Documentary & Panelists Discuss Women, Minorities in Tech
What would society gain from having more women and minorities code and how do we get there?
That’s the question asked by film makers of the 2015 documentary CODE: Debugging the Gender Gap, an official selection of the Tribeca Film Festival. Directed and produced by Robin Hauser Reynolds, the documentary explores the reasons for the dearth of American female and minority software engineers.
Duo Security is partnering with Ann Arbor’s Michigan Theater to premiere the documentary in Michigan for the first time next Tuesday, February 9 at 7:00 PM, as part of the Science on Screen Film Series.
Google reported 17 percent of their employees are female, while Facebook reported 15 percent. However, only 18 percent of women graduate with a computer science degree in the U.S., which may explain why the talent pool is so slim, according to Forbes.
By 2020, 1.4 million jobs will be in computing-related fields, but less than 29 percent will be filled by Americans, while less than 3 percent of that 29 percent will be women. The jobs are here - but we don’t have the workers to fill them.
Watch the trailer:
CODE: Debugging the Gender Gap Theatrical Trailer from Finish Line Features, LLC on Vimeo.
The documentary explores why girls aren’t choosing coding and computer science by the time they get to college, including cultural and gendered stereotypes of the computer science demographic.
Part of the solution may be revamping the educational system and introducing girls to coding earlier in their education, which can encourage them to learn the basics before they enter a computer science college program.
The film also explores the gender politics of tech work environments. Being excellent or good at your job just isn’t enough if you’re a woman in tech, claims the film. Controversial but important topics will be covered, from “brogrammers” to sexual harassment to the lack of support for women in the tech environment.
After the movie screening, Duo will be hosting a panel of women working in the technology industry to share their experience and perspective on the gender gap.
The panel will include:
- Annie Sullivan, Staff Software Engineer at Google
- Sally Carson, Product Design Manager at Duo Security and former CEO of Pinocchio (now Filament)
- Erika Carlson, Founder of Girl Develop IT Detroit and board member of Hacker Fellows
Everyone is welcome to attend, including not only interested members of the tech community but also members of the education community. Get your tickets on the Michigan Theater website today.