led by Victor Mulas and Cecilia Paradi-Guilford, supported by the World Bank Group’s Jobs Umbrella Multi-Donor Trust Fund. 6 Executive Summary C oding bootcamps, a type of rapid tech skills training program, have recently emerged as a promising approach to equipping individuals with the skills needed to thrive in digital economies. But despite the potential of these training programs to prepare graduates to compete in a changing global labor market, women often participate at significantly lower rates. When women do enroll, they tend to have higher dropout rates than men. The World Bank Group (WBG) Gender Strategy (2016-2023) identifies occupational sex segregation as a key constraint to women’s economic opportunity, along with the lack of care services, limited mobility, and legal and regulatory restrictions. Because coding bootcamps may offer one way to bring more women into the digital economy, the WBG sought to gather insights from bootcamp providers across the world to better understand strategies for recruiting and retaining women. Insights from this report aim to inform the work of WBG teams that are increasingly using coding bootcamps as a tool to address youth unemployment, as part of an approach to reducing poverty and increasing shared prosperity. The findings may also be useful for WBG teams working on other kinds of skills training programs, including technical and vocational training as well as entrepreneurship accelerators. External policymakers focused on skills development might also find these insights helpful, along with bootcamp providers working to increase women’s participation in their programs. The Case for Women’s Participation in Coding Bootcamps The term “coding bootcamp” specifically refers to a “ready-to-work” model. These are intensive short programs (usually 3-6 months) designed to provide participants with programming skills—and in many cases socioemotional skills—to prepare them for entry-level tech employment opportunities.1 Coding bootcamps are becoming increasingly relevant as global demand for tech skills continues to grow globally. In the United States, employment in computer and information technology related occupations is expected to grow at a rate of 13 percent between 2016 and 2026—faster than all other occupations.2 In the Middle East and North Africa, the enterprise application software industry grew by seven percent in 2017.3 And, Thailand’s software industry has experienced extraordinary growth—estimated at 160 percent since 2013.4 Underlying the importance of equipping tomorrow’s workers with relevant tech skills, the WBG’s World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends finds that digital technology is “skill-biased”, meaning that it is most likely to benefit those with tech proficiency and higher-order cognitive and socioemotional skills. 5 The World Development Report 2019: The Changing Nature of Work also notes that technology is shifting the types of skills needed for work, with increased demand for advanced cognitive skills, socio-emotional skills and a mix of skills that facilitate greater adaptability.6 Research indicates that across 30 emerging economies, men are 2.7-times more likely to work in the ICT sector than women, and 7.6-times more likely to work in ICT occupations.7 And the benefits of new employment opportunities—especially jobs that utilize advanced tech skills like coding—have not been equally shared among men and women: Among 80 economies, women make up 40 percent or more of the workforce in information and communication jobs in only 12.8 Notably, the gender gap in information and communication careers is significant even in countries with a relatively high female labor force participation (FLFP) such as Sweden, Norway, and Switzerland. (Each has a FLFP rate higher than 60 percent, but women make up 29 percent of the information and communication jobs in each of these countries) (see figure 1).9 As a result of occupational sex segregation, many women find themselves working in lower paying sectors like health, education and other social sectors. Those who do work in male-dominated fields such as STEM are likely to 7 be overrepresented in STEM education and health-related jobs, whereas men are more likely to work in technology and engineering, management and business-related roles. While increasing women’s economic participation holds value in of it itself, there is also a business case. Businesses, communities and economies are unable to maximize their full potential without the full participation of women. Emerging research has established the link between women’s employment and positive business outcomes, such as increased productivity, retention and firm performance.10 More women in the workforce add value at all levels: as employees, managers and leaders. Research by McKinsey found that among companies that invested in attracting, retaining and developing female talent, 64 percent reported an increase in employee productivity and retention and 57 percent reported an increase in their ability to attract talent.11 Teams with gender diversity are often more innovative: A study of 4277 companies in Spain found that companies with more women were more likely to introduce innovations in the market over a two-year period.12 At the leadership level, the benefits of women’s representation are also evident. Firms with more women in leadership roles often demonstrate better firm performance, especially during periods of economic volatility, greater ability to minimize high-risk transactions and better serve markets dominated by women. A study of 215 Fortune 500 firms found that companies with higher levels of female representation outperformed industry revenue averages by 46 percent.13 Companies with diverse boards often tend to generate a higher return on equity than those without.14 Key Insights The insights in this report draw on the experiences of 25 coding bootcamps and 7 digital skills programs in 22 countries that were identified using a desk review as well as through networks and technology-focused communities. The goal is to share ideas from practitioners around the world that are working to address these challenges. Rather than setting out a prescriptive pathway, the report provides a menu of options that providers and policymakers can test in their respective markets. 8 Approaches to Recruitment 1. Marketing messages can counteract stereotypes about coders and the culture of bootcamps. Providers are cautious about reinforcing male and “nerdy” stereotypes around coding and computer science. When trying to recruit women, bootcamps often utilize messages that counteract traditional stereotypes and emphasize coding as a creative, collaborative skill that can help solve real-world problems. 2. Featuring female role models can help disrupt the notion of what a stereotypical coder looks like. Providers profile local women in technology, as well as past and current students, especially role models who can communicate the fact that they can have both successful personal and professional lives. However, when it comes to recruitment in particular, male role models could help too if they do not reinforce the traditional stereotype. 3. Marketing impact can be maximized through creative approaches that leverage women’s networks to encourage female applicants. Providers are utilizing local and international groups like Google Women Tech Makers, TechWomen, Technovation or other women in technology groups to help identify potential trainees. 4. In settings where social norms are restrictive, providers can build family and community support early on. Bootcamps faced with the additional complexities created by restrictive social norms attempted to navigate these by engaging women’s families and communities: Programs often invite family members and influential community members to visit the bootcamp site and get to know instructors as a way of building trust. 5. Some providers focus on ensuring students hit the ground running, by setting clear expectations and helping beginners get up to speed through preparatory, self-guided training. Bootcamps are providing resources and opportunities for beginners to upskill before programs, to increase accessibility. 6. Some providers try to reduce constraints around upfront tuition to ensure that bootcamps are more inclusive. While this approach is likely to be good practice for both male and female participants, providers suggest that this is a critical consideration to increase the participation of women. Many programs focused on getting more women into their programs offer scholarships or give trainees the option of deferring tuition payments until they acquire a job. Strategies for Inclusive Program Design 1. Program design can be used to alleviate upfront constraints and boost program accessibility. Constraints include challenges around ensuring high-quality, safe and affordable care, and transportation. Some providers connect trainees to information about reliable public or private care services. Similarly, some programs subsidize travel costs for students and others are exploring on- site access to computers outside hours of instruction. 2. Tackling the “confidence gap” is critical. Bootcamps are addressing challenges around self-efficacy by leveraging role models, developing structured mentorship programs (with multiple mentors, where possible), and testing peer-learning models for effectiveness in this area. Some programs also engage counselors to provide support. 9 3. Socioemotional and life skills can be incorporated into bootcamp programs to better prepare trainees for the labor market. Programs are integrating socioemotional skills that can help individuals effectively manage emotions, deal with conflict, maintain positive relationships and communicate proficiently. Some bootcamps also include a focus on life skills, especially for socially and economically marginalized young women. 4. Some programs focus on minimizing women’s risk of and exposure to sexual harassment. A few programs seek to prevent and respond to risks around sexual harassment. Bootcamps can consider integrating a holistic approach that includes anti-sexual harassment policies, a complaints procedure, defined consequences, training and awareness-raising as well as monitoring and evaluation. 5. Bootcamps can build a sense of community to improve retention. Programs are exploring the extension of opening hours to create spaces for women to build inter-personal connections and establish online communities. Creating Linkages to the Labor Market 1. Modules on professional development can be included in curricula. Programs are helping prepare trainees for the local and international labor market. These modules often include insights about the job-seeking process, cover letter and résumé writing, and interview practice. Providers can also consider including information to prepare women for risks they can face online, such as cyber violence. 2. Providers can help women to build professional networks and showcase their new skills to potential employers. Female students might not yet be connected to local tech communities. Furthermore, if these spaces are male-dominated, women might have a harder time breaking into “old boys’ clubs” on their own. Therefore, providers host events for local women in technology, job fairs, and other career-related events to create networks and opportunities for graduates. 3. Bootcamps can create structured linkages to internship and employment opportunities. Support mechanisms range from a “light-touch” approach like an online job matching platform, to more structured internship and job placement programs. 4. Support is often important even after job placement. Providers establish mechanisms for alumnae to receive support after job placement: social media can be a cost-effective approach. Some programs also continue to provide training for graduates. 10 Introduction T his report provides practical insights for coding bootcamps to recruit and retain women. It complements work from the Decoding Bootcamps, a World Bank Group (WBG) initiative that aims to understand the effectiveness of bootcamps as a tool for tackling youth unemployment, especially in emerging market contexts. Bootcamps are emerging as an approach to preparing people for the digital economy. According to the WBG’s World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends, digital technology is “skill-biased”, meaning that it is most likely to benefit those with advanced skills, particularly those with information and communication technology (ICT) skills and higher-order cognitive and socioemotional skills.15 The World Development Report 2019: The Changing Nature of Work also notes that technology is shifting the types of skills needed for work, with increased demand for advanced cognitive skills, socio-emotional skills and a mix of skills that facilitate greater adaptability.16 Despite the potential of these digital skills programs to equip graduates to compete in the global digital economy, the Decoding Bootcamps initiative has shown that women often participate at significantly lower rates and when women enroll, they tend to have higher dropout rates than men. This reflects the occupational sex segregation that limits women’s employment options in the tech sector and across global labor markets more generally. Tackling this issue is a key objective of the WBG’s Gender Strategy (2016-2023). In 30 emerging economies, men are 2.7-times more likely to work in the ICT sector than women, and 7.6-times more likely to work in ICT occupations.17 Therefore, targeting women and considering ways that programs might better meet their needs can support the closing of gender gaps in economic opportunity. The insights in this report draw on interviews with 25 coding bootcamps and 7 digital skills programs in 22 countries that were identified using a desk review as well as networks and technology-focused communities. The goal is to share ideas from practitioners around the world that are working to address these challenges. Rather than setting out a prescriptive pathway, the report provides a menu of options that providers and policymakers can test in their respective markets. Insights from this report aim to inform the work of WBG teams that are increasingly using coding bootcamps as a tool to address youth unemployment. The goal is to fill a knowledge gap of potential ways that coding bootcamps can shift design features to make their programs more inclusive. While these insights are not at the stage of being proven solutions, the ambition is to provide a menu of options to test, adapt and refine. The hope is that these insights lay the groundwork for rigorous evaluation of the implementation of these strategies to advance knowledge in this area, especially in emerging markets. The findings may be applied beyond bootcamps to other WBG initiatives such as skills training programs, including technical and vocational training, as well as entrepreneurship accelerators. The Decoding Bootcamps Initiative Women Wavemakers: Practical Strategies for Recruiting and Retaining Women in Coding Bootcamps builds on three previous reports from the WBG’s Decoding Bootcamps initiative. The first report, Coding Bootcamps: Building Future-Proof Skills through Rapid Skills Training, provides an overview of the origins, categories and main principles of coding bootcamps, with a focus on emerging economies. It also outlines the main challenges and criticisms, and provides examples of policy interventions. Six deep-dive case studies of coding bootcamps are included.18 11 The second report, Coding bootcamps for youth employment: evidence from Colombia, Lebanon, and Kenya, captures findings from one of the first rigorous evaluations of coding bootcamps. Drawing on a randomized controlled trial in Medellin and qualitative results from Beirut and Nairobi, the report includes findings on employment, business creation and education. It highlights the importance of better targeting women due to their underrepresentation in these training programs. Findings from Colombia show that bootcamp participants did not report higher job satisfaction, job benefits, employment, high quality jobs, or business creation, meaning that participants’ general job outcomes were not improved by bootcamp participation. There are several possible reasons for these results: It is probable that program implementation and curriculum, or treatment group identification design could have led to different outcomes than expected. The report also highlights many challenges that accompany the rigorous evaluation of coding bootcamps, especially in emerging markets.19 Lessons for future impact evaluations cover five areas: i) study design; ii) integrity of treatment and control groups; iii) delivering the intervention (including ensuring consistency across cohorts); iv) impact and results reporting; and v) scalability. 20 The third report in the series is intended to be a toolkit for practitioners and policymakers aiming to develop a bootcamp. It outlines what is needed, in terms of human capacity, financial, organizational, and communication resources, to plan, implement, monitor, and evaluate a coding bootcamp in an emerging market. It also discusses approaches designed to ensure sustainability and ownership within a local technology innovation ecosystem. Policy recommendations include: i) strengthening data collection efforts to enable evaluation of the impact of bootcamps; ii) linking bootcamps to formal education; iii) boosting access to these programs by providing funding for groups who are disproportionately excluded; and iv) leveraging public-private partnerships and networks to ensure skills are linked to labor market demands, graduates are connected to mentors, and relationships are built with potential employers.21 12 Chapter 1: Coding Bootcamps: An Overview What are Coding Bootcamps? C oding bootcamps, a type of rapid tech skills training program, have recently emerged as an approach to equipping individuals with the tech skills Many also include training in socioemotional skills like teamwork, effective communication, and adaptability, with the goal of preparing well-rounded needed to effectively cope with a changing global coders for the labor market. labor market. The two main categories of programs are: i) “ready- As “skills accelerators”, bootcamps attempt to to-work” programs; and ii) educational programs respond to the “skills bias” of digital technologies designed to serve as an introduction to tech skills. which are most likely to benefit those with advanced The term “coding bootcamp” specifically refers to tech skills and higher-order cognitive and the “ready-to-work” model: it is an intensive short socioemotional skills.22 program (usually 3-6 months) designed to provide These “skills accelerators” typically have three key participants with programming skills to prepare them features: i) intensive rapid-skills training; ii) an for entry-level tech employment opportunities (see experiential learning approach; and iii) dynamic, table 1).23 adaptive curricula structured around industry needs. 13 Table 1: Models of Newly Emerging Tech Skills Training24 Category Bootcamp Model Description Professional Tech Skills Pre-Bootcamp Model Part-time online or in-person program providing basic digital and tech skills to prepare students for the “ready-to-work” Preparation for entry-level tech jobs model. The pre-bootcamp model varies in form and length and can be limited to basic digital skills or expanded to also provide basic socioemotional or life skills. Ready-to-Work Model Intensive three-to-six months full or part-time rapid skills training program (coding bootcamps) that prepares people to qualify for employment shortly after the training ends. “Bootcamp Plus” Model Extended training approach which includes an intense coding bootcamp and continues with practical or “on-the- job” training to equip students with a higher level of tech and socioemotional skills. In the most advanced stages, this model includes on-the-job training for two-to-four years. Educational Mini Bootcamp Model Very short-term training programs ranging in length from two days to one month. They are typically designed to Introduction to tech skills to spark interest in learning the basics of potential workers or students programming, to recruit or identify talent, for professionals to update their skills, and for outreach and community building. Early Educational Model These are efforts to trigger interest in programming at an early age. This model includes workshops, hackathons, and online platforms as well as more encompassing efforts such as schools integrating coding skills into their curriculum. Although not focused on employability in the short term, the early education model is an important trend to monitor. 14 bootcamp salary within the first year of employment. Design Features & Approaches Others use a model where partner employers are Coding bootcamps tend to pursue a “glocalization” charged a fee for access to the talent pool, rather approach in curricula design: they create “in-house” than charging tuition to students. In some study programs by mixing internationally recognized ecosystems, bootcamps also partner with tech education products (for example, proprietary government to provide subsidized training to target and free online courses, video tutorials, Massive groups, including low-income communities.29 Open Online Courses) with a curriculum responding to the needs of the local tech ecosystem and While data outside high-income markets is limited, reflecting local cultural characteristics.25 available information indicates that programs in emerging markets span a range of business models, Players from the local tech scene—small private including social enterprises and nonprofits, in firms, multinational corporations, industry addition to for-profit programs. Both nonprofit associations—are typically encouraged to entities and social enterprises typically receive participate in curriculum development. There are donor support. With critical objectives around social several avenues for this, including providing inputs inclusion, youth empowerment, skills training and to the content, designing projects for students or linkages to the labor market, donor-supported delivering talks during training.26 programs can serve as important mediators of Bootcamp providers typically select programming supply and demand in the labor market; however, languages by monitoring publicly available online they may suffer from problems surrounding longer- sources (for example, data from national statistical term sustainability.30 This is an important area for and labor agencies) and private market intelligence further research. data to identify in-demand languages. Providers also engage stakeholders in the local tech sector and overseas outsourcing companies to deepen their understanding of the demand for certain skills. The frequency of curriculum reviews and adaptations varies, but typically there are more frequent changes than in traditional curricula in academia.27 With respect to business models, in the USA and Canada, coding bootcamps are typically for-profit entities. The average fee charged is $11,451, with tuition ranging from $5.000 up to $20,000 for a 13- week bootcamp. Providers justify high fees by noting a strong track record of placement of graduates in paid employment and the high salaries that graduates receive. Student loans are often used to cover the fees.28 Rather than charging upfront tuition, some programs Photo credit: World Bank Group. 2017. Coding bootcamps: building future-proof skills through rapid skills training. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group. take a fixed percentage of graduates’ post- http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/795011502799283894/Coding-bootcamps- building-future-proof-skills-through-rapid-skills-training 15 Chapter 2: Bringing a Gender Equality Lens to Coding Bootcamps T he emergence of digital technologies is disrupting global labor markets and changing the nature of work. As the digital economy continues to grow, people with expertise in technology will be in higher demand.31 In the United States, employment in computer and information technology related occupations is expected to grow at a rate of 13 percent between 2016 and 2026—faster than all other occupations.32 Other labor markets around the world are also experiencing strong growth. For example, in the Middle East and North Africa, the enterprise application software industry grew by seven percent in 2017.33 Thailand’s software industry has experienced estimated growth of 160 percent since 2013.34 But this growth has not been equally shared between men and women. While global ICT labor market trends are difficult to establish due to the lack of a standard definition of an “ICT occupation”, available data from the International Labour Organization (ILO) indicates large gaps between men and women across many economies.35 Among 80 economies, women make up 40 percent or more of the workforce in information and communication jobs in only 12.36 Notably, the gender gap in information and communication careers is significant even in countries with a relatively high female labor force participation (FLFP) such as Sweden, Norway, and Switzerland. (Each has a FLFP rate higher than 60 percent, but women make up 29 percent of the information and communication jobs in each of these countries) (see figure 1).37 16 Figure 1: Workers in Information & Communications Job by Sex (ILO, 2016) 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Fiji Saudi Arabia Pakistan Côte d'Ivoire Mali United Arab Emirates Bangladesh Qatar Egypt Guatemala Iran, Islamic Republic Belgium Czech Republic Netherlands Luxembourg Turkey Japan United Kingdom Denmark Ukraine Slovakia Korea, Rep. Brazil Switzerland Norway Malta Kosovo France Australia Sweden Finland Poland West Bank and Gaza Kyrgyzstan Iceland Peru Malaysia Italy Spain Hungary Honduras Armenia Austria Estonia United States Dominican Republic Uruguay Portugal Germany Mexico Namibia Ireland Greece Serbia Bolivia Panama Slovenia Mauritius Macedonia Croatia Philippines Vietnam Romania Latvia Moldova Thailand Bulgaria Montenegro Cyprus Taiwan, China Belarus El Salvador Mongolia Ecuador Lithuania Maldives Eswatini Belize Azerbaijan Male Female 17 Available data also indicate that women and girls are Research also highlights a gender-equality paradox underrepresented in ICT education.38 With respect to in science, technology, engineering and graduation rates at the tertiary level, Oman is among mathematics (STEM) education: Countries with the highest with 66 percent, along with Panama (56 higher levels of gender equality (measured using the percent), Benin (55 percent), Tunisia (54 percent), World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index) Algeria (52 percent) and Thailand (50 percent). Ghana have fewer women among STEM graduates than in and Cambodia are among the lowest with 3 percent less “gender-equal” countries. One explanation and 8 percent, respectively (see figure 2). relates to the idea of relative strengths: Girls’ best subject was reading and boys’ best subject was In the USA, women account for just 18 percent of science, meaning that even when girls outperformed students in computer science degrees, and this boys in science, they often scored even higher in figure has remained stagnant over the past decade.39 reading, therefore opening up alternative career Interestingly, 30 years ago, women in the USA were pathways.43 At the same time, boys expressed more more likely to complete a technology-related interest and self-efficacy in science. Another degree than they are today. In 1984, the number of explanation relates to the economic value of a STEM women earning degrees in computer science career as a pathway to a more secure future for peaked at 37.2 percent.40 Various studies attribute women in less “gender-equal” countries. Essentially, the post-1984 decline to a range of factors, including a well-paying career in STEM often serves as an the marketing of personal computers toward men, investment in a more secure future, especially in the limited portrayal of women in technology in the countries that have larger gender gaps across a media, and the lack of female role models in range of domains, including economic opportunity, technology.41 A lack of exposure to computer education, health, and political participation.44 classes prior to college may also be a contributing factor, along with limited social encouragement for Although a tertiary-level education is not needed to girls from parents and other influential figures, pursue a tech career in programming, these data including teachers and peers.42 help illustrate the gaps. Figure 2: Global Female Graduation Rates in ICT Tertiary Education (2015) (%)45 Algeria (52%) Oman (66%) Thailand (50%) Panama (56%) Tunisia (54%) Benin (55%) 18 The Business Case for Women in Technology Despite educational gains for women in STEM, this women’s employment and advancement can also has not translated into more women entering and help enhance a company’s reputation and build staying in these roles, particularly in technical and goodwill as companies enter new markets.49 Teams leadership positions. Furthermore, women continue with gender diversity are often more innovative: A to face a range of barriers to their meaningful study of 4,277 companies in Spain found that participation in the workforce. These include companies with more women were more likely to discrimination, harassment, lack of childcare and introduce innovations in the market over a two-year paid leave, and limited career development period.50 opportunities. Legal, social and cultural barriers also As managers, women play an important role in the compound this challenge. As a result, women’s operational performance of businesses. They also economic opportunity continues to stagnate in terms provide a pipeline of future talent at the leadership of employment, asset ownership, income and level and serve as role models for other women. skills.46 However, if companies do not invest in developing Increasing women’s participation in the labor force is and retaining female talent at this level, they often of value in and of itself. Moreover, businesses, get stuck or exit the company. At higher levels of communities and economies are unable to maximize management, female representation contributes to their full potential without the full participation of better firm performance by motivating women at the women. Emerging research has established the link middle-management level and improving the between women’s employment and positive conduct of managers throughout the firm. The business outcomes, such as increased productivity, Center for Talent Innovation found that companies retention and firm performance.47 that leverage diversity among their workers and at the leadership-level are 45 percent more likely to The business case exists for women’s employment have grown their market share and 70 percent more at all levels: as employees, managers and leaders. likely to have captured a new market in the previous There are a host of business benefits associated with 12 months.51 investing in women employees. These include value creation, particularly as it relates to building human At the leadership level, the benefits of women’s capital, upgrading skills and driving productivity and representation are also evident. Firms with more quality. Another area relates to growth and resilience women in leadership roles often demonstrate better of firms, including through innovation and social firm performance, especially during periods of cohesion as well as reducing vulnerability to external economic volatility, greater ability to minimize high- disruptions.48 Research by McKinsey found that risk transactions and better serve markets among companies that invested in attracting, dominated by women. A study of 215 Fortune 500 retaining and developing female talent, 64 percent firms found that companies with higher levels of reported an increase in employee productivity and female representation outperformed industry retention and 57 percent reported an increase in their revenue averages by 46 percent.52 Companies with ability to attract talent. Corporate policies focused on diverse boards often tend to generate a higher return on equity than those without.53 19 Chapter 3: Characteristics of Participating Bootcamps T he insights in this report draw on the experiences of 25 coding bootcamps and 7 digital skills programs in 22 countries (see table 2). These programs were identified using a desk review as well as networks and technology-focused communities. While countless digital literacy programs exist, most were outside the scope of this activity. Overall, 71 programs were identified in 28 countries. Next, interviews were conducted with a subset of these bootcamps. Twelve women-only and 13 co-ed bootcamps were interviewed (One bootcamp, She Skills (now SkillsFirst) from Pakistan, shifted its model from women-only to co-ed, during the course of writing this report) (see table 3). 54 Table 2: Participating Coding Bootcamps Emerging or Middle-Income Economies High-Income Economies Ace Hacker Bangalore, India 23 Code Street London, United Kingdom (with a program in India) AkiraChix Nairobi, Kenya Ada Developers Academy Seattle, Washington, United States Andela Lagos, Nigeria; Nairobi, Kenya; AdaLab Madrid, Spain Kampala, Uganda Awele Academy’s S(H)e Hacks Lagos, Nigeria Grace Hopper Program at New York, New York, United Africa Fullstack Academy States Code Astra Hyderabad, India Hackbright Academy San Francisco, California, United States Code to Inspire Herat, Afghanistan Israel Tech Challenge Tel Aviv, Israel Cymetria’s NivelPRO Bogota, Colombia MotherCoders San Francisco, California, United States Hacktiv8 Jakarta, Indonesia V School Salt Lake City, Utah, United States (with programs in Beirut, Lebanon and Cape Coast, Ghana) Jaaga Bangalore, India We Can Code IT Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio, United States Laboratoria Santiago, Chile; Lima and Arequipa, Peru; Mexico City, Mexico Moringa School Nairobi, Kenya Plataforma 5 Buenos Aires, Argentina SkillsFirst Islamabad, Pakistan The Hacking School Hyderabad, India WeThinkCode Johannesburg, South Africa Women EdTech Cotonou, Benin Note: Due to the dynamic nature of these programs, the information captured above is subject to change. The following digital skills programs were interviewed: i) Apps & Girls Foundation (Tanzania); ii) Django Girls Mombasa (Kenya); iii) Django Girls Nairobi (Kenya); iv) Girls in Tech (Cameroon); v) Girls in Tech (Kenya); vi) Pwani Teknowgalz (Kenya) and vii) Girls Develop IT (USA). 20 Table 3: Typology & Target Demographic Type of Bootcamp Name Target demographic Length of instruction (full-time or part-time) Ready-to-Work Ada Developers All-female; open to non- 27 weeks (FT) programs Academy binary people55 AdaLab All-female 4 months + 6 months internship (FT) Intensive three-six months full or part-time rapid skills training program that AkiraChix All-female 1 year (FT) prepares people to qualify for employment shortly after the training ends. Code to Inspire All-female 2 years (after-school program; 15-25 years) Grace Hopper Full All-female 17 weeks (4-week part-time portion and remote Stack Academy Foundations training followed by 13-week full- time on-site training) (FT) Hackbright All-female 12 weeks FT (new 24-week PT program Academy recently launched) Ace Hacker Co-ed 15 weeks (FT) Code Astra Co-ed 4 months (FT) Hacktiv8 Co-ed 12 weeks (FT) Israel Tech Co-ed 3 months (FT) + two-month internship Challenge Jaaga Co-ed 6 weeks (FT) and 11 weeks (PT). Moringa School Co-ed 15 weeks (FT) Plataforma 5 Co-ed 12 weeks (FT) The Hacking Co-ed 13 weeks (FT) School V School Co-ed 12 weeks (FT) We Can Code IT Co-ed 14 weeks (FT) or 16-week hybrid program (with a special emphasis (online and face-to-face) on inclusion and diversity in tech) Bootcamp Plus Model Laboratoria All-female 6 months + 18 months continuing education (FT) Extended training approach which includes Andela Co-ed 6 months an intense coding (Fellows continue training for 4 years while bootcamp and continues with practical or “on-the- working for local and international companies) job” training to equip (FT) students with a higher level of tech and socioemotional WeThinkCode Co-ed 4-week bootcamp, then 2-year course (FT), skills. In the most advanced including two 4-month internships with stages, this model includes on-the-job training for two corporate partners. to four years. 23 Code Street All-female, non-binary 12 weeks (PT) Pre-Bootcamp MotherCoders All-female; non-binary 8 weeks (PT) Part-time online or in- person program providing basic digital and tech skills She Skills (now All-female* 4 weeks (PT) with blended online portions) to prepare students for the SkillsFirst) “Ready-to-Work” model. Women EdTech All-female 8 weeks (FT) The Pre-bootcamp Model varies in form and length and can be limited to basic Awele Academy’s Co-ed 4 weeks (FT) digital skills or expanded to (S)He Hacks Africa also provide basic or life Cymetria’s Co-ed 8 weeks (PT) skills. NivelPRO Notes: i) Due to the dynamic nature of these programs, the information captured above is subject to change; ii) The seven digital skills programs fall under the educational model, using a combination of short workshops or courses as well as tech clubs and meetups to introduce tech skills and generate interest. *The insights presented here for She Skills reflect the design features of their all-female program. However, during the finalization of this report, the bootcamp shifted its model to a co-ed program. 21 In addition to the typologies listed, one emerging components that helps developers build websites trend identified is that some providers are meeting a faster: rather than starting from scratch, developers new demand for upskilling or ‘re-skilling’. For can build on ready-made components that manage example, MotherCoders focuses on helping mothers elements like user authentication, among others).59 upskill and re-enter the labor market in mid- or senior-level roles. And 23 Code Street focuses on Business Models instilling ‘tech language’ and coding skills in non- The bootcamps interviewed operate under both for- tech sector, mid-level executives so they can more profit and non-profit models. Some are social effectively manage their tech teams. enterprises (generally speaking, businesses with primarily social objectives, whose surpluses are Curricula and Program Design principally reinvested). Bootcamps offer opportunities for trainees to pursue web or mobile development. The most commonly Some programs offer tuition deferment until trainees taught languages across bootcamps are HTML obtain a job. To participate in Grace Hopper’s Full (HyperText Markup Language), CSS (Cascading Stack Academy for-profit program, for example, Style Sheets), JavaScript, followed by Python. trainees pay a 15 percent deposit with the remainder of the tuition paid in nine monthly installments once HTML, CSS and JavaScript are considered trainees get a job. If graduates do not find work within foundational “front-end languages”; these help one year of graduation, their deposit is refunded. The manage the visual elements of a website.56 HTML is program thus shares the risk and reward of used to create the basic structure of the content graduates’ career outcomes. AdaLab (non- while CSS manages how these elements look—for profit/social enterprise) similarly allows trainees to example, controlling colors. JavaScript supports the pay tuition upon graduation, and if trainees do not interactivity on a webpage and helps make websites find work, they do not have to pay the fees. more user-friendly. Laboratoria (non-profit social venture) collects tuition once graduates get a job. Many curricula also include Python and Django. Python is considered a “back-end language”. This Many bootcamps have a tuition-free model, refers to the elements that an end user does not covering costs through various partnerships, directly interact with, and includes databases and including corporate sponsors (often with potential servers.57 Python can be used for web development, employers) and international donors. Such programs machine learning and data science among other include Ada Developers, WeThinkCode, AkiraChix functions.58 Django is an open source framework and Code to Inspire, among others. written in Python (A web framework refers to a set of Box 1: A Note on Costs Costs of employment-focused bootcamps vary extensively, from tuition-free models (e.g. AkiraChix (Kenya), WeThinkCode (South Africa), Code to Inspire (Afghanistan), Ada Developers Academy (USA)); tuition-deferred models (e.g. Grace Hopper Full Stack Academy (which charges $19,610)) and more traditional fee-based models: Awele Academy’s (S)He Hacks Africa (Nigeria) charges tuition of $100 but offers women trainees full or partial scholarships when they receive grants; The Hacking School’s (India) tuition is $1,250 for Indian nationals and $5,000 for non-Indians. Moringa School (Kenya) charges $1,600 for its intensive, ‘Core’ program, but offers a $200 discount to trainees that have taken the shorter, ‘Prep’ course. The fee for non-Kenyan students is $3,200. 23 Code Street (United Kingdom) charges about $2,300. In Indonesia, Hacktiv8’s fees range from $2,500 to $2,800, with a ten-percent discount for women. Plataforma 5 (Argentina) charges students $3,900; We Can Code IT (USA) charges $12,000; Hackbright Academy (USA) charges $17,000. Course Report, a third-party resource on bootcamps founded in 2013, maintains a list of coding bootcamp scholarship for women. These range from automatic discounts for women applicants, to scholarships that range from several hundred dollars to 70 percent of tuition. Source: Authors’ analysis; https://www.coursereport.com/blog/bootcamp-scholarships-for-women-a-comprehensive-list 22 Chapter 4: Approaches to Recruitment Challenges P revious WBG research has shown that men are When this computer science stereotype is strong, more likely to participate in coding bootcamps girls tend to feel a lower sense of fit and therefore than women. To counteract this challenge, programs belonging. This in turn decreases their interest in focused exclusively on women have emerged. At enrolling in computer science courses.64 In one the same time, co-ed programs have begun to experiment, researchers created two classrooms for implement measures designed to increase women’s girls 14-17 years. The first included a set of participation rates. stereotypical male images, including Star Wars/Star Trek items, electronics, software, tech magazines, Recruiting more women in coding bootcamps raises computer parts, video games, computer books, and a set of complex issues related to the role of science fiction books. The second was designed to stereotypes, understanding what works to increase be “non-stereotypical” and included nature pictures, women’s interest in computer science (and STEM, art pictures, water bottles, pens, a coffeemaker, more broadly), as well as nuances around framing lamps, general magazines, and plants. Girls reported messages. higher rates of interest in enrolling in computer While US-centric, the stereotype of a computer science when the environment did not reinforce traditional stereotypes.65 programmer is salient. Coding is typically associated with the male “geek” who is seen as anti-social and Highlighting role models is one strategy that can independent with strong “computer ability”.60 Other start to shift the stereotypes around computer research related to computer science shows that science. With respect to attraction and recruitment those in the field are thought of as technologically- specifically, role models can give a real-world oriented and socially awkward.61 Common understanding while sharing their experiences in the associations linked to the field more broadly relate field. They can also help others to envision a future to it “requiring brilliance”62 and being characterized in computing.66 In male-dominated fields, exposure by isolation as well as a lack of communal goals like to female role models also helps increase a sense of helping others and working together.63 belonging and interest.67 Many studies validate the importance of female role models for women. Role models demonstrate the kind of success that women can strive toward and show that overcoming barriers due to gender norms and stereotypes is possible. Furthermore, female role models can counteract the potential harm of “stereotype threat”—that is, a situation in which an individual worries about being judged negatively due to regressive stereotypes about her identity group.68 When young women encounter female role models such as a female professor in STEM, they are more likely to identify with science, implicitly associate science with women more than men, and aspire to careers in STEM fields.69 Sharing details about the professional achievements of female role models as well as information on how many are able to balance care responsibilities with work demands can also 23 encourage younger women to pursue study or careers in STEM fields.70 Strategies The strategies bootcamps are employing are largely Framing STEM as potentially communal, aligned with the existing evidence on women and collaborative and creative can also help increase girls in computer science and STEM, more broadly. women’s interest. Studies highlight that communal Many providers are using marketing messages that goals are valued by people in general, but especially actively shift the stereotype of a typical coder. by women.71 As a result, when STEM careers are Programs are depicting and leveraging female role perceived as less communal and collaborative, models in their local tech ecosystems, framing women’s interest declines.72 A study on girls aged 11- coding as a collaborative activity linked to social 18 in the US also showed that interest in design and impact, and actively and creatively working to recruit creativity acted as a significant predictor for interest women by tapping into women’s networks. in computer science, so promoting the creative Bootcamp providers are also working to build family dimensions of STEM may help attract girls to these and community support, especially in contexts with fields of study more broadly.73 Other studies have more restrictive gender and social norms, helping also noted that women who enroll in computer beginners get up to speed and finding ways to science programs cite an opportunity to be creative reduce constraints around upfront tuition to make among the reasons for their interest.74 programs more accessible. Bootcamp providers are utilizing the following strategies: 1. Using marketing messages to counteract stereotypes about coders and the culture of bootcamps 2. Featuring female role models to help disrupt the notion of what a stereotypical coder looks like 3. Maximizing marketing impact through creative approaches and tapping into women’s networks to encourage female applicants 4. Building family and community support early on, especially in settings where social norms are restrictive 5. Setting clear expectations beforehand and helping beginners get up to speed 6. Considering ways to reduce constraints around upfront tuition to ensure that bootcamps are more inclusive Of course, many women will pursue a program 1. Using marketing messages to regardless of whether they identify with the people counteract stereotypes about pictured in marketing materials, but globally coders and the culture of interviews with bootcamps validate the importance of thinking strategically about these dimensions. bootcamps Attraction, marketing and recruitment strategies are Imagery that is overly combative, competitive or crucial when encouraging women to enter coding hyper-individualistic can discourage women from bootcamps. The types of messages, ways in which applying. Instead of inviting applicants to become messages are presented, and design choices in “coding ninjas” or “warriors,” marketing materials can marketing materials can signal culture, shape emphasize the capacity of code to promote interest and influence a sense of belonging. empowerment, increase incomes, and solve challenges in one’s community (see figure 3). 24 Programs can also challenge perceptions about the regardless of background: “No previous education or competitive and individualistic culture of bootcamps coding experience required. If you are between 17 by depicting coding as creative, collaborative and and 35 years old, simply complete our online community-oriented. In Kenya, AkiraChix makes an application to find out if you have the potential to effort in its marketing material to show that coding become a world-class software engineer.” With can be fun and social. It includes photos of parties programs in Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda, Andela and informal get-togethers throughout the course uses open-source learning resources to help and afterwards. 23 Code Street in the United interested applicants get up to speed. The module Kingdom found that it attracted women by begins with the basics that serve as an introduction marketing the program with an emphasis on a to computer science.75 family-oriented approach and tight-knit, supportive cohorts. In the United States, MotherCoders, a Furthermore, some providers are re-framing coding program focused on helping women with children as a way to make an impactful change and develop gain skills to thrive in the digital economy, solutions, and as an opportunity to create a new emphasizes that trainees will join a community of future. For example, WeThinkCode markets coding peers who support them and have the resources to as a “super-power to create what you can imagine”. enable their success. This subverts the idea that coding is simply a way to make money, and presents it also as a way to Many programs also try to change perceptions develop solutions that can improve people’s lives. around barriers to entry through signaling that One of MotherCoders key target markets is the coding is accessible and can often be learned group of “entrepreneur moms”; it focuses on without prior experience. WeThinkCode, a South upskilling these women with tech skills to develop African program, explicitly indicates on its solutions and implement their start-up ideas. application that coding is open to everyone, Figure 3: Counteracting stereotypes through marketing messages Code to Inspire emphasizes how In Latin America, Laboratoria WeThinkCode, a South African learning to code can empower Afghan highlights the ways in which the program, emphasizes code as a tool women economically, especially program has helped hundreds of of social impact that enables through online freelancing work and women to almost triple their incomes developers to break down barriers of digital entrepreneurship. and improve their lives. the past and unlock their potential to recode the future. including current or past students, and illustrating 2. Featuring female role models to that they can have successful personal and help disrupt the notion of what a professional lives. Other forms of role models, such stereotypical coder looks like as female coding instructors or public figures who Communication efforts during recruitment can help have broken barriers in STEM could be effective. disrupt the perception of coding as an isolated and Bootcamps that target women or those that have masculine activity. been trying to increase the share of women in their To counteract this view, bootcamps can leverage the cohorts have started to use female role models to “role model effect” by showcasing female coders, attract female students (see figure 4). 25 Figure 4: Programs are using female role models to recruit female students CODE TO INSPIRE leverages its ADALAB tells the stories of women female mentors as a way to overcome who broke barriers in the STEM field in stereotypes and demonstrate how the past (such as Ada Lovelace) during learning to code can empower women. recruitment. 23 CODE STREET shares the ISRAEL TECH CHALLENGE has a journeys of women who came in the predominantly female program staff. The program as beginners, but are now head of the program, deputy and instructors and mentors. marketing leads are women. Their application screening team is all female and half of their instructors are women. Box 2: Women Coders: Spotlight 1 “It all began with the first computer I saw. The curiosity was enough to blow up the moon. I wondered, "How? How is this working?" That's how my love for technology was born. Before WTC (WeThinkCode) I was at Wits University studying Film and TV. The urge to solve problems in code was still there. I took the leap and today I am a WeThinkCoder. I am a young lady from the West Rand aiming to be a software engineer. I aim to be a tech entrepreneur by the end of my WTC career.” -Phumudzo Nevhutala, Coder, WeThinkCode Some bootcamps also pay attention to other forms also highlights the importance of materials that of representation in marketing materials. US-based ensure mothers and pregnant women see programs attempt to tackle other dimensions of themselves represented in tech and feel included. It diversity, to reach women of color as well as the makes a particular effort to challenge the traditional LGBTQI community. Ada Developers Academy—a bootcamp environment which may not Seattle-based program—notes that its mission is to accommodate care responsibilities or lifestyles. diversify tech by providing women and non-binary While targeting mothers, it openly welcomes people with the skills, experience, and community everyone who is transgender,76 cisgender77 and support to become professional software those who were assigned female gender at birth but developers who contribute to changing the world do not identify with the gender binary. In the United with software. MotherCoders, a program focused on Kingdom, 23 Code Street explicitly includes in their helping women with children enter the tech industry, mission and marketing materials that inclusivity and 26 accessibility are at the heart of everything it does. It Another approach is to form outreach partnerships emphasizes the importance of inclusion in tech of with local organizations, including those focused on those that identify as women and non-binary people increasing the share of women who participate in the from all backgrounds. local tech industry. Often, coding bootcamps lack networks that connect them to potential women applicants, making these kinds of partnerships especially helpful. For instance, Jaaga, a Bangalore- 3. Maximizing marketing impact based co-ed program, reached out to creative through creative approaches and industries outside of tech that included a larger pool of women in professions, such as design and art. It tapping into women’s networks to marketed coding as a way for creatives to build their encourage female applicants portfolios and attain the technical skills needed to Often, coding bootcamps operate as start-ups that implement and enhance their creative visions. lack specific budgets to conduct targeted marketing campaigns that could help expand their reach to Programs can also complement digital marketing potential women applicants. While dedicated with face-to-face recruitment methods. In Kenya, resources are preferable, in their absence programs Moringa School has also started to use face-to-face can still use creative approaches to magnify efforts. recruitment techniques to enroll women, such as Examples of these include maximizing exposure events at universities and churches hosted by through public relations coverage, media articles, current female students or mentors. Next, Moringa and speaking at conferences geared toward used techniques including leveraging “influencers” inclusion in tech. 23 Code Street has found that during recruitment (other women in the tech public relations and media coverage has helped it ecosystem) and hosting hackathons (potentially achieve low-cost coverage of their program. It women-only) to boost women’s exposure to coding. approached journalists who profiled the bootcamp. The marketing team at Andela also found offline WeThinkCode did not have a marketing budget channels to be effective, especially advertisements during its first two years of operation. However, the at malls and universities. They also partnered with team behind this bootcamp leveraged personal Google’s Women Techmakers and AkiraChix to get networks to access public relations opportunities the word out. such as talk shows and media spots. They also focused on in-person outreach via events and roadshows at schools. Box 3: Women Coders: Spotlight 2 “I am a Lesotho born lady, mother of two who now lives in South Africa. I studied Bsc. Biology and Chemistry at the National University of Lesotho(NUL) and could not complete my studies. Came to SA and studied Mine Survey(certificate) and did not get far with it, and became a stay at home mom after all those years of studying. I then heard about MOOV(Massive Open Online Varsity) and went to study web development, that when I found out about WeThinkCode_ and coding. At first, I did not know what coding is, so I had to go and do my research and became interested, decided to write online tests and passed, came to bootcamp and that’s when I develop the passion for coding. Being part of the revolution, the future and the ability to test and push one's boundaries is what I love about technology and wish to be the best female coder there is.” - Senaki Sekese, Coder, WeThinkCode 27 For instance, at AdaLab, attrition rates were linked to 4. Building family and community a mismatch in expectations about time and support early on, especially in commitment. Learning from this, it now makes a settings where social norms are concerted effort to set expectations early on. AkiraChix uses a “welcome handbook”—also serving restrictive as a code of conduct—to outline course In many contexts, particularly those with restrictive expectations, processes for maintaining quality, and gender and social norms, building family and resources for additional support. community support are critical enabling factors to women’s enrollment. Providing resources and opportunities for beginners to upskill before joining a bootcamp can increase Challenges around women’s mobility and decision- program accessibility. Some programs incorporate a making emerged as a prominent theme in countries preparatory period prior to coursework. The Grace with more restrictive gender norms. In some Hopper Program at Full Stack Academy asks contexts, women required permission from spouses beginners to get up to speed with a two-week prep or male family members to participate in bootcamps. program prior to the core courses. They also host a Expectations around marriage and the ways in which regular coding night for beginners to build a these norms may conflict with economic and community of women that are exploring and just educational activities also posed a challenge for starting in the industry. Awele Academy’s (S)He some programs that wanted to enroll and support Hacks Africa provides a three-day prep course for women. In these cases, the concern about a participants to ensure that everyone begins at the woman’s high earning potential after the bootcamp same starting point. was perceived as a negative outcome, which might affect her “marriage potential” and take time away 6. Considering ways to reduce from care and domestic responsibilities. constraints around upfront tuition Bootcamps faced with these additional complexities to ensure that bootcamps are attempted to navigate them by engaging women’s families. Where safety was the main concern, more inclusive programs often invited family members and To alleviate constraints around what is often the influential community members to visit the prohibitive costs of many bootcamps, some bootcamp site and get to know instructors as a way programs have started to explore creative ways of of building trust. In Afghanistan, Code to Inspire increasing access for low-income/income diverse occasionally hosts open houses, where students’ applicants. While this approach is likely to be good families can visit the space, see the projects that practice for both male and female participants, students are working on, and speak with instructors. providers suggest that this is a critical consideration Students report feeling more supported after their to increase the participation of women. families see their learning environment and observe Many programs focused on getting more women their progress themselves. Ace Hacker includes into their programs offer scholarships or give family members in their outreach efforts. It also trainees the option of deferring their tuition provides women-only accommodations that are payments until they acquire a job. However, these walking distance from classes, along with 24-hour programs are often tremendously competitive: women-only security guards and a live-in “house Laboratoria, boasts an acceptance rate of 9 mother”. percent.78 Trainees pay for the program after graduation and only if they get a job. At Andela, 5. Setting clear expectations which is harder to get into than Harvard College, beforehand and helping beginners fellows do not pay tuition during their 6-month get up to speed training period. Fellows then transition to working for While this may seem obvious—and is best practice local and international companies, where they for male or female clients across any kind of receive a salary and have the option of on-site program—providers stress the importance of setting accommodations. The Grace Hopper Program clear expectations about the demanding nature of provides deferred tuition payment for students until many bootcamps. they have been hired. This has helped alleviate the 28 upfront investment by women and also reassures girls’ interest in mathematics and science tends to them that the program will support them when decline during adolescence.79 transitioning to the labor market. Hacktiv8 provides a tuition deferment option and offers a money-back AkiraChix offers a co-ed Kids Tech Camp focused on guarantee if trainees do not find a job within four game development and arts for children ages 5-11. It months. MotherCoders offers a subsidized tuition also hosts a bootcamp for high schoolers aged 12-17 model including childcare options facilitated by that teaches Python. In Lagos, Awele Academy’s donor contributions. It is important to note that many (S)He Hacks Africa runs programs for girls in of these programs often receive donor support and secondary school (11-17 years) designed to give have challenges around sustainability. them information about the range of career opportunities in technology and start to build their Beyond recruitment strategies that aim to shift confidence. WeThinkCode partners with local perceptions around coding and center on women’s organizations focused on girls in tech in order to networks, programs emphasize the importance of spark their interest in the field and introduces building the pipeline of talent from early on. In fact, alumnae as example role models of women in tech. Box 4: Technovation: Working to Build the Pipeline of Women in Technology80 Technovation is the world’s largest technology entrepreneurship program for girls aged 10-18. It runs across 100+ countries, supported by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Peace Corps and UN Women. Through Technovation, girls work with women mentors, identify a community problem that could be addressed with technology, develop a mobile app, and launch a start-up. Developed in 2010 in response to the decrease in the number of women entering the field of computer science over the past 30 years, Technovation enables girls to learn how to create technological solutions to problems around them. Over the past eight years, about 18,000 girls have developed mobile apps and start-ups to solve diverse challenges, including food waste, nutrition, and women's safety issues. After participating in the program, 78 percent of students reported being more interested in computer science, 70 percent were more interested in entrepreneurship, and 67 percent were more interested in business leadership. Furthermore, 58 percent of alumnae enroll subsequently in computer science courses. As just 26 percent of alumnae in college major in computer science subjects. This is 65- times the US national rate of 0.4 percent of female college students majoring in computer science. Each summer, the top-12 finalist Technovation teams are flown to San Francisco to celebrate their accomplishments, tour technology companies, network, and share their ideas. In 2017, Technovation hosted girls from Kazakhstan, India, Kenya, Cambodia and the USA. Their apps included: ● Cambodia Identity Product aims to share information about traditional, handmade Cambodia products, such as kroma. Its goal is to reduce rural poverty and preserve Cambodian culture by better connecting artisans to potential customers. ● iCut tackles female genital mutilation in Kenya by providing a platform to report cases and support survivors. ● 4Refugee helps connect refugees in the USA to jobs, transportation and food. It supports their integration in host communities by placing them with local families for US holidays such as Thanksgiving. 29 Insights for Implementation Role Models During Recruitment: Does Gender Matter? To enhance the effectiveness of strategies to recruit more women, bootcamp providers can build on empirical findings showing that both female and male role models can be effective specifically for recruitment (as opposed to retention), provided they do not reinforce traditional stereotypes about computer science.81 During recruitment, a perception of relatability could be more important than the sex of the recruiter.82 This suggests that men could be used as role models, provided they do not reinforce traditional stereotypes about computer science. However, it is important to note that this study is largely based on US experience and therefore there are limits in knowledge regarding its global applicability. Researchers can work to fill this evidence gap to provide a better understanding of what works around the world for a wider cross-section of women and girls, taking an intersectional approach that covers multiple races, ethnicities, income-levels, and other dimensions. 30 Chapter 4 Summary RECRUITMENT: Ideas from Providers 1. Use marketing messages to counteract stereotypes about coders and the culture of bootcamps. Some providers are cautious about reinforcing the male and “nerdy” stereotype around coding and computer science. Instead, when trying to recruit women, bootcamps often utilize messages that counteract traditional stereotypes and emphasize coding as a creative, collaborative skill that can help solve real-world problems. 2. Feature female role models to help disrupt the notion of what a stereotypical coder looks like. Providers are profiling local women in technology, as well as past and current students, especially role models who can communicate the fact that they can have both successful personal and professional lives. However, when it comes to recruitment, male role models could help too once they do not reinforce the traditional stereotype. 3. Maximize marketing impact through creative approaches and leverage into women’s networks to encourage female applicants. Programs are leveraging local and international groups like Google Women Tech Makers, TechWomen, Technovation or other women in technology groups to help identify potential trainees. 4. Build family and community support early on, especially in settings where social norms are restrictive. Bootcamps faced with these additional complexities attempted to navigate them by engaging women’s families and communities: Programs often invited family members and influential community members to visit the bootcamp site and get to know instructors as a way of building trust. 5. Set clear expectations beforehand and helping beginners get up to speed through preparatory, self-guiding training. Bootcamps are providing resources and opportunities for beginners to upskill beforehand to increase program accessibility. 6. Consider ways to reduce constraints around upfront tuition to ensure that bootcamps are more inclusive. While this approach is likely to be good practice for both male and female participants, providers suggest that this is a critical consideration to increase the participation of women. Many programs focused on getting more women into their programs offer scholarships or give trainees the option of deferring their tuition payments until they acquire a job. 31 Chapter 5: Strategies for Inclusive Program Design Challenges A range of constraints can limit women’s the skills per se that one possesses, but rather one’s participation and retention in coding bootcamps. view of what one can do with the skills she or he These can include constraints related to care, a lack has.86 While women and girls possess equal of safe transport or time. Traditionally, women often abilities—data overwhelming shows that gender bear the responsibility of caring for children, the sick differences in mathematics and science 87 or the elderly. The care needs of others can limit performance have converged or closed —they tend women’s ability to engage in economic activities and to underestimate their capabilities.88 This is due in skills-building programs, like intensive coding part to internalized perceptions about their math and bootcamps. Almost one in 10 of the world’s science competence.89 For instance, in engineering, population (679 million) are under five years old and researchers found men to have higher measures of in need of care. Yet, childcare remains scare, self-efficacy than women.90 A study among tertiary- especially for children under three years old.83 level students in the United States on mathematics found that, after controlling for student While focused on employers, the IFC’s Tackling preparedness, career intentions, instruction and Childcare, the Business Case for Employer-Supported institution, women were 1.5 times more likely to Childcare report holds important findings on the switch out of calculus—a prerequisite for a STEM business case for childcare. These kinds of services career—than men.91 However, in some cases, are linked to a range of benefits, including more challenges around women’s attrition in STEM has inclusive recruitment, retention, productivity gains, been linked to low sense of professional role workforce diversity and access to markets. For confidence (individuals’ confidence in their ability to example, in the tech sector, Akamai (US-based) and successfully fulfil the roles, competencies and Mindtree (India) found that offering childcare identity features of a profession), rather than a enabled them to recruit and retain highly qualified negative sense of self-efficacy in mathematics.92 software engineers. Childcare also helped reduce Other factors often influence a sense of self-efficacy, employee turnover by one third at Nalt Enterprise (a such as a sense of belonging. A study focused on textile producer in Vietnam) and by 15 percent at women’s representation in mathematics found that a Martur (a car component producer in Turkey).84 feeling of membership and acceptance in this field Safe, accessible and affordable transportation could acts a critical driver of the gender gap.93 affect women’s retention in coding bootcamps. As in recruitment, female role models can play a key Women are more willing to use transportation role during programs, to reduce stereotype threat services that are clean and comfortable. Moreover, and boost self-efficacy. While both female and male safety is a critical factor, along with efficient routes role models may be effective during recruitment, that can help women manage their household female role models are especially critical during responsibilities, where relevant.85 courses and training programs. Research suggests A limited sense of self-efficacy could also play a role that this difference is due to the stronger roles of in whether or not a woman persists in a coding regressive stereotypes with respect to women in STEM that might emerge during the program.94 bootcamp. This also emerges as a recurrent theme when trying to address the underrepresentation of Negative stereotypes may reduce feelings of women and girls in STEM, more broadly. Self- belonging and limit women and girls’ expectations of efficacy refers to an individual’s judgment of his or success.95 Exposure to female role models in these her abilities to accomplish a specific task. It also not instances can limit the impact of stereotype threat, protect their performance and improve implicit 32 associations with STEM. 96 In engineering, increased Sexual harassment has also emerged as a critical exposure to female engineers who shared challenge that programs can take steps to prevent, information about their personal and professional identify, address, mitigate and monitor.104 Sexual lives, helped change misconceptions about women harassment is defined as “unwelcome sexual in the field.97 advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature…”105 Another approach to reducing attrition and Although targeted to companies, the IFC’s She increasing self-efficacy is mentoring. Mentoring can Works: Putting Gender-Smart Commitments into be defined as “a developmental relationship Practice in the Workplace holds valuable lessons that between a more experienced person (i.e., the bootcamps could integrate into their programs. mentor) and a less experienced person (i.e., the Sexual harassment can decrease motivation and protégé), where the mentor's aim is to support the morale, compromise teamwork and increase protégé’s professional development and stress.106 To minimize these risks, She Works socialization into the profession.” Mentoring recommends: i) developing a clearly defined and relationships can be formed through formal strongly worded anti-sexual harassment policy; ii) programs or informally.98 Research specific to developing a complaints procedure that is fair tertiary-level mentoring programs characterizes (provides both the complainant and the respondent mentoring as having several functions, including an opportunity to present their version of events), psychosocial support (i.e., counseling, guidance, and confidential, transparent, accessible and efficient; iii) encouragement) and instrumental support, like skills defining consequences and remediation, including a development.99 Mentoring can also include a requirement to attend sexual harassment training, dimension of role modelling where mentors serve as mediation, or disciplinary action; iv) training and a source of inspiration as well as knowledge around awareness-raising for staff at all levels to recognize, what is needed to succeed.100 prevent, manage and mitigate harassment; and v) While sex-disaggregated evidence on mentoring is monitoring and evaluate policies, measures and limited, the research that does exist highlights the mechanisms to ensure continued effectiveness.107 importance of having not one but several mentors, for women in particular, who then provide linkages Strategies to broader networks. In addition to female role Thoughtful design can help women stay in the models, having female mentors is especially program and thrive. Providers can mitigate the important for women in STEM.101 A 2017 study constraints that reduce the participation and showed that a formal mentoring programs retention of women in rapid tech skills training (participants were invited to a weekend workshop, programs, like care and transportation. Among the had access to an online peer support community, programs interviewed, women-only programs are and were connected to female mentors in science, more likely to address these issues. Other such as faculty, postdoctoral researchers, graduate approaches used by women-only programs aim to students or professional scientists) had beneficial encourage a sense of self-efficacy through effects on interest, intentions to continue in the field leveraging role models and mentors, using as well as identification with science. Mentees were collaborative, create, peer-learning to build also more likely to have multiple mentors as confidence and engaging a counselor to provide opposed to just one.102 The WBG has also found that support. Women-only programs are also starting to in some male-dominated professions, male explore ways to prevent and respond to sexual mentorship is especially effective. The Africa Gender harassment in the broader tech community. Many Innovation Lab (GIL) has explored “crossovers”—that co-ed programs have made an effort to create an is, women crossing over into male-dominated inclusive culture and have made explicit efforts to sectors, such as metalworking. The GIL finds that, in recruit and retain women, with positive results. Ethiopia and Uganda, crossing over is more Community-building activities are also being used to profitable for women, helping close gaps between prevent attrition by both types of programs. males and females, due in part, to the role of information as well as male mentorship.103 33 Bootcamp providers are utilizing the following strategies: 1. Considering ways to alleviate other forms of constraints, including challenges around quality, safe and affordable care and transportation services 2. Tackling the “confidence gap” 3. Incorporating socioemotional and life skills 4. Minimizing women’s risk of and exposure to sexual harassment 5. Using bootcamps to build community to improve retention 1. Considering ways to alleviate other Students reported feeling more comfortable knowing they could fulfill family responsibilities forms of constraints, including while attending the bootcamp. MotherCoders challenges around quality, safe provides on-site childcare throughout its program. In addition, tuition—which is already subsidized by and affordable care and donor contributions—is subsidized further to pay for transportation services on-site childcare. (The six-week program costs $4,000, or $4,500 with on-site childcare) (see box 5). a. Taking care needs into account when Lunch is included in each class session so mothers designing programs can maximize time in the classroom. The per student Depending on the age group and profile of potential cost for delivering the program is $8,377. female trainees, care responsibilities may emerge as MotherCoders depends on a community of donors a constraint for some. Bootcamp providers can take to meet the funding gap. WeThinkCode recognizes childcare needs into account in different ways, that many of the women in its program have including through identifying nearby public facilities childcare demands. It is exploring offering potential or by providing on-site crèches. Laboratoria realized daycare options close to its campus in collaboration it lacked the resources to provide childcare services with other organizations and businesses co-located to mothers. Instead, it connected mothers with in the Cape Town waterfront area. government-provided childcare services in Chile. Box 5: MotherCoders108 MotherCoders in San Francisco is a 9-week, part-time technology program for women with tertiary degrees and work experience. It includes on-site childcare, as well as community events and workshops. The program views mothers as an under-utilized talent pool that can update their technical skills to participate in the innovation economy. Using a combination of reading materials, online and in-class coding exercises, and classroom workshops and lectures, MotherCoders teaches participants basic skills in web and user experience design, enabling them to build a simple website using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The program prioritizes frontend development as a way to demystify the coding process and help trainees gain confidence in their own ability to succeed. One-third of graduates go on to learn more advanced programming languages. The program also provides an overview of the technology industry, and works to build peer and industry networks. Depending on the childcare site, the program provides care for children ages 3-36 months, 5-14 years, or youths aged 14-years and up. The childcare is based on the needs of each cohort of participants. MotherCoders charges students $4,500 with childcare or $4,000 without. The actual cost to the organization is $8,377 per participant, but donor support fills the gap. 34 Box 6: Spotlight on Graduates from MotherCoders109 Prisca Ekkens Class of Fall 2014 Visual Designer, Health Fidelity Technical Skills: HTML/CSS, Bootstrap, Swift, User Experience/User Interface Prior to MotherCoders, Prisca was a visual designer working full-time in the biotech industry. After falling in love with code, Prisca went on to complete CodePath's iOS bootcamp while still working full-time. Her combination of design and programming skills helped her fully transition into UX design at a health-tech start-up. Johanna Silva Waki Class of Spring 2014 Regional Director, EMILY's List Prior to MotherCoders, Johanna was the principal of a PR & Communications consultancy. After getting a confidence boost from developing marketable tech skills, she went after her dream job, where her responsibilities include using her UX skills to help political candidates build better websites—a must-have in today's competitive media landscape. Margaret Lee Class of Summer 2016 Founder, Stealth Mobile App Technical Skills: HTML/CSS, JavaScript, Swift Prior to MotherCoders, Margaret had worked as a marketing director in the gaming industry before pausing her career for motherhood. Since completing our program, Margaret's gone on to build a prototype of a mobile app aimed at parents. Santiago a charge card that can be used on local b. Subsidizing travel costs for low-income transit services. students on a case-by-case basis WeThinkCode also provides a daily transport Bootcamps are realizing that travel costs can also act stipend, after realizing that one of the biggest as a constraint to students’ participation and barriers for women was the cost of transportation to retention. Considering ways to minimize campus. It also provides a subsidized transportation costs are likely to be good practice for accommodation option. boosting inclusion overall, but may be especially important for low-income women with limited c. Taking different approaches to program access to or control over financial resources. flexibility Cymetria was unable to provide financial support to Some bootcamps argue that making programs subsidize travel costs, and several women dropped flexible would be a disservice to students who need out of its bootcamp because they did not have to be prepared for highly competitive and enough money to travel to the location each day. demanding jobs in the local or international tech sector. However, others see flexibility as central to Ada Developers Academy and Laboratoria (Chile) their ability to attract and retain women. Providers both subsidize transport: Ada provides public that have started to offer training beyond the transportation passes to low-income students on a traditional full-time model (for example, part time, need-basis, while Laboratoria provides students in evening or weekend classes, or self-paced online courses) report higher numbers of women 35 participants and better retention. However, the 2. Tackling the “confidence gap” longer-term impacts are not yet known. Bootcamp providers report that female students MotherCoders provides classes on weekends and often drop out due to a lack of confidence despite weekdays—the latter are aligned with the times objective metrics demonstrating high performance. children are at school to accommodate mothers’ While there is no silver bullet, programs have been schedules. We Can Code IT allows students flexible trying a range of strategies to tackle this issue. These start and end times as needed. This has allowed include drawing on female role models during the trainees to take care of dependents and complete bootcamp and providing validation by showcasing assignments remotely. We Can Code IT has a hybrid their trainees’ skills and achievements. Programs program that combines online and face-to-face have also found that providing access to counselors training. Trainees receive access to 20-25 hours’ and hiring female instructors are particularly worth of foundational material and also work on effective. team assignments in-person for two weeks per month. 23 Code Street offers part-time programs a. Drawing on role models—again. two nights a week for beginners. Ace Hacker will Female role models (i.e. instructors, professional begin offering a revised schedule to better mentors, or women leaders in the local tech accommodate women: Instead of 12-hour days, it ecosystem) can combat regressive stereotypes will have 8-hour days ending at 6:00pm, to allow about women’s capacity to acquire skills and thrive. time for women to safely return home. Plataforma 5 While this approach relies on sufficient women in the plans to provide part-time programs, which have tech ecosystem, in instances where this is not the been in demand. And Jaaga previously provided a case, some programs have invited women leaders year-long coding bootcamp held at remote farm, but across other industries to mentor and speak with has now started to offer city locations that are more students. accessible for women. It is also exploring restructuring its program to provide part-time, In various bootcamps, incorporating female mentors evening and self-paced programs that better fit the emerged as the main strategy for not only helping needs of women. women to build their confidence, but also to connect them to women’s networks and provide professional development support. Women’s networks can d. Providing students with access to connect trainees to job opportunities, share first- computers and access to the bootcamp hand experiences of their experience working in site outside hours of instruction tech, and also fight stereotype threat. AdaLab has 50 Providing students with laptops could make mentors who serve as role models and help female bootcamps more inclusive for both women and men. students understand that there is space and Andela provides fellows with laptops when they opportunity in the technology sector for them. Other enter the program. While this approach is expensive programs—usually all-female—including Code to and may not be feasible for all programs, other Inspire and AkiraChix use this approach as well. approaches like providing flexible hours of access to Hackbright Academy has a structured mentorship the bootcamp site if programs use desktops could program, with each student assigned up to three help low-income students who may not have access mentors (both male and female). Mentors meet to computers or the internet at home to complete mentees once per week for one hour. They also coursework. This could facilitate peer-learning and provide informational interviews, as well as access to encourage collective problem-solving. 23 Code their networks. Other programs incorporate learning Street provides after-hour access so students and and leadership events where students can meet alums can utilize meeting rooms, technology and local women in tech and get a first-hand resources. Laboratoria, SkillsFirst and Code to understanding of their experience in the industry. Inspire have received requests from students and WeThinkCode hosts regular breakfast networking are currently exploring sustainable ways to provide session with women in tech which facilitates more access to students. connections and organically develop mentorship relationships. 36 b. Using peer-learning models with overlap with challenges faced by other women in the mechanisms for frequent feedback, to program (see box 8 for more on AkiraChix). build women’s sense of self-efficacy Bootcamps also try to incorporate frequent Studies have shown that collaborative, creative and feedback mechanisms for assignments. Providers hands-on learning works best when teaching girls report that social reinforcement and constructive STEM subjects.110 In general, active learning—aiming feedback from peers and instructors boosts self- to engage students through activities, promoting confidence. Project critiques create an opportunity higher-order thinking and group work—has also for female students to give and receive constructive been shown to improve scores in science, feedback, increasing self-confidence. In addition to engineering, and mathematics.111 dedicating one day per week to socioemotional skills training, AdaLab incorporates socioemotional skills Collaborative work is a key characteristic of rapid training into its assignments. There are mandatory skills training programs; however, all-female presentations at the end of every three-week programs suggest that working in groups has also project, which are evaluated based on structure, been effective in boosting the confidence of their delivery, time management, and audience female students. connection. Presentations intrinsically build teamwork and communication skills, and allow students to provide each other with feedback. Laboratoria is developing a learning management system (LMS) so that students can practice more at home. The LMS will also allow students to measure their progress and complete practice exercises. These features are inspired by Khan Academy tutorials and videos. c. Engaging counselors to provide psychological support Counselors can help students manage stress that Each day at AdaLab, students have two hours of might impact their course performance. Laboratoria instruction followed by group work. Groups are has two psychologists to tackle issues around self- changed every three weeks, and there are individual efficacy and provide mental health support for and group assignments. Over three months, students who are dealing with stress or personal students reported feeling more confident after issues (such as intimate partner violence). working with their peers to complete projects. WeThinkCode has developed a partnership with an Laboratoria has adopted the Agile approach to help organization that provides mental health support for students work more effectively in teams, improve their students. This has enabled students to manage their communication skills and reflect on their work demands along with other pressures in their learning progress as a group (see box 7). Group work personal lives. In addition, WeThinkCode’s Talent can also build women’s networks and build a tight- Manager has a psychology background and is able knit community that can provide a sense of support to provide on-the-spot support. Hacktiv8 provides a for students. counselor for students, both male and female, it has improved students’ confidence. 23 Code Street creates a focus on developing cohorts that are like a “family support” system within Programs also try to set a dedicated time for the program. To build relationships, it hosts lectures students to express difficulties with coursework. over meals and in familiar social settings, allowing Providers report that low self-confidence manifests women themselves to develop a support network. In itself through a reluctance to speak in class, addition, the staff reach out to each student to help including asking or answering questions. Having a them reach their individual goals. AkiraChix conducts dedicated time during class for women to speak to student group mentorship around key challenges and in front of their peers intrinsically builds self- and challenges affecting women, which often confidence, helps women relate to each other and sharpens public-speaking skills. In addition to 37 Laboratoria, We Can Code IT also has “stand-ups” at reproductive health behaviors and attitudes). In the beginning and end of each day, where students Nepal and Lao PDR, the program had positive check-in with each other and expresses challenges outcomes, with young women reporting greater they have experienced with coursework. This helps economic power, agency, and job acquisition.116 cohorts build trust and become closer with each other. Lessons from the AGI help make the case for the importance of socioemotional and life skills for Implicit biases among instructors in ways that young women, especially those who might be perpetuate misconceptions about women’s abilities experiencing higher levels of vulnerability. AkiraChix, in STEM may also play a role in decreasing women’s which targets young women from low-income self-confidence. This is a critical area for further backgrounds takes the life skills approach in its research. curriculum. Due to the needs of the young women entering the program, it also openly addresses 3. Incorporating socioemotional and issues around safe sex, drugs and alcohol. Programs life skills like Andela, Moringa and 23 Code Street, among others, place a strong emphasis on providing Socioemotional skills refer to social, emotional, socioemotional skills for developers. The Grace behavioral, attitudinal and personality traits that Hopper Program provides regular discussions on enable individuals to effectively manage their “imposter syndrome”—the internal experience of emotions, deal with conflict, and maintain positive phoniness or lack of intelligence despite outstanding relationships among a host of other factors. 112 The academic and professional achievements proving term is often used interchangeably with soft skills otherwise.117 The program openly addresses the and non-cognitive skills. Life skills often include a frequency of these thoughts and provides tactics on focus on personal agency and development (e.g., how they can be controlled. decision-making, self-awareness, self-esteem building and conflict resolution) along with cognitive and interpersonal skills (see box 9).113 4. Minimizing women’s risk of and exposure to sexual harassment Socioemotional skills have been positive linked to Women experience increased risk of and exposure educational and labor market outcomes.114 Coding to sexual harassment. This has multiple implications bootcamps already incorporate a focus on these for female students’ performance during coding skills as a part of their programs. Many focus on bootcamps, including lowering self-confidence, collaboration, teamwork and communication skills to inhibiting women’s ability to safely travel to/from the complement technical coding skills and provide program site, and attend networking and other trainees with a well-rounded set of competencies for technology events. the labor market.115 Some of the coding bootcamps describes sexual The World Bank Group’s Adolescent Girls Initiative harassment of women as prevalent. Many of the (AGI) highlights the role socioemotional skills might places for girls and women (particularly low-income play in helping adolescent girls transition from girls and women) to access computers are at cyber school to productive employment. The AGI cafes. These are usually male-dominated, and many incorporated a focus on “life skills”, specifically: i) girls and women feel unsafe because of the risk of decision-making (e.g. critical and creative. thinking, harassment. Ace Hacker therefore provides and problem solving); ii) community living (e.g. accommodation arrangements specific to the needs effective communication, resisting peer pressure, of women participants. This includes women-only building healthy relationships, and conflict dorms, walkable to coding classes, 24-hour women- resolution); iii) personal awareness and management only security guards, and a live-in “house mother” (self-awareness, self-esteem, managing emotions, around-the-clock. assertiveness, stress management, and sexual and 38 Box 7: Agile at Laboratoria118 RUNNING SPRINTS, NOT MARATHONS Following the Agile approach, Laboratoria runs “learning sprints” that allow for shorter feedback loops. A Learning Sprint is a time-bound effort (usually 2 to 3 weeks) in which students commit to achieving certain learning outcomes. Each Sprint starts with a Sprint Planning Meeting, where students plan ahead and identify the amount of effort to complete the goals. Each Sprint ends with a Sprint Retrospective, in which students reflect on the work carried out, identify lessons learned and determine areas for improvement. LEARNING SQUADS A Learning Squad—a group of 6-to-8 students—is formed to complete the Learning Sprint. The goal is to promote teamwork and collaboration. Learning Sprints have both individual and team goals to encourage a focus on not only their own learning but also their teammate’s advancement. Every Squad has a coach. Following the Agile principle of “close, daily cooperation between business people and developers”, the Squad meets daily with its coach to perform a Daily Standup where students reflect on what they have accomplished, what they hope to accomplish, as well as potential obstacles. At the end of each Sprint, a new Squad is formed, which helps to build new working relationships. GAMIFYING EDUCATION Instead of having a traditional grading system, Laboratoria has a points-and-reward system. Students start at zero points and earn points as they go. Students are awarded points for effort, performance (like solving problem sets), and outstanding behavior (like teamwork and communication). They have also built in incentives to foster collaboration, with prizes awarded for both individual and group achievements. 39 Box 8: AkiraChix: Developing the Workforce of Women in Technology in Kenya AkiraChix targets bright and promising young women from low income areas for twelve months of intensive training in programming, graphic design and entrepreneurship. Since 2010, 61 young women have undertaken the intensive diploma course in Information Technology and Entrepreneurship. AkiraChix places a strong emphasis on personalized interventions and holistic support. The program conducts monthly trainer meetings to enable the early identification of students that need extra help, and creates interventions for trainers to support them. AkiraChix also hosts overnight weekend camps for women to discuss life challenges, because the program has found that personal situations greatly affect students’ class performance. The camp aims to provide students with a relaxed and safe environment to build relationships with each other. Box 9: Defining Socioemotional Skills119 A WBG book, Taking Stock of Programs to Develop Socioemotional Skills: A Systematic Review of Program Evidence, outlines the varying, and often overlapping, definitions that refer to the broad concept of socioemotional skills: “Socioemotional skills”, often found in psychological literature, describe the social, emotional, behavioral, attitudinal and personality traits that enable individuals manage their emotions, deal with conflict, set and achieve positive goals and solve interpersonal problems. Similarly “soft skills”, typically found in business management literature, refer to skills that enable harmonious interpersonal interactions, like teamwork, creative thinking, leadership, listening skills and problem-solving. “Non-cognitive skills” is a term often used by economists and refers to skills that are not captured by cognitive tests. “21st century skills” also refer to a broader set of skills that encompass creativity, problem-solving and collaboration, but also learning and innovation skills; information, media and technology skills; as well as flexibility, adaptability and cross-cultural skills among others. “Life skills” refer to three broad categories of skills: (a) cognitive skills for analyzing and using information; (b) personal skills for developing personal agency and managing oneself; and (c) interpersonal skills for communicating and interacting effectively with others (These skills are linked to health, peace education, human rights, citizenship education, and other social issues.) 40 AkiraChix discusses with students and alumni topics constitutes sexual harassment and appropriate including harassment and inappropriate behaviors in workplace conduct. the work environment. It aims to help women identify ways to advocate for themselves. 5. Using bootcamps to build Some bootcamp program staff described the community to improve retention difficulties of working as women within the Researchers focused on increasing the participation technology industry. When attending community of women in computer science also highlight the events, some men use these as an opportunity to importance of peer support and networks to make sexual advances. To overcome this, providers promote retention.120 have hosted their own tech workshops and Code to Inspire encourages “free time,” where hackathons, where they invited women working in women can relax with each other at the program site technology, along with trusted male colleagues. before and after classes. Students responded Some coding bootcamps host hackathons for girls positively, reporting that it creates a comfortable and women only. Because hackathons last environment, reduce stress, and build friendships. overnight, female students and their family SkillsFirst provides students with at least one hour of members felt safer knowing students were being free time after every class. Students use this time in trained by women. a variety of ways, from creating study groups to To this end, programs can host professional visits discussing challenges (such as depression, anxiety, from local companies on-site, which allows female domestic violence and divorce). students to network with industry professionals in a Some providers also create groups on social media trusted environment. Providers can also allow platforms for cohorts to contact each other. Every female students to utilize program sites for meetings cohort at We Can Code IT has its own email and and interviews. Women may feel more comfortable social media groups. At Laboratoria, each team meeting strangers in a trusted environment. Family works with its team leader to decide how best to members may also feel more comfortable (and be communicate. Teams have used Slack, WhatsApp more supportive) knowing that meetings are hosted groups and G-Chat. SkillsFirst markets its core by the bootcamp. expertise as community-building. Administrators use Of course, the burden of preventing sexual a social media group to create and manage harassment should not fall squarely on those who conversations: they share motivational quotes and are more likely to experience it. Co-ed bootcamps discussion prompts, as well as articles that may could use their programs to provide training on what interest students. By ensuring there is always activity, it helps students remain engaged. 41 Insights for Implementation Single Sex or Co-ed Program? While single-sex, all-female programs are more likely to include features designed to reduce women’s attrition, they run the risk of attracting the stigma that can surround single sex programs. In other fields, researchers cite the “you’re only here because you’re a girl” phenomenon. For example, female physics professors who were awarded grants targeted to women experienced a loss of self-efficacy and felt that they were taken less seriously because they received the “women’s award” versus the “normal” one. A challenge around “sub-typing” also emerges. When women in computer science are identified as “female computer scientists” or “female coders” versus “computer scientists” or “coders”, this implies that they differ from the norm and reinforces the stereotype that the “typical” computer scientist is male. Research into public policy efforts to scale up women in computer science suggests that universal initiatives should be given preference over selective ones. This means, for example, the promotion of a mentorship program for everyone in a computer science program, rather than one just for participating women.121 Some studies find that such programs can still provide appropriate support for women and underrepresented groups in computer science, while ensuring others benefit as well.122 This may hold lessons for co-ed programs, which could implement retention efforts related to role models and mentoring across the board, rather than for women only. However, it is important to note that the studies reviewed here largely excludes experiences from emerging economies. Ultimately, bootcamp providers are best-placed to develop strategies that are relevant for their own ecosystems. Whether single-sex or co-ed, programs can provide appropriate additional support to trainees (with role models, mentors and similar tools) through upfront consideration of possible constraints and potential benefits. Could Online Mentoring Help? Online mentoring could help overcome challenges including geographical distance, the concentration of mentors in specific locations, and scheduling constraints, among others. In Germany, 800 high school girls were matched with a mentor. Mentors and mentees agreed to exchange emails once a week and the students had access to an online portal with discussion boards and STEM-focused news, as well as office hours with experts. The study showed that online mentoring was positively associated with outcomes that included increased self-efficacy and intention to pursue a STEM career. 123 However, experiences and lessons from other sectors, such as the IFC’s women’s entrepreneurship programs find that while online mentoring has a wider reach, such platforms also have higher rates of attrition. A mixed approach seems the most promising, with online-offline approaches facilitating the matching of mentors and mentees, and in-person interactions building trust and accountability.124 42 Chapter 5 Summary RETENTION: Ideas from Providers 1. Consider ways to alleviate constraints upfront in program design to boost program accessibility. These might include challenges around quality, safe and affordable care and transportation services. Some providers are also connecting trainees to information about reliable public or private care services. MotherCoders, a US-based program, provides on-site care services with the support of donor funding. Programs can also consider subsidizing travel costs for students and providing on-site access to computers outside hours of instruction. 2. Tackle the “confidence gap”. Bootcamps are working to address challenges around self-efficacy by leveraging role models, developing structured mentorship programs (with multiple mentors, where possible), and testing peer-learning models for effectiveness in this area. Some programs also engage counselors to provide support. 3. Incorporate socioemotional and life skills. Programs are integrating socioemotional skills that can help individuals effectively manage emotions, deal with conflict, maintain positive relationships and communicate proficiently. Some bootcamps also include a focus on life skills as well, especially for socially and economically marginalized young women. 4. Minimize women’s risk of and exposure to sexual harassment. A few programs seek to prevent and respond to risks around sexual harassment. Programs can consider integrating a holistic approach, including anti-sexual harassment policies, a complaints procedure, defined consequences, training and awareness-raising as well as monitoring and evaluation. 5. Use bootcamps to build community to improve retention. Programs are exploring the extension of opening hours to create space for women to build inter-personal connections and establishing online communities. 43 Chapter 6: Creating Linkages to the Labor Market Challenges D espite some progress, women’s economic or middle-income countries. In the latter, the WBG opportunity has stagnated across multiple estimates that the tech sector accounts for only 1 domains. The gender gap in labor force participation percent of the workforce.129 A closer look at the in developing countries narrowed between 1990 and ecosystems in which many bootcamp providers 2017 but female labor force participation is still only operate show that they act as demand aggregators, 47 percent globally versus 75 percent for men.125 crowdsourcing demands from multiple companies Women tend to work more hours on average than in the ecosystem (from start-ups to medium and men; however, they spend a share of this time on large tech companies) and conducting “in-house unpaid work, such as care, chores and household training” for local tech-related small and medium enterprises.126 Moreover, women earn 10-30 percent enterprises, multinational corporations, and start- less than men, due in part to occupational sex ups. As mentioned previously, coding bootcamps segregation.127 In addition, women’s economic often develop their curricula based on local demand opportunity is often constrained by skills gaps, lack and adapt dynamically to the needs of their local of care services, limited mobility as well as legal and industries. Through continued dialogue with hiring regulatory restrictions. In the Middle East and North companies, relationships with hiring managers, and Africa and South Asia regions, men are four times analysis of demands and trends they aim to match more likely than women to have full-time jobs.128 their supply of skills and talent to data-driven demand. Furthermore, some programs have Occupational sex segregation tends to keep women developed a regional or global approach enabling in lower paying sectors, like health, education and them to connect local talent with international other social sectors. When they do work in male- demand.130 These approaches are promising; dominated fields, such as STEM, they are likely to be however, it is important that bootcamp providers overrepresented in STEM education and health- work to ensure that their programs are not supply- related jobs, whereas men are more likely to work in driven and respond to existing demand for skills in technology and engineering, management, and their ecosystems of interest. business-related roles. Addressing these constraints requires innovative Strategies approaches, including new strategies for connecting Bootcamps have been working to include women to economic opportunities. Arguably ready- professional development modules in their curricula, to-work bootcamps, particularly those that develop helping trainees to build professional networks and strong relationships with potential employers and creating opportunities for them to showcase their include job placement support, help address some skills to potential employers. Some have used their of these constraints to women’s economic corporate partnerships to create internship and job opportunity as well as youth unemployment. opportunities. Many also conduct follow-ups with graduates once they have started their jobs and At the global level, the tech sector accounts for a emphasize the importance of continued support larger share of jobs in advanced economies than low even after graduation. 44 Bootcamp providers are utilizing the following strategies: 1. Including modules on professional development in bootcamp curricula 2. Building professional networks and showcasing students’ skills to potential employers 3. Creating structured linkages to internship and employment opportunities 4. Establishing mechanisms for alumnae to receive support after job placement: social media could be a cost-effective approach online harassment (see box 10). Broader diversity and 1. Including modules on professional inclusion modules also share information about development in bootcamp issues like implicit bias, imposter syndrome and curricula microaggressions.131 Several bootcamps, such as AdaLab, Andela and Hackbright Academy among others, include a focus 2. Building professional networks on professional development skills to prepare and showcasing students’ skills to trainees for the labor market. Programs provide potential employers resume and cover letter support, and also help Female students might not yet be connected to local students to build their online portfolios. Mock tech communities. Furthermore, if these spaces are interviews and professional coaches are a part of male-dominated, women might have a harder time career development for some programs, including breaking into “old boys’ clubs” on their own. Some Grace Hopper Full Stack Academy and Ace Hacker. graduates report a sense of isolation after At Plataforma 5 trainees spend their last four weeks completing the program. In response, providers working on a real-world project to apply the skills work to maintain networks and communities through they have learned. Over a three-week period, local women in technology groups. These events are Moringa School combines their real-world group also used as a way to expose trainees to professional project with professional development training as opportunities. AdaLab encourages students to well. Some programs also bring in speakers who attend meetups, hackathons and other events held work in the industry to share their experiences. by the wider developer community. Programs like Awele Academy’s (S)He Hacks Africa, the Grace AkiraChix provides mock interviews and trains Hopper Program at Full Stack Academy, Hacktiv8 students on writing professional email and Ace Hacker hosts career days or demo weeks correspondence. We Can Code IT provides 1:1 and use these events as an opportunity to trainees to weekly sessions with an experienced developer as meet with hiring companies. MotherCoders uses well as career counseling with a student success their demo days as a way to connect trainees with coach. The latter emphasizes that rejection is normal potential mentors as well. and that persistence is what aids success. These are likely good practices for both male and female Laboratoria hosts “Talent Fest,” a 36-hour Hackathon participants. However, due to the that teams students with local and international underrepresentation of women in these jobs, they companies. The goal of Talent Fest is to help may be especially helpful in closing the gap companies to observe how students code, between men and women in tech employment. communicate and work as a team.132 Such events connect women to potential employers but also Programs like SkillsFirst, Ada Developers Academy provide an opportunity for external validation, which and AkiraChix include specific modules designed to could boost self-efficacy (see boxes 11 and 12). prepare women for risks they may face in the workplace or online, with courses on workplace and 45 Box 10: Cyber Violence/Technology-Based Gender-Based Violence133 As more women and girls use the internet for a variety of uses, including skills development and income generation, the risk of cyber violence is important to consider. This includes hate speech, online stalking, identity theft, and hacking. The United Nations Broadband Commission for Digital Development Working Group on Broadband and Gender has highlighted that online crimes are not only an issue for high-income economies, but follow the spread of the internet, and take multiple forms. For example, it has been reported that instant messaging applications have been used for harassment in India and Malaysia. According to the Commission’s report on cyber violence, women are 27-times more likely to be abused online than men, and online harassers are more likely to be men. Recommendations include: i) preventative measures through public sensitization, training and community development; ii) the promotion of safeguards and equality on the internet for women and girls; and iii) establishing and enforcing sanctions through laws, regulations and governance mechanisms. The International Center for Research on Women, in partnership with the World Bank Group’s Development Marketplace for Innovation on Gender-Based Violence, is currently developing a comprehensive definition of “technology-based gender-based violence”, as well as standard approaches to measuring this form of violence that will be tested in Uganda and India. According to the preliminary definition: “Technology-based gender-based violence is an action by one or more people that harms others based on their sexual or gender identity, or by enforcing harmful gender norms. This action is carried out using the internet and/or mobile technology and includes stalking, bullying, sexual harassment, defamation, hate speech and exploitation.” Tactics include doxing (revealing someone’s personal information), hacking, and gender trolling (using graphic insults to demean women as sexual objects). Take Back The Tech! is a collaborative project launched by the Association for Progressive Communications to highlight the issue of tech-related violence against women. Resources include guidance on ways to keep devices secure, protect against spying, keep hackers away from one’s internet connection, and keep online conversations private. Security-in- a-box provides a range of digital security tools and tactics for staying safe online: https://www.takebackthetech.net/be- safe/safety-toolkit. Box 11: Laboratoria’s Talent Fest134 Laboratoria’s Talent Fest aims to provide tech companies with a better, faster and cheaper way to identify female talent. Based on research with 52 companies in Latin America, Laboratoria discovered that firms typically spend between one and three months to recruit a candidate. At least three staff members are usually involved in the process. Currently, there is a significant demand for professionals in this sector, and women are especially underrepresented. A global survey conducted by Stack Overflow of more than 55,000 developers, programmers and engineers found only six percent were women. Forty Laboratoria students from Peru, Mexico and Chile wanting work as frontend developers participated in Talent Fest, a 36-hour hackathon with 10 employers. The participating employers were: Lyft, BCP, Scotiabank, Tekton Labs, GMD, Ministerio de la Producción del Perú, Urbaner, ThoughtWorks, Globant, Everis Each company was assigned a team of three or four students, who were presented with real-life challenges during a ten-minute overview from each firm. Companies had access to historical data on students’ performance. Laboratoria also provided a live evaluation tool so the companies could assess the students’ real-time performance, capturing both technical and socioemotional skills. During three 20-minute breaks, companies conducted short interviews with the candidates. Each company also pitched themselves to the teams, providing information on company culture, structure and hiring process. 46 Box 12: Feedback from Participating Firms on Laboratoria’s Talent Fest A talent fest has never been part of a recruitment process before, and helped us to get to know them better than in a regular interview”. - Maria del Pilar Gamarra, Tekton Labs “We identified a lot of developers with really powerful technical skills …and we as Thought Works are interested in hiring them”. - Claudio Bustamante, ThoughtWorks The kinds of support mechanisms range from a 3. Creating structured linkages to “light-touch” approach to more structured internship internship and employment and job placement programs. Cymetria uses an opportunities online platform to match students with potential Employment outcomes are a critical metric in employers. It reports 30 percent of students find jobs assessing a program’s success. While, creating through the platform in less than 3 months. Many exposure to technology is valuable, arguably what programs facilitate professional exposure by happens after the program is more important. connecting trainees to internship opportunities. For However, very few of these programs subscribe to example, Ada Developers Academy connects the Council on Integrity Results Reporting (CIRR)—a graduates to paid internship opportunities at standardized system for measuring and report sponsoring companies, like Expedia, Amazon and student outcomes. The standards aim to provide Zillow, among others. AdaLab also facilitates student students with more accurate and transparent data internships and graduates conduct 3-week projects before enrolling in, and often paying high fees for, a with hiring companies. The program has established coding bootcamp. CIRR standards include guidance partnerships with over 35 companies. Awele on reporting factors, like how many students Academy’s (S)He Hacks Africa and Women EdTech graduated on time, the number of students that also offer internship placement. At 23 Code Street, all accepted a full-time job in the field and outside the students are invited to participate in an internship field for which they trained, the number that secured with partners after the bootcamp. SkillsFirst also part-time jobs, the number of students the programs provides internship opportunities and connects themselves hired, and the salaries of graduates who graduates with online jobs. started jobs within their field of study.135 Upon graduation from “ready-to-work” programs, Among the bootcamps interviewed only two trainees should have the skills to work as entry- subscribe to the CIRR standards-Hacktiv8 and Grace level/junior developers.136 Bootcamps develop Hopper’s Full Stack Academy. Hacktiv8 reports a relationships with potential employers to facilitate graduation rate of 65.5 percent and Grace Hopper’s access to these kinds of job opportunities. Programs rate stands at 91 percent. Other programs report a like Hacktiv8, Jaaga and Plataforma 5 among others, rate ranging from 73 percent (AdaLab) and 75 establish corporate partnerships as a way to tap into percent (Laboratoria), to 95 (Women EdTech) and 97 opportunities for their trainees. We Can Code IT percent (MotherCoders). However, it is important to reports partnerships with hundreds of potential note that these figures could not be validated (see employers. Moringa School maintains relationships figure 5). with over 40 hiring partners in Kenya who are encouraged to provide students with job (or 47 internship) opportunities. Moringa also works to quarterly site visits at employers’ offices to track connect students to online outsourcing projects for progress. Ace Hacker follows up with their graduates US and European clients.137 WeThinkCode provides once per month with office visits, weekend meetups, a clear path to employment with corporate sponsors. email and phone support. Hacktiv8 follows up with During the program, trainees intern with companies graduates for up to six months. Jaaga follows up and then commit to working there for one year. As a quarterly via email, in-person meetups and instant part of Andela’s four-year fellowship, fellows receive messaging groups. a small salary upon entering the program and train for six months. They also receive meals, a laptop and Some programs use online methods to connect have access to subsidized housing. After this period, alumni with each other using social media groups or the fellows receive a higher salary after they begin messaging apps. These include Women EdTech, working as developers on projects with clients, Awele Academy’s (S)He Hacks Africa, AdaLab and where clients are charged a fee per worker and Cymetria. In addition to a Facebook group, 23 Code Andela passes a portion of this onto their fellows. Street, uses a newsletter to keep graduates updated Fellows make an annual salary of around $US30,000 on new opportunities. or higher during this period.138 With its distributed Alumni are also leveraged as mentors, instructors workforce, Andela connects corporate clients with and role models for current cohorts. At the Grace talent in African markets. Hopper Program at Full Stack Academy, alumnae have the opportunity to become instructors or 4. Establishing mechanisms for mentors for their “Foundations” course. They are also alumnae to receive support after invited to speak at alumnae panels and link new graduates to curated job opportunities via private job placement: social media could forums. At MotherCoders, alumnae serve as be a cost-effective approach mentors, workshop leaders, guest speakers. They Establishing ways for cohorts to receive continued often serve on the board and support fundraising support and stay in touch might be especially helpful efforts. Laboratoria has established an alumnae for women who might find themselves working in network as well as a system where “ambassadors” male-dominated environments, or where staff serve as the main point of contact between members are of a different social or economic graduates and the bootcamp. They organize demographic. These networks and communities workshops and weekend trainings and connect could help graduates cope with feelings of isolation graduates with mentors. Ambassadors receive a or imposter syndrome. stipend for their efforts as well as discounts for other learning opportunities. Hacktiv8 alumni provide AdaLab provides face-to-face and online training remote mentorship, present at “skill-share sessions” once per week for graduates for up to four months and attend networking events. Similarly, at after the program. Each AdaLab graduate is also Plataforma 5 alumni are invited as speakers for in- assigned a mentor from their hiring company. house projects and some are hired as teachers. Members of Awele Academy’s team conduct 48 Figure 5: Snapshot of Validated Employment Outcomes Employment Outcomes: CIRR Participating Bootcamps Graduation Job Placement Rate Rate 91.4% 84.9% within 6 months of graduation; Median annual salary of $87,000 (not including bonuses) 65.5% 88% job placement rate or started a new venture within 90 days; $9,250 average annualized starting salary Self-Reported, Non-Validated Employment Outcomes 73% 89% job placement within 2 months post-graduation; Average salary upon graduation is about $18,500 80% 50% job placement rate within 4 months of graduation 90% 92% job placement from the Demo Week; 300% is the avg. jump in salary from before to after graduation 90% 90% job placement post-graduation 90% 30% job placement post-graduation within 3 months of graduation 90% 87% job placement within 3 months of graduation 85% 90% job placement within 6 months of graduation 75% 80% job placement rate within 4 months of graduation. 3 times salary increase from pre-program salaries 97% 29% now work in tech; 21% have launched their own entrepreneurial ventures; 18% have received promotions. Together, these women have raised their average salary by 64% (based on 2017 alumni survey) 90% 80% job placement or launched their own venture within first 3 months of graduation Women-Ed Tech 95% 50% job placement rate within 3 months of graduation. 100% average salary increase from before to after graduation Note: Andela and WeThinkCode have not yet graduated their 4-year or 2-year cohorts, respectively. 49 Box 13: Coding and Entrepreneurship Several bootcamp providers have positioned coding as a tool to support entrepreneurial solutions. Some have included a structured support program to assist trainees in prototyping their ideas, connecting to relevant networks and launching a business after the bootcamp. In South Africa, WeThinkCode In the USA, MotherCoders specifically In India, AceHacker has a “Launcher positions coding as a tool to develop serves “entrepreneur moms” and Program” designed to help teams solutions and create a new future, helps women to establish or grow advance their start-up ideas. Winners whether via entrepreneurship or their start-ups through building of Ace Hackathons are offered tuition- through careers that address social foundational tech skills. free entrepreneurial training in challenges. exchange for equity. They then pitch to investors during Demo week. Insights for Implementation A Focus for Policymakers: Strengthening Labor Market Outcomes Helping women to build career-oriented skills and links to the labor market is especially critical to women’s economic opportunity. However, ensuring that programs connect graduates to job opportunities can be challenging, especially given that there are diverse business models and tuition structures. The WBG’s AGI provides promising lessons on ways partnerships can be structured, especially as bootcamps are increasingly being used as a policy tool to address youth unemployment and increase the share of women in advanced tech jobs in emerging markets. The AGI used a dual approach. First, results-based payment approaches were used to ensure that training programs assumed greater responsibility for employment outcomes. Rather than delivering training as an output, programs were tasked with achieving job placements. For example, in Liberia, ten percent of the total contract value was withheld until six months after the training ended. Providers then received a share of the withheld amount proportional to the number of graduates employed (i.e. if 90 percent received jobs, providers received 90 percent of the withheld amount). In Nepal, during contract negotiations with training providers, an “outcome price” (the payment received for one gainfully employed graduate) was calculated. This price was the cost of delivering the training plus an incentive covering monitoring and job placement costs. The outcome price was paid in three installments, linked to results. For example, 40 percent could be paid at training completion, 25 percent with employment verification at three months, and 35 percent with income verification at six months. Second, to avoid “cream skimming” (providers selecting the most employable candidates), providers were given a greater incentive to train more disadvantaged groups. Using pre-established criteria, the highest incentive was awarded for training and placing the most disadvantaged students, with incentives reducing for less-prioritized groups. A key recommendation from the AGI is to carefully define incentives: if the incentives are too low, they will not be effective, and if they are too high, this may lead to exclusive targeting of the most disadvantaged groups, which could result in lower employment rates.139 50 Chapter 6 Summary EMPLOYMENT: Ideas from Providers 1. Include modules on professional development in bootcamp curricula. Programs are helping prepare trainees for the local and international labor market. These modules often include standard insights on the job process, cover letter and resume writing, as well as interview practice. Providers can also consider including information to help prepare women for risks they may face online, like cyber violence. 2. Help women to build professional networks and showcase new skills to potential employers. Female trainees might not yet be connected to local tech communities. Furthermore, if these spaces are male-dominated, women might have a harder time breaking into “old boys’ clubs” on their own. Providers are hosting events for local women in technology, job fairs, and other career-related events to create networks and opportunities for graduates. 3. Create structured linkages to internship and employment opportunities. The kinds of support mechanisms range from a “light-touch” approach, like an online job matching platform, to more structured internship and job placement programs. 4. Establish mechanisms for alumnae to receive support after job placement: social media can be a cost-effective approach. Some programs also continue to provide training support for their graduates. For example, AdaLab provides face-to-face and online training once per week for trainees up to four months after graduation. 51 1Meng, Victoria. 2013. “The Ultimate Guide to Coding Bootcamps: The Most Selective Bootcamps.” SkilledUp. in World Bank. 2017. Coding Bootcamps : Building Future-Proof Skills through Rapid Skills Training. World Bank, Washington, DC. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/28218 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO. 2Computer and Information Technology Occupations: These include professions like computer and information research scientists; computer network architects; computer programmers; computer support specialists; computer systems analysts; database administrators; information security analysts; network and computer systems administrators; software developers; and web developers ://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/home.htm 3 World Bank Group. 2018. World Development Report 2019 Concept Note: The Changing Nature of Work. World Bank, Washington, DC. © World Bank. http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/816281518818814423/2019-WDR-Concept-Note.pdf 4 Ibid. 5 Technical skills, including ICT skills: Those abilities needed to carry out one’s job, such as a plumber’s ability to repair a water leakage, a factory worker’s knowledge of how to operate a machine, or a bank employee’s financial software knowledge. ICT skills, a subset of technical skills, are those that are needed for the effective application of ICT systems and devices. These range from an ICT specialist’s ability to develop, operate, and maintain ICT systems, to a basic ICT user’s competence using mainstream tools needed in their working life (such as e-mail, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Word). Nonroutine, higher-order cognitive skills: The ability to understand complex ideas, deal with complex information processing, adapt effectively to the work environment, learn from experience, and engage in various forms of reasoning, to overcome obstacles using critical thought. More specifically, these include skills such as unstructured problem solving, and critical thinking, learning, and reasoning. Nonroutine interpersonal, socioemotional skills: Socioemotional skills (also called soft or noncognitive skills) encompass a broad range of malleable skills, behaviors, attitudes, and personality traits that enable individuals to navigate interpersonal and social situations effectively. These include grit or the perseverance to finish a job or achieve a long-term goal, working in teams, punctuality, organization, commitment, creativity, and honesty: World Bank Group. 2016. World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends. Washington, DC: World Bank. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/23347 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.” URI 6 World Bank Group. 2018. World Development Report 2019: The Changing Nature of Work. World Bank, Washington, DC. © World Bank. http://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2019 7 World Bank Group. 2016. World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends. Washington, DC: World Bank. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/23347 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO. 8 ILOStat (2016): Azerbaijan (M: 43%, F: 57%); Belize (M: 50%, F: 50%); Eswatini (M: 50%, F: 50%); Maldives (M: 50%, F: 50%); Lithuania (M: 52%, F: 48%); Ecuador (M: 55%, F: 45%); Mongolia (M: 56%, F: 44%); El Salvador (M: 58%, F: 42%); Belarus (M: 58%, F: 42%); Taiwan (M: 58%, F: 42%); Cyprus (M: 60%, F: 40%); Montenegro (M: 60%, F: 40%). 9 WBG Gender Data Portal: http://datatopics.worldbank.org/gender/ 10 Center for Talent Innovation. (2014). Athena Factor 2.0: Accelerating Female Talent in Science, Engineering & Technology. http://www.talentinnovation.org/assets/Athena-2-ExecSummFINAL-CTI.pdf; IFC. (2013); International Finance Corporation. 2013. Investing in Women’s Employment: Good for Business, Good for Development. Washington, DC. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/16257 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO; Noland, M. et al. (2016). Is Gender Diversity Profitable? Evidence from a Global Survey. EY & Peterson Institute for International Economics. http://www.iie.com/publications/wp/wp16-3.pdf in IFC 2016. 11 McKinsey & Company. The Business of Empowering Women: http://www.genderprinciples.org/resource_files/EmpWomen_USA4_Letter13-09-26-02-10-38.pdf 12 Rock D. and Grant H. 2016. Why Diverse Teams Are Smarter, Harvard Business Review: https://hbr.org/2016/11/why-diverse-teams- are-smarter 13 Ibid. 14International Finance Corporation. 2017. Investing in Women: New Evidence for the Business Case. Washington, DC. © International Finance Corporation. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/28973 License: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO 15 World Bank Group. 2016. World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends. Washington, DC: World Bank. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/23347 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO. 16 World Bank Group. 2018. World Development Report 2019: The Changing Nature of Work. World Bank, Washington, DC. © World Bank. http://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2019 17 Ibid. 18 World Bank. 2017. Coding Bootcamps : Building Future-Proof Skills through Rapid Skills Training. World Bank, Washington, DC. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/28218 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO 19 World Bank. 2018. Coding Bootcamps for Youth Employment : Evidence from Colombia, Lebanon, and Kenya. World Bank, Washington, DC. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/29742 License: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO. 20 Ibid. 21 World Bank. 2018. Coding bootcamps: guide for practitioners (English). Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/175631522135001611/Coding-bootcamps-guide-for-practitioners 22 See end note 5. 23Meng, Victoria. 2013. “The Ultimate Guide to Coding Bootcamps: The Most Selective Bootcamps.” SkilledUp in World Bank. 2017. Coding Bootcamps : Building Future-Proof Skills through Rapid Skills Training. World Bank, Washington, DC. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/28218 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO. 24 World Bank. 2017. Coding Bootcamps : Building Future-Proof Skills through Rapid Skills Training. World Bank, Washington, DC. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/28218 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO. 25 Meng 2013 in World Bank. 2017. Coding Bootcamps : Building Future-Proof Skills through Rapid Skills Training. World Bank, Washington, DC. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/28218 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO. 52 26 Ibid. 27 Ibid. 28 Ibid. 29 Ibid. 30 Ibid. 31 World Bank Group. 2018. World Development Report Concept Note 2019: The Changing Nature of Work. World Bank, Washington, DC. © World Bank. http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/816281518818814423/2019-WDR-Concept-Note.pdf 32Computer and Information Technology Occupations: These include professions like computer and information research scientists; computer network architects; computer programmers; computer support specialists; computer systems analysts; database administrators; information security analysts; network and computer systems administrators; software developers; and web developers ://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/home.htm 33 World Bank Group. 2018. World Development Report Concept Note 2019: The Changing Nature of Work. World Bank, Washington, DC. © World Bank. http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/816281518818814423/2019-WDR-Concept-Note.pdf. 34 Ibid. 35 According to the International Labour Organization (ILO) “information and communications technology professionals conduct research, plan, design, write, test, provide advice and improve information technology systems, hardware, software and related concepts for specific applications; develop associated documentation including principles, policies and procedures; and design, develop, control, maintain and support databases and other information systems to ensure optimal performance and data integrity and security.” Eurostat uses the following definition of ICT specialists for the purpose of its data collection: "workers who have the ability to develop, operate and maintain ICT systems, and for whom ICT constitute the main part of their job". And, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development notes: “The production (goods and services) of a candidate industry must primarily be intended to fulfill or enable the function of information processing and communication by electronic means, including transmission and display”: ILO 2014 in United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 2015. Global Assessment of Sex-Disaggregated ICT Employment Statistics. Data availability and challenges on measurement and compilation. http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/tn_unctad_ict4d04_en.pdf 36 ILOStat (2016): Azerbaijan (M: 43%, F: 57%); Belize (M: 50%, F: 50%); Eswatini (M: 50%, F: 50%); Maldives (M: 50%, F: 50%); Lithuania (M: 52%, F: 48%); Ecuador (M: 55%, F: 45%); Mongolia (M: 56%, F: 44%); El Salvador (M: 58%, F: 42%); Belarus (M: 58%, F: 42%); Taiwan (M: 58%, F: 42%); Cyprus (M: 60%, F: 40%); Montenegro (M: 60%, F: 40%). 37 WBG Gender Data Portal: http://datatopics.worldbank.org/gender/ 38 UNESCO uses the “proportion of learners (by sex) enrolled at the post-secondary non-tertiary and tertiary level in ICT-related fields” indicator. Available data show that only 8 per cent of least developed countries (LDCs) and 11 per cent of all African countries held data on this indicator, with 20 per cent and less reporting from countries in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Oceania. Even among developed economies, only 40 per cent supplied this data. 39 Refers to Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctor's Degree (2012-13); Jung et al. "Closing The Gender Gap in the Technology Major." Information Systems Education Journal 15, no. 1 (2017): 26; Master, Allison, Sapna Cheryan, and Andrew N. Meltzoff. "Computing whether she belongs: Stereotypes undermine girls’ interest and sense of belonging in computer science." Journal of Educational Psychology 108, no. 3 (2016): 424. 40 Jung et al. "Closing the Gender Gap in the Technology Major." Information Systems Education Journal 15, no. 1 (2017): 26. 41 Rashotte, Lisa Slattery. 2007. “Social Influence.” In The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, Volume IX: 4426-4429. George Ritzer and J. Michael Ryan, editors. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing; Rajai, Paria. "Cause Marketing…Cause Why Not?" Cause MarketingCause Why Not. 25 Feb. 2015. Web. 25 Nov. 2015; Gürer, Denise, and Tracy Camp. “An A C M - W Literature Review on W O M E N in Computing.” ACM SIGCSE Bulletin 34.2 (2002): 121-27; Cheryan, S., Plaut, V.C., Handron, C., & Hudson, L. (2013). The stereotypical computer scientist: Gendered media representations as a barrier to inclusion for women. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 69, 58-71; Forrest, Connor. "Media Portrayals of Women in Tech: Google Joins Non-profits to Drive Change - TechRepublic." TechRepublic. 10 Dec. 2014. Web. 3 Dec. 2015; Simon, S. and C.L. Hoyt. Exploring the effect of media images on women’s leadership self-perceptions and aspirations. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 2012. Early Edition; Chandler, Michael Alison. "Women at Forefront of Booming Forensic Science Field." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 27 July 2012. Web. 10 Oct. 2015; . A. Pearl, M. E. Pollack, E. Riskin, B. Thomas, E. Wolf, and A. Wu Becoming a computer scientist: a report by the ACM committee on the status of women in computing science. Communications of the ACM 33 (Nov. 1990), pp. 47-58 in Jung et al. "Closing the Gender Gap in the Technology Major." Information Systems Education Journal 15, no. 1 (2017): 26. 42 Ibid. 43https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/02/the-more-gender-equality-the-fewer-women-in-stem/553592/; Stoet G. and Geary D. “The Gender-Equality Paradox in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education”. Psychological Science 2018, Vol. 29(4) 581–593: https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617741719 44 Stoet G. and Geary D. “The Gender-Equality Paradox in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education”. Psychological Science 2018, Vol. 29(4) 581–593: https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617741719 45 UNESCO Institute of Statistics data 46 International Finance Corporation. 2016. She Works: Putting Gender-Smart Commitments into Practice in the Workplace. Washington, DC.https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/topics_ext_content/ifc_external_corporate_site/gender+at+ifc/priorities/employment/sh eworks+knowledge+report+putting+gender+smart+commitments+into+practice 47 Center for Talent Innovation. (2014). Athena Factor 2.0: Accelerating Female Talent in Science, Engineering & Technology. http://www.talentinnovation.org/assets/Athena-2-ExecSummFINAL-CTI.pdf; IFC. (2013); International Finance Corporation. 2013. Investing in Women’s Employment: Good for Business, Good for Development. Washington, DC. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/16257 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.; Noland, M. et al. (2016). Is Gender Diversity Profitable? Evidence from a Global Survey. EY & Peterson Institute for International Economics. http://www.iie.com/publications/wp/wp16-3.pdf in IFC 2016. 48 International Finance Corporation. 2013. Investing in Women’s Employment: Good for Business, Good for Development. Washington, DC. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/16257 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO 53 49 McKinsey & Company. The Business of Empowering Women: http://www.genderprinciples.org/resource_files/EmpWomen_USA4_Letter13-09-26-02-10-38.pdf 50 Rock D. and Grant H. 2016. Why Diverse Teams Are Smarter, Harvard Business Review: https://hbr.org/2016/11/why-diverse-teams- are-smarter 51 International Finance Corporation. 2016. SheWorks: Putting Gender-Smart Commitments into Practice. Washington, DC. © International Finance Corporation. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/28985 License: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO. 52 Ibid. 53International Finance Corporation. 2013. Investing in Women’s Employment: Good for Business, Good for Development. Washington, DC. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/16257 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO 54 These programs were identified using a desk review focused on programs teaching advanced tech skills like coding. Internet searches by region, country and city were conducted using and combining search terms, including but not limited to “coding bootcamp”, “digital skills program”, “skills accelerator”, “rapid skills training program”, “women”, “girls”, and “gender equality”. While countless digital literacy programs exist, most were outside the scope of this activity. Networks and communities focused on technology were also leveraged; these included bootcamps directories, such as Course Report and SwitchUp. Information was also gathered from various networks, such as those focused on funding (e.g. Omidyar Network, Echoing Green and Ashoka), specific coding languages as well as technology more broadly (e.g. Tech Salon and Code for All). Overall, 71 programs were identified in 28 countries. Next, interviews were conducted with a subset of these bootcamps. The working criteria for inclusion was: an adult demographic (over 18 years old); a course of at least 12 weeks; and a focus on coding (regardless of the specific language). Twelve women-only and 13 co-ed bootcamps were interviewed (One bootcamp, She Skills (now SkillsFirst) from Pakistan, shifted its model from women-only to co-ed, during the course of writing this report). However, in some cases these working criteria proved too limiting, especially for programs in emerging economies that had a focus on women. As a result, criteria for age restriction and length of instruction were loosened. The program then interviewed an additional seven programs focused on women and girls in Kenya, Tanzania and Cameroon. 55 Non-binary: a person who does not identify fully as either a man or a woman: https://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/sexuality- definitions.pdf 56 https://www.coursereport.com/blog/front-end-development-vs-back-end-development-where-to-start 57 https://www.getsmarter.com/career-advice/industry-advice/difference-html-css-javascript; https://mikkegoes.com/14- programming-languages-explained/; https://www.upwork.com/hiring/development/a-beginners-guide-to-back-end-development/ 58 https://www.codingdojo.com/what-is-python-programming 59 https://tutorial.djangogirls.org/en/django/ 60 Whitney et al. "Priming the pipeline: Addressing gender-based barriers in computing." Computer 46, no. 3 (2013): 30-36. 61 Cheryan, S., Plaut, V. C., Handron, C., & Hudson, L. (2013). The stereotypical computer scientist: Gendered media representations as a barrier to inclusion for women. Sex Roles, 69, 58–71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/ s11199-013-0296-x; shallow end: Education, race, and computing. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Margolis, J., & Fisher, A. (2002). Unlocking the clubhouse: Women in computing. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press in Master, Allison, Sapna Cheryan, and Andrew N. Meltzoff. "Computing whether she belongs: Stereotypes undermine girls’ interest and sense of belonging in computer science." Journal of Educational Psychology 108, no. 3 (2016): 424. 62 Leslie, S. J., Cimpian, A., Meyer, M., & Freeland, E. (2015). Expectations of brilliance underlie gender distributions across academic disciplines. Science, 347, 262–265. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1261375 in Master, Allison, Sapna Cheryan, and Andrew N. Meltzoff. "Computing whether she belongs: Stereotypes undermine girls’ interest and sense of belonging in computer science." Journal of Educational Psychology 108, no. 3 (2016): 424. 63 Diekman, A. B., Brown, E. R., Johnston, A. M., & Clark, E. K. (2010). Seeking congruity between goals and roles: A new look at why women opt out of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers. Psychological Science, 21, 1051–1057. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/ 0956797610377342 in Master, Allison, Sapna Cheryan, and Andrew N. Meltzoff. "Computing whether she belongs: Stereotypes undermine girls’ interest and sense of belonging in computer science." Journal of Educational Psychology 108, no. 3 (2016): 424. 64 Cheryan, Sapna, Andrew N. Meltzoff, and Saenam Kim. "Classrooms matter: The design of virtual classrooms influences gender disparities in computer science classes." Computers & Education 57, no. 2 (2011): 1825-1835. 65 Ibid. 66 Cohoon, J. M. "Just get over it or just get on with it." Retaining women in undergraduate computing. In J. Cohoon & W. Aspray (Eds.), Women and information technology: Research on underrepresentation (2006): 205-238. 67 Lisa Rosenthal, Sheri Levy, Bonita London, Marci Lobel, and Carney Bazile. 2013. “In Pursuit of the MD: The Impact of Role Models, Identity Compatibility, and Belonging Among Undergraduate Women.” Sex Roles: A Journal of Research 68(7-8): 464-473. 68 Penelope Lockwood. 2006. “‘Someone Like Me Can Be Successful’: Do College Students Need Same-Gender Role Models?” Psychology of Women Quarterly 30(1): 36-46.; Steele, C. M., Spencer, S. J., & Aronson, J. (2002). Contending with group image: The psychology of stereotype and social identity threat. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology, Vol. 34, pp. 379-440). San Diego, CA, US: Academic Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(02)80009-0 69 Young et al. "The influence of female role models on women’s implicit science cognitions." Psychology of Women Quarterly 37, no. 3 (2013): 283-292. 70 Hoh, Yin Kiong. "Using notable women in environmental engineering to dispel misperceptions of engineers." International Journal of Environmental and Science Education 4, no. 2 (2009): 117-131. 71 Diekman, Amanda B., and Mia Steinberg. "Navigating social roles in pursuit of important goals: A communal goal congruity account of STEM pursuits." Social and Personality Psychology Compass 7, no. 7 (2013): 487-501. 72 Ibid. 73 Cooper, Robyn, and Carol Heaverlo. "Problem Solving And Creativity And Design: What Influence Do They Have On Girls' Interest In STEM Subject Areas?." American Journal of Engineering Education 4, no. 1 (2013): 27. 54 74 Cohoon, J. M. "Just get over it or just get on with it." Retaining women in undergraduate computing. In J. Cohoon & W. Aspray (Eds.), Women and information technology: Research on underrepresentation (2006): 205-238. 75 https://github.andela.com/homestudy/ 76 Transgender: An adjective that is an umbrella term used to describe the full range of people whose gender identity and/or gender role do not conform to what is typically associated with their sex assigned at birth: https://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/sexuality- definitions.pdf 77 Cisgender: An adjective used to describe a person whose gender identity and gender expression align with sex assigned at birth: https://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/sexuality-definitions.pdf 78 World Bank Group. 2017. Coding bootcamps: building future-proof skills through rapid skills training. Washington, D.C. : World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/795011502799283894/Coding-bootcamps-building-future-proof-skills-through- rapid-skills-training 79 Brown, Christia Spears, and Campbell Leaper. "Latina and European American girls’ experiences with academic sexism and their self- concepts in mathematics and science during adolescence." Sex Roles 63, no. 11-12 (2010): 860-870. 80 https://technovationchallenge.org/ 81 Benjamin J. Drury, John Oliver Siy & Sapna Cheryan (2011) When Do Female Role Models Benefit Women? The Importance of Differentiating Recruitment From Retention in STEM, Psychological Inquiry, 22:4, 265-269, DOI: 10.1080/1047840X.2011.620935 82 Ibid. 83 International Finance Corporation. 2017. Tackling Childcare: The Business Case for Employer-Supported Childcare. Washington, DC. © International Finance Corporation. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/28966 License: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO. 84 Ibid. 85 World Bank. 2015. World Bank Group gender strategy (FY16-23): gender equality, poverty reduction and inclusive growth (English). Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/820851467992505410/World-Bank-Group-gender- strategy-FY16-23-gender-equality-poverty-reduction-and-inclusive-growth 86 Bandura in Concannon, James P., and Lloyd H. Barrow. "A reanalysis of engineering majors’ self-efficacy beliefs." Journal of Science Education and Technology 21, no. 6 (2012): 742-753. 87 Ceci, S. J., Williams, W. M., & Barnett, S. M. (2009). Women’s underrepresentation in science: Sociocultural and biological considerations. Psychological Bulletin, 135, 218–261.; Halpern, D. F., Benbow, C. P., Geary, D. C., Gur, R. C., Hyde, J. S., & Gernsbache, M. A. (2007). The science of sex differences in science and mathematics. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 8, 1–51.; Spelke, E. S. (2005). Sex differences in intrinsic aptitude for mathematics and science? A critical review. American Psychologist, 60, 950–958 in Diekman, A. B., Weisgram, E. S., & Belanger, A. L. (2015). New routes to recruiting and retaining women in STEM: Policy implications of a communal goal congruity perspective. Social Issues and Policy Review, 9(1), 52-88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/sipr.12010; Lindberg et al. "New trends in gender and mathematics performance: a meta-analysis." Psychological bulletin 136, no. 6 (2010): 1123. 88 Brown, Christia Spears, and Campbell Leaper. "Latina and European American girls’ experiences with academic sexism and their self- concepts in mathematics and science during adolescence." Sex Roles 63, no. 11-12 (2010): 860-870. 89 Ibid. 90 Vogt CM, Hocevar D, Hagedorn LS (2007) A social cognitive construct validation: determining women’s and men’s success in engineering programs. J High Educ 78:338–364 in Bandura in Concannon, James P., and Lloyd H. Barrow. "A reanalysis of engineering majors’ self-efficacy beliefs." Journal of Science Education and Technology 21, no. 6 (2012): 742-753. 91 Ellis, Jessica, Bailey K. Fosdick, and Chris Rasmussen. "Women 1.5 times more likely to leave STEM pipeline after calculus compared to men: Lack of mathematical confidence a potential culprit." PloS one 11, no. 7 (2016): e0157447. 92 Cech et al. "Professional role confidence and gendered persistence in engineering." American Sociological Review 76, no. 5 (2011): 641- 666. 93 Ibid. 94 Benjamin J. Drury, John Oliver Siy & Sapna Cheryan (2011) When Do Female Role Models Benefit Women? The Importance of Differentiating Recruitment from Retention in STEM, Psychological Inquiry, 22:4, 265-269, DOI: 10.1080/1047840X.2011.620935 95 Cheryan, Sapna, Andrew N. Meltzoff, and Saenam Kim. "Classrooms matter: The design of virtual classrooms influences gender disparities in computer science classes." Computers & Education 57, no. 2 (2011): 1825-1835.; Cheryan, Sapna, Victoria C. Plaut, Paul G. Davies, and Claude M. Steele. "2009: Ambient belonging: How stereotypical cues impact gender participation in computer science." In Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 96 Benjamin J. Drury, John Oliver Siy & Sapna Cheryan (2011) When Do Female Role Models Benefit Women? The Importance of Differentiating Recruitment From Retention in STEM, Psychological Inquiry, 22:4, 265-269, DOI: 10.1080/1047840X.2011.620935 97 Using Notable Women in Environmental Engineering to Dispel Misperceptions of Engineers; International Journal of Environmental & Science Education Vol. 4, No. 2, April 2009, 117-131. https://www.pegem.net/dosyalar/dokuman/138327-2013123195049-2.pdf 98 Crisp G, Cruz I. Mentoring college students: A critical review of the literature between 1990 and 2007. Research in Higher Education. 2009; 50(6):525±45.; Eby LT, Rhodes JE, Allen TD. Definition and evolution of mentoring. In: Allen TD, Eby LT, editors. The Blackwell handbook of mentoring: A multiple perspectives approach. Oxford: Blackwell; 2007. p. 7±20.; Jacobi M. Mentoring and undergraduate academic success: A literature review. Review of Educational Research. 1991; 61(4):505±32. in Hernandez PR, Bloodhart B, Barnes RT, Adams AS, Clinton SM, Pollack I, et al. (2017) Promoting professional identity, motivation, and persistence: Benefits of an informal mentoring program for female undergraduate students. PLoS ONE 12(11): e0187531. https://doi.org/10.1371/ journal.pone.0187531 99 Eby LT, Allen TD, Hoffman BJ, Baranik LE, Sauer JB, Baldwin S, et al. An interdisciplinary meta-analysis of the potential antecedents, correlates, and consequences of proteÂge perceptions of mentoring. Psychological Bulletin. 2013; 139(2):441±76. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029279 PMID: 22800296; Hernandez PR, Estrada M, Woodcock A, Schultz PW. Protege perceptions of high mentorship quality depend on shared values more than on demographic match. The Journal of Experimental Education. 2016.; Paglis L, Green S, Bauer T. Does adviser mentoring add value? A longitudinal study of mentoring and doctoral student outcomes. Research in Higher Education. 2006; 47(4):451±76. in Hernandez PR, Bloodhart B, Barnes RT, Adams AS, 55 Clinton SM, Pollack I, et al. (2017) Promoting professional identity, motivation, and persistence: Benefits of an informal mentoring program for female undergraduate students. PLoS ONE 12(11): e0187531. https://doi.org/10.1371/ journal.pone.0187531 100 Hernandez PR, Bloodhart B, Barnes RT, Adams AS, Clinton SM, Pollack I, et al. (2017) Promoting professional identity, motivation, and persistence: Benefits of an informal mentoring program for female undergraduate students. PLoS ONE 12(11): e0187531. https://doi.org/10.1371/ journal.pone.0187531 101 Ibid. 102 Ibid. 103 World Bank. 2015. Female entrepreneurs who succeed in male-dominated sectors in Ethiopia (English). Gender innovation lab policy brief; no. 12. Washington, D.C. : World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/956031468185386493/Female- entrepreneurs-who-succeed-in-male-dominated-sectors-in-Ethiopia; Campos, Francisco Moraes Leitao; Goldstein, Markus P.; Mcgorman, Laura; Munoz Boudet, Ana Maria; Pimhidzai, Obert. 2014. Breaking the metal ceiling: female entrepreneurs who succeed in male-dominated sectors in Uganda (English). Africa region gender practice policy brief; no. 9. Washington, DC; World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/614411468335518230/Breaking-the-metal-ceiling-female-entrepreneurs-who-succeed- in-male-dominated-sectors-in-Uganda 104 International Finance Corporation. 2016. She Works: Putting Gender-Smart Commitments into Practice in the Workplace. Washington, DC.https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/topics_ext_content/ifc_external_corporate_site/gender+at+ifc/priorities/employment/sh eworks+knowledge+report+putting+gender+smart+commitments+into+practice 105 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in International Finance Corporation. 2016. She Works: Putting Gender-Smart Commitments into Practice in the Workplace. 106 International Finance Corporation. 2016. She Works: Putting Gender-Smart Commitments into Practice in the Workplace. 107 Ibid. 108 https://idealistcareers.org/how-mothercoders-is-helping-moms-build-careers-in-tech/; http://www.mothercoders.org/mission/; http://www.businessinsider.com/mothercoders-a-new-kind-of-moms-group-2014-5 109 http://www.mothercoders.org/success-stories/ 110 Cooper, Robyn, and Carol Heaverlo. "Problem Solving And Creativity And Design: What Influence Do They Have On Girls' Interest In STEM Subject Areas?." American Journal of Engineering Education 4, no. 1 (2013): 27. 111 Freeman et al. "Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111, no. 23 (2014): 8410-8415 112Sánchez Puerta, Maria Laura; Valerio, Alexandria; Gutiérrez Bernal, Marcela. 2016. Taking Stock of Programs to Develop Socioemotional Skills: A Systematic Review of Program Evidence. Directions in Development--Human Development;. Washington, DC: World Bank. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/24737 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO. 113Ibid. 114 2016. UNESCO GEM Background Paper on Non-cognitive skills: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002455/245576E.pdf; Heckman J, J Stixrud and S Urzua. “The Effects of Cognitive and Noncognitive Abilities on Labor Market Outcomes and Social Behavior.” Journal of Labor Economics 2006 v24(3), 411–482.; Brunello G and M Schlotter. 2011. “Non Cognitive Skills and Personality Traits: Labour Market Relevance and their Development in Education & Training Systems.” Discussion Paper No. 5743. Bonn: IZA. 115 World Bank Group. 2017. Coding bootcamps: building future-proof skills through rapid skills training. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/795011502799283894/Coding-bootcamps-building-future-proof-skills-through- rapid-skills-training 116 Cassaday, Kelly Ann; Chakravarty, Shubha; Fox, M. Louise; Haddock, Sarah Elizabeth. 2015. The spirit of boldness: lessons from the World Bank’s adolescent girls initiative (English). Adolescent Girls Initiative (AGI). Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/725871467996978832/The-spirit-of-boldness-lessons-from-the-World-Bank-s- adolescent-girls-initiative 117 Clance and Imes 1973, The Imposter Phenomenon in High Achieving Women: Dynamics and Therapeutic Intervention. http://www.paulineroseclance.com/pdf/ip_high_achieving_women.pdf 118 https://medium.com/laboratoria/the-agile-classroom-embracing-an-agile-mindset-in-education-ae0f19e801f3 119 Sánchez Puerta, Maria Laura; Valerio, Alexandria; Gutiérrez Bernal, Marcela. 2016. Taking Stock of Programs to Develop Socioemotional Skills : A Systematic Review of Program Evidence. Directions in Development--Human Development;. Washington, DC: World Bank. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/24737 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO 120 Cohoon, J. M. "Just get over it or just get on with it." Retaining women in undergraduate computing. In J. Cohoon & W. Aspray (Eds.), Women and information technology: Research on underrepresentation (2006): 205-238. 121 Patitsas, E., Craig M., Easterbrook S. (2015) Scaling up Women in Computing Initiatives: What Can We Learn from a Public Policy Perspective? http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~patitsas/publications/systems_thinking.pdf 122 Ibid. 123 Stoeger, Heidrun, et al. “The Effectiveness of a One-Year Online Mentoring Program for Girls in STEM.” Computers & Education, vol. 69, 2013, pp. 408-418. 124 International Finance Corporation, Women Entrepreneurs Are Essential for Private Sector Development in Emerging Markets: https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/179d5b804b3a16138f35ff4149c6fa94/Entrepreneurship+Offering+Brochure+Dec+2015wJKquot e.pdf?MOD=AJPERES 125 World Bank Group Gender Data Portal: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.CACT.FE.ZS 126 Wodon, Quentin T.; de la Brière, Bénédicte. 2018. Unrealized Potential: The High Cost of Gender Inequality in Earnings. The Cost of Gender Inequality. Washington, DC: World Bank. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/29865 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO. 127 World Bank. 2015. World Bank Group gender strategy (FY16-23): gender equality, poverty reduction and inclusive growth (English). Washington, D.C. : World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/820851467992505410/World-Bank-Group-gender- strategy-FY16-23-gender-equality-poverty-reduction-and-inclusive-growth 56 128 World Bank. 2015. World Bank Group gender strategy (FY16-23): gender equality, poverty reduction and inclusive growth (English). Washington, D.C. : World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/820851467992505410/World-Bank-Group- gender-strategy-FY16-23-gender-equality-poverty-reduction-and-inclusive-growth 129 World Bank Group. 2016. World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends. Washington, DC: World Bank. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/23347 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.” URI 130 World Bank Group. 2017. Coding bootcamps: building future-proof skills through rapid skills training. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/795011502799283894/Coding-bootcamps-building-future-proof-skills-through- rapid-skills-training 131“Implicit bias” is a term of art referring to relatively unconscious and relatively automatic features of prejudiced judgment and social behavior: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/implicit-bias/; “microaggression” is a comment or action that subtly and often unconsciously or unintentionally expresses a prejudiced attitude toward a member of a group: https://www.merriam- webster.com/dictionary/microaggression 132 https://medium.com/laboratoria/the-talent-fest-the-new-way-to-identify-potential-in-tech-780eaba180bb 133 Broadband Commission: http://www.unwomen.org/~/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2015/cyber_violence_gender%20repor t.pdf?v=1&d=20150924T154259; International Center for Research on Women forthcoming; Take Back The Tech! http://www.womensmediacenter.com/speech-project/understanding-the-difference-between-generic-harassment-and- gendertrolling 134 Ibid. 135 https://cirr.org/standards 136 World Bank Group 2017. Coding bootcamps: building future-proof skills through rapid skills training. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group. 137 Ibid. 138 Interviews with program; https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/10/andela-a-tech-training-and-development-outsourcer-for-african- coders-raises-40m/; https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/10/business/andela-start-up-coding-africa.html 139 World Bank Group Adolescent Girls Initiative Resource Guide: https://www.s4ye.org/agi/html/Implementation_Implementing_Results-Based_Contracts.html 57