Honest to Goodness: Coding for the Future

As a technology company, we’ve seen firsthand how computer science drives innovation in the US economy and society — it’s expected that by 2020 there will be 1.4 million computer science jobs! But, with only a projected 400,000 computer science graduates, many of these positions risk going unfilled, especially by women. Here at Honest we are committed to ensuring that all kids have the chance at a healthy and bright future, which is why we partner with leaders like Code.org and Girls Who Code to emphasize the importance of computer science education.

Another not-so-fun fact surrounding computer science education is that in a room full of 25 engineers, only 3 will be women. In middle school, 74% of girls express interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), but when choosing a college major, just 0.3% of high school girls select computer science. The passion is there, but the pursuit is not, and it’s likely due to lack of exposure.

To help spread awareness and excitement throughout our own environment, Honest hosted its first ever Computer Science Education Week in the form of an all-company competition.

Activities included completing an Hour of Code, solving coded puzzles for practice (and points), building robots, and responsibly recycling electronic waste. For fun, bonus points were earned by posting Honest Coder #selfies. All in all, the week shed light on the fact that truly anyone can code, and the more that we can get to try it, the better chance we have at shaping the future.

Now we’re challenging you to try your hand at coding, just head over to Code.org and check out their free tutorials. They’ve got puzzles for all ages so make sure to get the kids get in on the fun too!

We’re working hard to get kids excited about coding, but we still have a ways to go. As it stands today, 90% of schools don’t even offer computer science courses. One of our goals is to encourage more female teachers to learn how to teach computer science, and thus serve as role models for girls who are underrepresented in Computer Science classes. If you know a teacher that might like to learn how to teach computer science, they can sign up for a Code Studio workshop on Code.org. We’re thrilled to get to host an upcoming workshop right here at Honest so if you know any teachers in the Los Angeles area, please encourage them to sign up!