Tech organisation strives for free coding education for all

Coding, arguably, is the must-have skill set of the 21^st century. Learning how to code – the language used to make computer programmes – allows us to create not only computer software, but also highly specialised websites and apps.

In today’s world, however, the coding world has been branded as exclusive and overwhelmingly male. According to the Huffington Post, the number of females working in the tech sector has decreased since the 1990s, when women made up more than a third. Now, females make up only a quarter of the whole computer and maths field.

But now a local technology company is working to change all that. Space4 is offering free coding workshops every Monday evening, and hopes to soon offer workshops designed to lure more women into the field.

“The workshops aren’t specifically for girls or women, but luckily about 65% of the attendees to this group have been female,” says Polly Robbins, manager of Space4.

“We are also hoping to have some more talks and workshops later in the year focused on understanding the barriers women face to entering senior positions in the tech sector.”

Located on Fonthill Road in Finsbury Park, Space4 offers the workshops in partnership with Founders and Coders, who are advocates of free coding education for all. They were the first organisation to provide a full-time adult programming school in the UK that is free of charge.

The workshops have been running at Space4 since the 13^th of November 2017, and the response has been great, they say. “We get people coming from all over London to attend,” says Robbins. “On average we get about 18 people per session. The attendees come from a wide range of backgrounds and ability levels.”

It’s not just the lack of females working in the industry that the organisation is trying to address either. “We are actively encouraging girls and women and people from low socioeconomic homes to attend these workshops. These are groups who are traditionally underrepresented in the tech sector,” Robbins says. “So we feel it is important to keep the workshops free so that we can welcome as many people as possible.

“We feel that this is unhealthy for the sector to lack diversity – diversity brings new approaches, new ideas, new creativity and helps people identify with activities, projects and products.”