Girlguides will learn to code to bring more women into tech
Girls of every age, from Rainbows to Rangers, will learn to fix bugs and write scripts to encourage them to take up STEM subjects.
The move comes on the back of Girlguiding's 2021 attitudes survey, which found that just over half of girls aged 11 to 21 think STEM subjects are ‘for boys' - a strength of sentiment that hasn't moved since 2016.
To change these attitudes, the organisation is rolling out new digital skills activities for its members aged between five and 18.
The charity will start early, teaching Rainbows - the branch for four to seven-year-olds - about app design using a course called Happy Appy. Younger girls are much less likely to believe that STEM subjects aren't for them than those aged 11+, polling has shown.
Brownies, aged up to 10, will learn to write code for a robot, while older girls and young women in Guides and Rangers will learn about chatbots and phone design. All the courses, available to about 400,000 girls, have been designed in partnership with Google.
"Everyone has heard of Google, even the five-year-olds," said Maddie Wray-Reynolds, a Guides and Brownies leader in Cheltenham and self-proclaimed nerd.
"It's so great to think that there will be these new and exciting activities available for girls and young women to get involved in STEM. Technology plays such a big part in our everyday lives, and women should be involved in its creation."
Brownies can already complete STEM-related badges like aviation, invention and space, while Guides can do science, computing, robotics and engineering. But their popularity pales in comparison to Brownies' love of baking, mindfulness and performing, and preference for (non-alcoholic) mixology, upcycling and backwoods cooking for Guides.
Women are underrepresented in STEM subjects and the related workforce. The percentage of women in STEM jobs fell from 26% in 2019 to 24% in 2020.
Peyton Mitchell, a Brownie from Hemel Hempstead, enjoyed the new activities:
"I loved...learning how to code. It was so much fun! Fixing bugs was hard, but once I tried it a few times, I could do it."