Why is GPN only for Girls and Gender-Diverse students and volunteers?
We get this question a lot and we’re happy to help you understand why GPN makes the choice to keep our events just for girls & gender-diverse students and to have only women and gender-diverse volunteers.
Our Mission:
Our purpose is to increase the number of girls, women and gender-diverse people who are interested in programming, and the tech industry in general, so having our events only for our target audience makes the most sense.
Why are we trying to get more girls and gender-diverse students interested in tech?
Women make up just 20% of technical roles in Australia. These technical roles are changing the future, they are shaping how we all live and work, and it’s important to have gender diversity in the teams that are building that future!
But why can’t men help with this mission by volunteering?
From the student’s perspective, we want to provide them with role models that are similar to them, so that they can see someone like them studying or working in the tech industry. To support this, restricting our volunteers to women and gender-diverse people can make a big difference in how students see themselves in this field, especially since similar role models are often lacking in media or in their immediate circles.
Volunteering at GPN is actually also part of how we are working to increase the number of women and gender-diverse people in the tech industry! Our events give volunteers opportunities for leadership, public speaking, communication skills, networking opportunities, a sense of community, confidence in their technical skills and more.
GPN is a full pipeline solution to the shortage of women and gender-diverse representation in the tech industry, starting with students in primary school with our GPN Junior program, throughout high school, then into their university years and into the industry. Women and gender-diverse people can often end up feeling isolated in an industry where they are under-represented, and communities specifically designed to include them and connect them with similar peers, like GPN, help combat that challenge.
Too many words? Here’s the bullet points!
Women and gender-diverse people are under-represented in tech, so we’re creating spaces just for them, to help fix that problem!
Volunteering for GPN is an opportunity to practise and grow skills, connection and community, so we only allow women and gender-diverse people to volunteer, so they get the most of those opportunities.
Volunteers are also role models for our students, and having role models that are similar to the students helps them envision themselves in the tech industry