Girls Who Code

to make that time. And so for me, dear friends here on woke F, I am going to be taking a much needed vacation so that I can rest and recharge as we head into what I believe is going to be one of the craziest falls we've ever seen.

I have left you with eight amazing episodes that we have recorded back in twenty twenty one with some of the most thoughtful, engaging and insightful commentary that looks at our politics, our spiritual nature, our emotional well being, and a look inside frankly with some of the guests that we are bringing to all of you. These conversations have been heard by our amazing Patreon supporters who get video

episodes every single day. Because of their belief and financial support of woke F throughout the years, and so I'm really excited to bring all of you across all the platforms that you listen to woke F daily on these episodes and these interviews that I think will be enticing

to all of you. They hit on all of the major topics that we consistently discuss here on woke F, from racism to gender inequality, to police misconduct to wealth inequality, which my God, and the need and the need and the need upmost for spiritual connection and wellness practices that allow us to successfully maneuver all of the things that have been thrown at us over the past couple of years.

And so, friends, while I will be out from the show, I will not be out of sight for the next several days, and so you can continue to follow me on Instagram and on Twitter at D two Cents, D E two c E n TF. Of course, I will be dropping in with my two cents and you can check me out on TikTok, where I'm sure certain that I will drop a few videos in the next couple of days, and there you can find me at Danielle Moody Underscore. I hope that you all enjoy these next

fantastic episodes that we have. Do drop your thoughts in the comments section, do hit me up in the socials. Just don't draw my attention to anything that is terrible because I'm taking a break from the news. But dear friends, I really do hope that you enjoy these next eight episodes and I will see you with brand new episodes after Labor Day. It's no secret that the news is

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to Slates Political Gapfest new episodes every Thursday, folks. I am so excited to be joined on woke FFI daily with the newly anointed CEO of Girls Who Code, doctor Terica Barrett. Welcome to woke f and congratulations on your

new position. You were co of Girls Who Code, which is an international organization dedicated to connecting young girls two computer skills to technology and giving them the ability to succeed in the twenty first century in an area that is largely dominated still by men and mostly white men

and boys. Tell us about what it means to take on this role at this time, in the midst of a pandemic, when we are at the height of remote learning essentially everywhere, not just in this country in the United States, but your organization globally represents girls around the world. This is a situation that we're dealing with globally. What does this undertaking mean to you at this particular moment, Danielle, First,

thank you for your wonderful introduction. Your excitement is infectious and I can't tell you how energized I am to be stepping into this role of CEO at Girls who Code. Everything you're saying about what this moment represents is true and for me, you know, COVID has really laid bear the inequities that so many of our girls and our women, especially our girls and women of color, are facing, both

in school and in the workplace. You know, as a lifelong educator and equity advocate, and as someone who's helped lead Girls who Code now for the past five years. As challenging as this past year has been with the layers of inequity, I also feel energized to build on this incredible foundation that Rushma has laid to close this

widening gender gap in tech. You know, as you pointed out, a space that is typically you know, white, male dominated, and we have worked so hard over close to nine years now to build this incredible movement of girls and women who now see a path forward in tech. And as CEO stepping into this seat, it is my job to harness that movement and really expand and extend the pipeline so that more girls and women and especially girls

and women of color, have opportunity. And you know, it means tangible things like tripling the number of after school clubs that we launch over the next few years. It also means launching workforce development programs and mentorship programs so that our young women know that we're going to support

them as they move into the workforce. We know that as bad as things are now, tech is still going to be central to the job markets recovery, and we can't have our girls and women, especially our girls and women of color, being left out when these opportunities present. So this moment is dire, it is urgent, and as I step into this seat, I want to make sure that our most marginalized girls, the ones who've dropped out of remote learning opportunities, that we are paying attention to

them and supporting them in our work moving forward. You know, let's talk about that for a minute, the fact that young girls are dropping out of learning. You know, UNICEF estimates that we're looking at roughly twenty million secondary school age girls around the globe, around twenty million dropping out of school because of the pandemic. We hear reports in the United States with at least two million women dropping

out of the workforce because of the pandemic. Why do you think that this is affecting girls and women more so than it is any other demographic And what is Girls who Code doing in order to stemmy this, to stop it from happening, or at least bring attention to the fact that it is happening. Yeah, Danielle, I'm so grateful for that question. You know, if we think about it,

our girls and young women are the caregivers. They're the ones who are often turned to in families to support, to take care of siblings, to take care of parents. It's also connected to the culture shift that Girls who Code has been so committed to changing. We know that when you think about a computer program or a coder, you don't think of a girl. They're often not encouraged by parents, by peers, by teachers. Our education system doesn't it's not set up to funnel them into these opportunities.

So in this moment, I find that our girls and young women are the burden bearers. They're the ones who are spoking in and doing all of this work. And we know what's happening to young women with children. They've had to step out of the workforce to support families ed girls who code. The way that we think about this urgent issue is to make sure that all the programming that we design and that we launched contemplates the

needs and challenges that our girls are facing. So, for example, we would run typically a seven week summer immersion program. We shifted that with COVID to a two week program. We surveyed our girls. We checked on what they needed. Were they taking care of loved ones, did they have to do, you know, get earned money on the side, Did they have a computer? Did they have access to internet?

We have to make sure that we are asking our girls what they need, but that we are also planting seeds of hope and remembering that as much as we're talking about learning loss in one breath and disengagement and marginalization, we know that our girls are going to be the key to what gets transformed in this world. You know, passionate, ambitious and diverse young women are going to change our workforce.

So we have to continue to invest in them, and so at Girls who Code, our programming is very much designed to support them in spite of the burdens that

they're facing in this moment with COVID. You know, I we oftentimes you don't deal with things until we until we're in crisis, and the reality is, you know, I was just speaking with New York City MARYL candidate Maya Wiley earlier this week, and in our conversation talking about New York City Public Schools, who you and I both worked for at one time, the largest school district in the country, she I said to her, you know, we

knew years ago that these communities didn't have broadband. We knew years ago that they didn't have the access to technology, let alone the devices that we're going to set them up for where we are now with remote learning. But we did nothing. You know, we continue to create pandemic on top of crises, on top of pandemic on top of crisis, as if we're layering some type of lasagna, and the reality is that we have the tools right and the awareness to fix it. Why don't we tackle

these things on the front end. You think that's such a good question you had me when you set a lasagna. I've nothing to do with Danielle. I mean, that is an important question, but I would say that very often. You know, inequity is complex, and you know, people deal with what's in front of them. When you think about this digital divide that you said has been here forever, that is true. We've always known it, but we decide to pay attention to other the gaps in schools or

other things. And now we're recognizing, like, oh, we wonder why our black and brown kids were never succeeding in school when they would go home and they couldn't Google search up the answer to their homework, just like these other kids who had access to high speed internet. So it's really laid bare the inequities in a really stark way. I'm hopeful though that the steps that are being taken

now to level the playing field. I think it's something like over a third of you know, black and Latino students don't have access to computers, you know, and high speed internet, and we know that twelve million students don't have access to high speed internet overall. This is the moment to not only sort of bridge that gap, but

go a step further. We have to take the learnings that are positive in this moment around learning and digital and the ways in which some kids have been given some different kinds of engagement and opportunity and we have to build on that and do even more. I wish I knew why folks didn't act on some of these things. But let's be honest. Racism is real inequity of pop and very often it becomes a hierarchy of needs and it's a it's a messed up hierarchy. It shouldn't be,

you know this. Instead of that, I would say, access to high speed internet is a human right. You cannot succeed in society without it, and so I'm hopeful that it's a complete paradigm shift that we're looking at moving forward. You know, one of the questions that I wanted to ask you and next was about that, because I think you know what I talk about on woke app is that there are lots of opportunities that you can see

in obstacles right if you were looking for them. There are lots of lessons and learnings that we can take from the last year of living in this pandemic of having to shift our lives in such a way right and adapt into a situation that is completely abnormal and foreign to us, like remote learning. And I think about the challenges that teachers have, that parents have, and caregivers have in this moment, not only to take care of the emotional well being of children right as you're explaining

this moment to them, but also their academic needs. What are some of the things that you think that we should take from this moment, take from the last year of remote learning, of innovation, building the plane while we're flying it, that we should take with us as we move forward in our education because to me, honestly, our education system has been very stagnant. It has not adapted to the ways in which we are working and living.

Right we're still operating as if we're living in the twentieth century as it pertains to our education, even in just the timing the time that school starts right and the time that it ends. So what are some of the things that you were seeing the girls who code is seeing that we said, you know what, this obstacle presented this opportunity and we should dig more into this. I love that question, and I'm proud that there are educators you being a former educator yourself, who are really

actively thinking about this. Let's be honest, you know, I would say a lot of folks kicking and screaming, had to figure out how to teach kids in this moment, And the good news is that we're never ever going to go back to what you describe, which is some archaic, antiquated way of thinking about things. At Girls who Code. What it did for us is that it really broke down the geographical barriers, especially with our summer immersion program, which was in person girls going on field trips in

corporate partner spaces. All of a sudden, we could say to ourselves, what would it mean to reach even more girls than ever before? And we did. We would typically register sixteen hundred girls, and then this past summer we register five thousand and most diverse groups. Also quote already half of the girls we serve our black latins low income. But here we were these rich, diverse classrooms that we were able to assemble because of geographical boundaries broke down.

And I think every educator has to think about that in a very similar way. Why is it that some schools offer ap computer science and some don't. All of a sudden, with online learning, we realize you don't have to do it that way. Why would you deny any child access to advanced coursework? So I would say things like that, how you group students in terms of levels and all these things. Leverage the technology for equity, leverage the technology for access. There are so many ways in

which that we can learn from this moment. So I'm hopeful that folks continue to push themselves and think outside the box. I really love that question. You know. One of the problems too that we are seeing is, aside from the fact that millions of Americans have lost their jobs, right, that young people that our college age are trying to figure out now how they navigate one uh their higher education, but with the understanding that there may not be a

job on the other side. Right, And this is this has been a problem that we've had, We've been facing on multiple fronts. It's why we talk about debt relief. It's why we you know, why we talk about the fact that one should not have to go into debt in order to get a higher education. One of the surveys that you all have done in the spring, in surveying your alumni is recognizing that thirty percent of those

have either lost jobs or lost opportunities and internships. And we know that those are what set us up for the future. Right, These internships and these opportunities, the exposure or what allow us to really have fine success. So, how how is Girls who Code navigating that space? Understanding that in many ways that the job market has shrunk. Right,

we know that we've been losing various industries. You're in a space where you're you're in the expanded space, but even still right focusing on technology, they have still seen loss in their ability to advance their academic careers. How are you meeting that challenge? Thank you, As you were talking, before I even knew you were going to cite our statistic, I was going to say thirty percent our young women.

It is so stark. The minute that we heard it, we had to jump into action and think about what we could do. I mentioned the fact that we are deeply committed to workforce. We have over eighty thousand college age alums that we have talked to code at Girls who Code, and we recognize that supporting that group and

entering the tech workforce and thriving is our agenda. And so among the things we did, we launched Girls who Code Talks, a talk series to just begin to especially our young women at the beginning of the pandemic who hadn't even visited colleges at that point, how did we bring the information to them? And again the survey, we ask them what are you experiencing? And then we immediately go back as a team and say what can we

do as an organization in this moment? And we have you know, a number of generous corporate partners that we work with, and we immediately said, what do we need to do with you? How do you change this moment for our young women who need this desperately, And we're proud to say that, you know, when job opportunities evaporated and internships evaporated, we said, you know what, let's step

into this gap and have a hiring summit. We have over eight hundred girls participate, you know, just off the gate. We also decided to launch a work prep program pilot that we're doing right now because what you said is true. It's those experiences, those social networks, getting your feet wet, understanding the culture and what's happening at these companies that allows our young women to feel confident to also make connections. We know that things have to change on the culture side.

That's a whole other conversation in terms of what's happening, you know, at tech companies and other companies, but we want to make sure that our young women feel supported, and so we're making we're providing that connective tissue for them, especially in a moment when jobs have evaporated and internships

that have evaporated. I can't say that we've figured it all out, but we are so deeply committed to this that we think that these pilots are the beginning of deeper work that we're going to do as an organization moving forward. And as CEO, I am so committed and passionate about this issue because I think it's the thing that's going to allow us to continue to have the kind of impact we've had in serving over three hundred

thousand girls with our programming. This is the next frontier for girls who code, making sure we get them into

the tech industry and that they actually stay there. You know, I've had the good fortune of being an advisor over the last I think five to six years with Lesbians Who Tech and Allies and as Lesbians who Tech works to integrate the tech industry in a space where queer women can see themselves and essentially create a culture or be a part of a culture where they can bring their full selves in what are some of the I guess, the skills, the counseling that you provide for these girls.

That isn't just about how you learn how to code, but I mean a lot of this, like we were saying before we started, is also about code switching, which we know that black and brown girls have to do more so than their white counterpart and peers. And that there isn't It isn't just enough that we know the ins and outs of the job, but it's also knowing enough of how to navigate a culture that doesn't actually

want us to show up as our full selves. And so how do you how do you educate your girls about that so that they stay in they stay in this they stay in the workforce, and stay in this industry.

You know, I love that question, Danielle. And you know, we did a study with Accenture where we've learned that I think it's fifty percent of women who enter the tech workforce actually leave within their first five years, which is hard to believe in As you said, when you think about women of color, queer women of color in a space that is not designed for them, not welcoming, we think our anchors and really exist in the way that we just approach the work at girls who code,

So we're not just teaching, as you said, computer science. We're teaching girls to lead and to thrive in that tech workforce. And so much of that is knowing who they are. If you think about our curriculum, and of course, the coding is great. Girls build robots, they know, they design websites, they do all of this stuff. But guess

what the secret sauce is. It's the sisterhood. It's the brave, if, the resilience, and that we create programs where they understand they're showing up as their full selves every day that they do either a seven week intensive or a two week intensive. And I'm proud to say that the projects that we have at the end are things like where do you climb black haircare products? What's going on? Oh yeah? They sure yes snatch up their projects and say, okay,

I need this for myself. But they're the ones solving problems like bullying, racism, discrimination, because guess what, girls and especially our girls of color, know what's ahead of us and the challenges that are going to make this world a better place, and so they bring that spirit into how they enter the tech workforce and listen, it's not enough.

We know that the tech industry needs a culture reset, but we continue as an organization to hold feet to the fire in terms of honest and candid conversations with our corporate partners and anyone who will listen. And we're so grateful for platforms like this one, Danielle. But we're also making sure on the other side that our girls and young women understand who they are and who they will continue to be because they add such tremendous value.

And it's the industry that needs to change, not our girls and young women, and we're committed to making sure they know that. I love that. I love that you say that it's the industry that needs to change and not your girls. You know, last question that I have for you is really with regard to the fact that you're a working mom, right, And we started this conversation saying that, you know, two million women have left the workforce and probably by the time that COVID is all

said and done, there will be probably millions more. What advice do you offer to women, I mean, especially you're taking on this extraordinary role at this extraordinary time in our country and our history in our world. What advice do you have to women that, frankly, you know, I can't imagine because I don't have kids, but I see how difficult it has been, how how hard the struggle

has been. What advice do you have for women that feel like they're they're hanging on by a thread right now, that they're trying to do both and they're trying to be the mother, the partner, you know, the good worker, all of these hats that women are forced to wear right now. And I just think you know, whether or not you hang up a zoom and have a breakdown like the rest of us, I don't know, But what if you have advice for you know, for other women, you know, please let us let us know what tools

you use in order to keep yourself going. I appreciate that question about tools. And I remember I was in an interview and someone asked me about a framework. I was like, a framework that sounds way too fancy for what I'm trying to do with my life right now.

I was in a staff meeting and explained to some staff members that I am an introvert, which is something that you know, many of the staff just did had no idea and someone said to me, you know, thank you for doing everything that you're doing every day, as hard as it may be, free you because you're doing it for our girls. And I almost wept because she said it in a way that I had never said

it to myself. I think as women just barely holding on, and I want to just say, true confession, I am barely holding on to my kids who are disengaged who I feel like I'm losing every day to YouTube, you know, minecraft, endless tutorials and all kinds of things. You know, we all have sometimes our parents are loved ones who are struggling with different things. It's almost as though COVID has

amplified and magnified every challenge that we've ever faced. Professional my advice is to just first know that you're not alone. I don't know any woman who isn't struggling, regardless of role or title. I feel like I'm stepping into this because of a need, not because I am somehow you know, special or different or superhuman. I'm doing it because our girls, and especially our girls of color, need this advocacy in this support or your anchor might be your own family.

I know it's true for me as well, you know, I think about my mum in Jamaica, I think about my kids. I think about what I represent for every brown girl looking at this transition and saying, oh my gosh, she's the CEO of you know, one of the largest girls organizations in the world. Find your piece, your anchor, your moments to stay whole because our hair is on fire. Yes, I don't even know which way is up or down.

I don't even have a full size refrigerator, and I know that's not a big problem, but I just want to say that in COVID everything has broken in our home and we don't have anything working. And again, that is small, very tiny compared to what people are facing. But I use humor a lot. I laugh when I can't cry. Whatever is that grounds you? Meditation is big for me. I wouldn't call it exercise without putting very large air quotes on it because I'm not breaking a sweat.

But I feel good about myself after twenty minutes because I did something. Find people who affirm you know that you know we're all going through it, and you know, I'm just so grateful for my fellow women who support me that can tie to support each other we are special that way, and we're going to get through this and we're going to make up the ground and we're going to do better than we ever did because we have no choice. But it's who we are, I think,

and so I just stay as optimistic as I possibly can. Well. I think that we are going to do better than we've ever did because we have leaders like you that are taking the helm, that are doing the work, and that are inspiring us along their journey. Doctor Driga Barrett, thank you so much for joining wikaf and I hope that you will come back, as you know, grab the reins of girls who code and bring us along on this journey. Any which way that we can help, we will. Oh.

I'm so grateful again. Thank you so much. Your show is wonderful, this platform is wonderful, and please keep doing what you're doing in elevating voices and things that are so critical for everyone. Thank you for who you are and what you're doing. No, thank you as always, dear friends. Power to the people and to all the people. Power get woke and stay woke as fuck. See after Labor Day