Calgary students participate in hackathon aimed at teaching girls and gender-diverse to code 

Hackergal, a Canadian non-profit organization, has found the algorithm for teaching girls and gender-diverse students to code.  

“It’s so rewarding to see what you were able to do, even though you thought you weren’t able to do it,” said Manahal, a grade six student in the Hackergal club at Alice Jamieson Girls Academy.  

Hackergal members across Canada joined a live online meeting at 10 a.m. Thursday, to meet and discuss coding. Students received a project aimed at teaching them how to notice gender bias in AI-generated content as a part of this year’s Hackathon event.  

Rebecca Hazell, Director of Programs at Hackergal, brought up the example that when AI generates images of people doing jobs, the software will fill the image with stereotyped gender roles. Similar things happen when generating text-based responses.  

Daylin, another sixth-grade student at Alice Jamieson, found it hard to believe the number of schools involved in the Hackathon event. 

“It’s kind of like when you have a friend, and they have another friend ‘whoa you have other friends than me?’” Daylin said.

Hackergal works with more than 1,000 schools and organizations.  

Manahal believes she could someday find a career in coding. 

“I could do something with that experience,” she said. 

“Maybe being able to create a whole app that could help people. Because there’s a lot of apps I want to buy, but I just can never find.” 

The Toronto-based program teaches Canadian instructors to code through a “teach-the-teacher model,” providing free resources like curriculum and programming support to teachers.  

Teachers can have little to no experience coding and still create a coding club, according to Hazell. 

“They get onboarded by us in our programming, in our delivery, which means that they can run our programming on the ground in their communities, locally, as a trusted adult who kids could come to and feel comfortable with,” she said.  

“We’ve provided free coding and digital skills education to girls and gender diverse kids across Canada, 30,000 of them, actually.” 

Hackergal stands committed to eliminating tech gender gap

Hazell said that program founder Lucy Ho has been a big factor in acknowledging the gender gap in the tech industry and finding a sustainable solution to the issue. 

“That dedication, that commitment to solving a problem, instead of just trying to put a Band-Aid on it,” Hazell said. 

A 2024 Forbes article found that women make up 25 per cent of the tech industry, with 89 per cent of executive positions held by men. 

Hackergal’s ultimate goal is to eliminate the gender gap in the tech industry. 

Hazell said that creating safe spaces like coding clubs is vital for the girls and gender-diverse students. She said that many teachers Hackergal works with find that girls are typically more reserved in lessons and discussions of coding. 

“(They are) able to learn from their peers and connect with others on subjects that may be of interest to them, but they don’t feel comfortable chatting about it in class,” she said. 

All instructors are welcome to contact Hackergal, as the program has an open-door policy, according to Hazell. 

“They’re always welcome to check out our website, it’s a great place to start. We have a small and powerful team of about 10 people who are full-time at the organizational programming. We’re always ready and willing to chat with educators to all go around to our programming,” she said.  

“We do start typically in the school year, so around September, working toward this May time for our hackathon, and they’re always welcome to get in touch.” 

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