2014 Voices Conference presented by Global Tech Women Presenter: Kinsey Durham, gSchool

1. Becoming a Software
Engineer:
Inspiring a New Generation
of Developers

4. Outreach Programs
Mentorship
Apprentice Programs
Developer Schools

5. Programs like
Railsbridge

10. “I got to meet people who were
new, instead of people who had
been doing it since they were five.”

12. “It creates an open and
encouraging environment for
people who might otherwise selfselect out of programming”

14. Mentorship

16. Mentorship is worth your
time.

17. Being a great mentor

18. Ability to explain complex
concepts simply

19. Awareness

20. Patience

21. Weekly Retrospectives

22. Pairing

23. Empathy

25. Apprentice Programs

27. 25%

28. “thoughtbot noticed there were
talented people who weren’t ready for
full-time consulting jobs with us, but
figured we could train them...”

30. Benefits much higher than
the costs.

31. Why should companies be
doing this?

32. More developers for hire

33. Corporate Social
Responsibility

34. Supporting employees
who want to
mentor/teach

35. Good will/vision of
company spreads

36. Developer Schools

39. “Along with learning to code and
acquiring a job, The Flatiron
School really taught me to check
my ego.”

40. Critiques/Controversy

41. Why is all of this
important?

42. Diversity
Lack of quality engineers
Failure of education
system

43. “Providing formal mentorship is
important for retaining and
advancing underrepresented
employees.”
- NCWIT

44. Access to computers and
the Internet

45. 82% of CS graduates are
male

46. Lack of Encouragement
Financial Access
Barriers
Discrimination
Lack of Role Models

48. Who’s hiring?

49. 4 years
Expensive
Lack of real experience

50. Thanks.

51. @KinseyAnnDurham
kinseyann505@gmail.com

52. Works Cited:
http://www.sarahmei.com/blog/2010/02/20/scale-8x-slides-posted/
Dave Hoover’s Apprenticeship Patterns
Women in IT Dr. Catherine Ashcraft and Sarah Blite for the National Center for Women in
Information Technology
http://wdr.doleta.gov/research/FullText_Documents/ETAOP_2012_10.pdf
http://www.ncwit.org/sites/default/files/legacy/pdf/NCWIT_TheFacts_rev2010.pdf
http://www.ncwit.org/sites/default/files/legacy/pdf/BytheNumbers09.pdf
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/labor/news/2012/07/12/11900/the-top-10-economicfacts-of-diversity-in-the-workplace/
www.railsbridge.org
www.gschool.it
www.blackgirlswhocode.com
www.railsgirls.com
http://www.meetup.com/Women-Who-Code-Boulder-Denver/