Touro Students Teach Girls to Code

Touro Students Aim to Close Gender Gap in Tech Field Through Girls Who Code Program

October 08, 2018
Devorah Khlar teaches computer coding to high school girls at the Lander College for Arts and Sciences

Touro professor and computer science chair Shmuel Fink brought the Girls Who Code program to Touro two years ago.  It is a year-long program that teaches computer coding to high school girls in order to spark their interest in lucrative careers in technology. Girls Who Code is a national nonprofit working to close the gender gap in technology. According to Girls Who Code, by 2020, there will be 1.4 million jobs available in computing related fields. U.S. graduates are on track to fill 29 percent of those jobs. Women are on track to fill just 3 percent.

“This is a great opportunity for everyone. Girls who attend the club get a chance to try out computer science and get a head start on a career,” said Dr. Fink. “They learn valuable skills, even if they never work in technology. Touro students who facilitate are able to demonstrate to prospective employers that they have leadership skills and that they are both passionate and knowledgeable about technology.”

Girls Who Code provides a national curriculum for the course. Devorah, and the other women computer science majors at Touro who teach the program rely on it. They also enhance the experience for the students by showing a short video related to the week’s activities. As for Devorah, she recently landed a position as a web developer for a large health care company.