TechGirlz Parent Resource Center

Attracting girls to STEM/Tech is among the great challenges of our time. Girls must navigate roadblocks at every stage of their technology education. Parents are the single most influential factor in girls’ ability to overcome these roadblocks. Yet parents consistently report that they lack the information and tools they need to support their daughters’ technology futures.

The TechGirlz Parent Resource Center (PRC) will solve this problem. Using cutting-edge technology, the PRC will provide parents/guardians with a customized resource management system that enables parents’ participation, guidance, and encouragement of their daughters’ technology learning.

TechGirlz will pilot the PRC to the parents of 7,000-10,000 TechGirlz students annually, with a goal of expanding access to all parents within five years.

By giving parents tools to actively promote their daughters’ tech interests, the PRC will remove barriers facing girls in tech and open doors to a new generation of female technology leadership. 

The lack of women in STEM and technology fields is one of the great untapped potentials of our economy, but it is also one of the most difficult challenges to solve, and its roots start at an early age. Girls experience cultural bias as they demonstrate skills or aptitude in STEM/Tech fields, and have few options for technology courses in schools. Further, girls are often exposed to a narrow view of options in tech careers (e.g. that tech is centered only on  coding), and are subjected to stereotypes of technologists. All have contributed to steering girls away from exploring technology as a life skill and/or career path.

Challenges facing girls in technology extend to the workforce. A persistent gender pay gap leaves women making only 78 cents for every dollar earned by men (and less than 60 cents on the dollar for women of color). This is happening at a time of rapid workforce transformation, where the number of unfilled technology jobs is approaching 1million, even as only 25% of jobs in computing occupations are held by women. One of the clearest ways to erase these disparities is by creating a path beginning in adolescence that leads to higher earning lifetime wages. In today’s world, any path to higher earnings for a meaningful segment of women begins with technology training. And often, the most influential people in motivating and enabling a girls’ interest in technology are her parents. A recent Microsoft study shows that having an encouraging mom who communicates about STEM is associated with girls having averages of +20 points more interested in all STEM subjects compared to those girls who do not; having an encouraging dad who communicates about STEM averages +17 points; and having both mom and dad averages +27 points more than those girls who do not.

This request will fund a new project: the TechGirlz Parent Resource Center (PRC), a customized resource management system including a free online portal created to help parents nurture middle school girls’ technology interests and help them explore paths to tech-related careers. 

The PRC will give parents the information and tools they need to allow them to participate, guide, and encourage their daughter’s learning experiences. Through their Resource Center log-in, parents will be able to track progress and suggest courses for their children. Parents will also have access to informational materials on topics such as tech-related career pathways, incorporating tech into their child’s interests, and ways to access more learning opportunities.

This project is part of TechGirlz’ 5-year capacity-building program focused on eliminating barriers to girls’ technology futures and leadership, which will include development of new workshops, a customized, remotely-accessible learning management system, and and other tools designed to eliminate barriers to girls’ technology education and inspire them to become the next generation of technology leaders. By giving parents the tools they need to be an integral part of their daughters’ technology futures, the PRC will be eliminating a major roadblock to girls’ technology empowerment.

Our solution serves middle-school girls ages 11 to 14 and their parents/guardians. We anticipate that approximately 45-50% of participating parents and students will be from communities of color, and 30% will be from families with income levels that qualify them for free or reduced lunch. Because TechGirlz workshops can be accessed remotely by any girl anywhere, the target population includes girls and their parents across the U.S. and beyond.

We believe the path to that economic empowerment begins in middle school, the age when most girls begin to opt out of technology related fields. It continues through high school, college and into a woman’s professional career. From video games to space exploration, modern work requires technology familiarity beyond coding, and our program participants will be there to fill the need. That is why we offer the most diverse range of topics and instructions through TechGirlz workshops and camps. By delivering TechGirlz workshops to middle-school girls, and giving parents the tools they need to cultivate and inspire their daughters’ technology interests, we are inspiring a new generation of girls to tech leadership, and building a bridge for girls to the technology jobs of the future. 

Long-term, the vision of success for TechGirlz is a world where middle school girls feel confident enough in their skills and themselves to take additional technology classes in high school and college and go on to careers in the tech jobs of the future. The PRC engages one of the most powerful and transformative forces in girls’ lives – their parents – to break through roadblocks and inspire girls to pursue technology education and careers.

Ultimately, we will know we are successful when the gender disparity in STEM and technology begins to disappear.

This project establishing the Parents’ Resource Center aligns with the first dimension of the Challenge by creating strategies and tools for parental support of children entering the world of technology. The PRC is one of the strategies embedded in the TechGirlz program to remove barriers for girls engaging in technology, including engaging girls in remote, hybrid and physical environments.

The TechGirlz program is in the process of developing the component parts of the Parents’ Resource Center in preparation for launching and piloting the PRC with the parents/guardians of the 7,000 TechGirlz program participants over the coming year. This includes developing a customized resource management system, building out the functionality and resources that will be made available through this system (e.g. course tracking information, educational materials), preliminary testing of the system, and virtual rollout of the PRC to TechGirlz parents.

TechGirlz, a program of Creating IT Futures, ignites a love for tech in middle school girls through free, open-source courses that inspire curiosity, impart confidence, and build community as the foundation for a lifetime of technology skills and leadership. 

Unlike other organizations engaging youth in technology, TechGirlz does not focus primarily on coding. Our experience shows that girls have much broader interests and connections to technology. We have continually asked girls for their input on technology related instruction, topics and careers. Overwhelmingly, they feel that technology is a way to solve the issues in their own lives, and they hunger to learn how it applies to their core interests. Girls want to be more than coders – they want to be technologists. TechGirlz’ research and feedback loop help us create curricula which present technology in the way middle school girls want to learn–project-based, creative and fun. The TechGirlz curriculum pushes the envelope for redefining what young girls can–and should–be learning about technology.

The Parent Resource Center supports this innovation by providing parents of girls interested in technology with tools and information on the broad range of technology applications and career pathways available to girls. It will provide these materials through a customized resource management system developed for this purpose that provides remote access to course management functionality, learning materials, resources and tools to help parents encourage and inspire their daughters’ technology ambitions.

Number currently served: 7,000 per year

Number serving after one year: 14,000 per year, including

•   7,000 girls participating in TechGirlz workshops
•   7,000 TechGirlz parents (one to two parents per TechGirlz participant) useing PRC resources 

Number serving after five years: 50,000-75,000 per year, including

•   10,000-15,000 girls participate in TechGirlz workshops
•   10,000-20,000 TechGirlz parents using PRC resources
•   30,000-40,000 non-TechGirlz parents using PRC resources

TechGirlz tracks two primary KPIs:

• did you change your mind about a career in tech?

• would you bring a friend to a TechShop?

Historically, 80% of participants say they have changed their minds and now have a positive interest in a career in tech. We maintain contact with participants through bi-annual surveys, and through follow-up interviews with families. We also track enrollment numbers, multiple registrations, demographics and feedback of the participants and volunteers. Since the goal of the PRC is to help parents support their daughters’ interest in technology and inspire them to technology learning and careers, the success of TechGirlz participants are the primary indicators of success for the PRC. Other participant information TechGirlz tracks includes enrollment numbers, multiple registrations, demographics, and feedback of the participants and volunteers.

Other indicators will include:

Short-Term

• Number of TechGirlz participants inspired to learn more about technology.

• Number of parents/guardians enrolled in the PRC

Medium-Term

• Number of parents actively supporting their daughters’ technology interests. 

• Number of TechGirlz participants who go on to technology educational opportunities and careers.

• Growth of TechGirlz programming, including number of girls and families served.

Long-Term

• Proportion of girls engaged in STEM learning.

• Proportion of women in technology jobs.

• Proportion of women in technology leadership.

• Disappearance of barriers to women in technology 

The PRC team includes:

3 full-time staff 

0 part-time staff

1 contractor 

= 4 total staff on the PRC team

The TechGirlz team responsible for developing and implementing the Parent Resource Center is well-positioned to deliver this solution. Having developed the core TechShopz technology that powers TechGirlz workshops, they have the experience and skills needed to take TechGirlz learning and tools and apply them to implementing the Parent Resource Center and addressing critical issues around engaging parents in their daughters’ technology education and futures. 

Team leader and Executive Director Amy Cliett has 15 years of experience in operations management, leading youth tech education programs, and working with parents and edtech stakeholders. She is dedicated to shaping a future generation of technologists.Amy leads the national expansion of TechGirlz and leads the internationally recognized Women In Tech Summit. 

Curriculum Development Manager Andrew Santangelo is a Certified K-12 Educator and Adjunct Professor with experience creating and implementing a wide variety of technology-based curricula in Computer Fundamentals, Computer Science, and Business Education.

Media Marketing Specialist Breyanna Johnson is experienced in media operations, Social Media Marketing, and communications, with specialized skills in branding, content creation and media page operations allows her to thrive and push her creative limits. 

Also working on the PRC team is a contractor responsible for technical development of the LMS system buildout, training for staff on system components, and maintenance of system technologies.

Because of the critical  importance we place on gender and racial equity in our programming, it is notable that half of the team building out the PRC systems and engaging in rollout is comprised of women of color.

The Creating IT Futures/TechGirlz team, through our mission since 1998, has been committed to the support of underserved communities, and identifying ways to encourage more diversity in IT through our programming and partnership with community organizations. This has included a focus on bringing women and people of color into our programs and preparing them for IT jobs and careers wherever they are on the IT learning/workforce continuum. Because our mission is so closely tied to our diversity, equity and inclusion goals, we model the way with our own teams to lead by example. For example, in recent years, 57% of the employees we hired for our teams have been women, 43% have been African American, and 14% have been Asian. The Executive Director of the TechGirlz program is an African American woman, reflecting the importance we place in positive role models of leadership of women of color in the TechGirlz program.  This practice of identifying talented candidates from diverse communities is something we have ingrained in our talent recruitment process as we can continue to diversify our leadership and staff team.

TechGirlz is at a critical point in the program's development, as we expand our curriculum, develop new partnerships, establish new offices, and adapt to the changes brought about by COVID-19. This is a time of transformation, as the rapid development of technology changes both the workforce and the fundamental structures of everyday life; we believe that this presents an essential opportunity to engage young women in the growing wave of new tech leaders. Solve grant/prize funding will allow us to develop the capacity and connections we need to support parents’ efforts to empower and inspire their daughters as future as technologists.

The TechGirlz PRS development can use additional support in public relations as we roll out the PRS following the completion of development; monitoring and evaluation as we seek to measure impacts over the course of the project; and potentially resource management system support as the PRS is tested and improved in the coming years.

CITF/TechGirlz would welcome partnerships in the development of the PRC with MIT faculty and Solve members who have experience with other projects in the STEM education space, who can bring their expertise to bear as we work to solve this significant societal challenge.

The TechGirlz Parent Resource Center (PRC) is an innovative and equitable approach to attracting girls to technology and overcoming barriers that dissuade girls from pursuing STEM education and careers. Women are a vast underutilized resource in technology that could have a profound effect on the sustainability and growth of the information technology industry (for example, only 25% of information technology jobs are filled by women). Overcoming this challenge requires intervention at an early age with project-based, accessible resources that motivate and inspire girls to pursue lives as technologists. Further, it requires breaking down additional barriers to access for low-income and BIPOC girls to develop smart, safe and sustainable communities. The Parent Resource Center is a technology-powered solution integrating an innovative resource management system to engage parents in the technology futures of their daughters, with focused resources that serve parents of low-income and BIPOC TechGirlz students. By empowering  one of most important influences in girls’ lives – their parents – to overcome girls’ tech barriers, with special emphasis on increasing equity in access to technology education, the PRC will support girls and their families to know themselves through exploration of their technology interests, know their options for future careers in technology, and make informed decisions to achieve their technology education and career goals.

CITF/TechGirlz will use funding from the ASA prize to develop and test our new resource management system and pilot our first year PRC implementation to approximately 10,000 parents of TechGirlz participants across the U.S.

The TechGirlz Parent Resource Center (PRC) is an innovative and equitable approach to attracting girls to technology and overcoming barriers that dissuade girls from pursuing STEM education and careers. Women are a vast underutilized resource in technology that could have a profound effect on the sustainability and growth of the information technology industry (for example, only 25% of information technology jobs are filled by women). Overcoming this challenge requires intervention at an early age with project-based, accessible resources that motivate and inspire girls to pursue lives as technologists. Further, it requires breaking down additional barriers to access for low-income and BIPOC girls to develop smart, safe and sustainable communities. The Parent Resource Center is a technology-powered solution integrating an innovative resource management system to engage parents in the technology futures of their daughters, with focused resources that serve parents of low-income and BIPOC TechGirlz students. By empowering  one of most important influences in girls’ lives – their parents – to overcome girls’ tech barriers, with special emphasis on increasing equity in access to technology education, the PRC will support girls and their families to know themselves through exploration of their technology interests, know their options for future careers in technology, and make informed decisions to achieve their technology education and career goals.

CITF/TechGirlz will use funding from the GM prize to develop and test our new resource management system and pilot our first year PRC implementation to approximately 10,000 parents of TechGirlz participants across the U.S.

The TechGirlz Parent Resource Center (PRC) is an innovative approach to attracting girls to technology and overcoming barriers that dissuade them from pursuing STEM education and careers. Women are a vast underutilized resource in information technology (IT) that could have a profound effect on economic growth and prosperity (for example, only 25% of information technology jobs are filled by women). Overcoming this challenge requires intervention at an early age with resources that motivate and inspire girls to pursue lives as technologists. The Parent Resource Center uses innovative technology, including a cutting edge resource management system and anytime/anywhere access, to engage parents in the technology futures of their daughters. By empowering parents – the single greatest factor in girls’ overcoming barriers to their technology interests – the PRC will support girls’ pursuit of STEM education to advance the needs of girls and women and promote a world where their voices can be celebrated.

CITF/TechGirlz will use funding from the Innovation for Women prize to develop and test our new PRC resource management system (in-development), in preparation for piloting the PRC to approximately 10,000 parents of TechGirlz participants across the U.S. in 2022.

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The TechGirlz Parent Resource Center is an innovative approach to one of the most pressing issues of our time – attracting girls to technology and overcoming the cultural and economic barriers blocking their STEM education and careers. Women are a vast underutilized resource in technology that could have a profound effect on the sustainability and growth of the information technology industry (for example, only 25% of information technology jobs are filled by women). Overcoming this challenge requires intervention at an early age with resources that motivate and inspire girls to pursue lives as technologists. The Parent Resource Center is a technology-powered solution integrating an innovative resource management system to engage parents in the technology futures of their daughters. By empowering one of most important influences in girls’ lives to overcome girls’ tech barriers, the PRC will support girls’ STEM education, bring opportunity to girls in poverty, and contribute to a more sustainable technology future.

CITF/TechGirlz will use funding from the GSR prize to develop and test our new resource management system and pilot its first year of implementation to approximately 10,000 parents of TechGirlz participants across the U.S.