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BCSWomen encourage girls to consider a career in IT with App-a-thon Guinness World Record attempt
BCSWomen, part of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, is attempting to break the Guinness World Record for the largest number of people simultaneously learning to code an Android app. The record attempt will be held on Saturday 13 June 2015 in 20 different locations across the UK.
“There is a real skills shortage within the IT profession that we need to address now,” says Gillian Arnold, Chair of BCSWomen. “The BCSWomen App-a-thon event is a great way for every generation to have an opportunity to try their hand at coding and engage with those who are considering a career in IT.”
The event aims to break the record, but also to encourage young people, particularly girls, to consider a career in IT. A recent BCS survey of IT professionals found that 79% believe the profession would benefit from having more women working in it. Currently, women account for just 16% of IT professionals; a figure that has fallen significantly in recent years.
Gillian continues: “It is imperative that we encourage more women to enter the IT profession. Women and girls are massive users of technology however, they don’t realise they could be part of the profession that generates that technology. This is a real issue. We need to appeal to young girls and women and get them involved. IT is at the heart of everything we do these days; this is only going to continue to grow therefore the opportunities are almost limitless. It’s a profession that women are good at. We just need to encourage more women to be part of it!”
Each event will be led by a member of BCSWomen who will teach participants how to build Android apps using MIT AppInventor. The sessions will be a mixture of talks, activities and hands-on coding.
The BCSWomen App-a-thon record attempt will take place at on Saturday 13 June 2015, between 10am - 3pm. To find your nearest event and register for your free place, please visit: http://www.bcs.org/content/ConWebDoc/54172
Any journalists wanting to attend one of the events should contact Chloé Dodgson (chloe.dodgson@hq.bcs.org.uk) or Lynda Feeley (lynda.feeley@hq.bcs.org.uk) to arrange.
