Our History
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how we started
Kira Wetzel founded girls + data after speaking on a panel of women IT professionals as part of a Girls in Tech - Milwaukee program. Young women in grades K-12 and their parents attended the panel, and Kira answered several questions about one serious misconception: a career in technology means a career in computer science and "coding."
As a woman who leads data and analytics teams that use programming "some of the time," Kira has set out to dispel the idea that you have to be a "coder" to be a woman in tech.
Kira Wetzel
- founder of girls + data
Women are needed in data analytics in a variety of roles that require the type of computational thinking that girls + data taught regardless of whether they use programming in their primary roles.
it starts with a single data point
the girls + data
mission
girls + data is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization on a mission to increase data literacy among young women at an early age and to expose middle school girls to technology careers in data analytics
developing the next generation of data leaders
Data powers the world and we help students understand how it’s collected and used in order to become knowledgeable and responsible digital citizens and data-driven decision makers.
women hold only 18% of data science jobs in the United States.
We're on a mission to change that!
why girls + data?
Only ~55% of women felt informed about the career opportunities in data science
Companies are in search of data scientists but female STEM students aren't considering a career in the field
Women make up ~55% of university graduates but account for just over 1/3 of STEM degrees
No other dedicated data programs for girls existed in 2017
15-22% of all professionals in data science-related roles are women
Only 48% of women students surveyed agreed that data scientists spend time solving real-life problems
What’s Keeping Women Out of Data Science?
bcg.com/en-us/publications/2020/what-keeps-women-out-data-science
our past sponsors & donors
