Mission:  To expand the future career opportunities of 4th – 8th grade girls through hands on experiences in coding, technology, and business.

Vision:  That women play a key role in economic growth through the use of their technology and business skills.

We provide an opportunity for girls to see if they like working with technology, and provide the opportunity to try it out.  Girls, 4th – 8th grade, meet weekly after school throughout the year.  The first half of the year involves learning the basics of Computer Science. The second half of the year, the girls split into teams choose a service project, then complete a business case and then code their app.  The girls then compete in local, country, and international competitions.

During the mid 1990s, 35% of computer science jobs were filled by women. Now, almost 30 years later, only 24% of computer science jobs are filled by women. According to the American Association of University Women, we can reverse this trend by removing negative connotations around women in computer science and engaging young girls at the elementary level. Code Girls United leads young girls to open doors to their own futures. We teach coding and practical business skills to build self-confidence and lead to high tech, high paying careers here, in Montana.

Computer science education is not a K-12 educational requirement in the state of Montana. Typically, school districts in the most populated areas have implemented some sort of STEM program, but the rural and tribal areas have been left behind and don’t have access to these opportunities or female mentorship. For the schools that do offer High School Computer Science programs, girls are often self-selecting out of these types of programs To date, only seven girls and no Native girls  in  Montana have taken the AP Computer Science test, which we aim to change.