CLICK: A Mentoring Approach to Increasing Female Participation

Abstract

Creating Leaders in Coding Kishoge was a pilot intervention thatwas designed to try to encourage lower second level female studentsto continue studying Computer Science (CS). Research has shownthat increasing access alone to CS does not necessarily broaden participation for females [1]. Compounding this problem, a lack ofvisible role models in the field may contribute to female studentsbeing unable to envisage themselves in a CS role, or indeed understand the types of roles that are available. In the late 2000s, an EU action group funded an initiative, "Science: It's a girl's thing!" which further alienated females from those critical STEM roles. In an attempt to address these issues and change perceptions of CS at a young age, females from industry provided mentorship for the female students. Early findings would suggest that female students are deciding not to partake in CS at second level before entering second level education.