YOUNG WOMEN CODE

Young Women Code is a project funded by the Workplace Equality Fund, which contributes to ending gender disparity in the digital technology sector in Scotland. 

YOUNG WOMEN CODE: PHASE TWO

In Phase two of Young Women Code, we worked with four partners across the tech sector in Scotland to deliver bespoke gender inclusion training.  

Download the summary findings of Young Women Code Phase 2 here. 

Download the Young Women Code evaluation report here. 

Download the plain text version of the Young Women Code evaluation report here. 

Key Learnings: 

  • There was a will to learn and grow: many organisations want to improve their gender inclusion practices but need support knowing where to start. Participants appreciated the opportunity to ask an expert.  

  • Workplace culture is essential: staff felt that policies and workplace culture have to go hand-in-hand for a truly inclusive workplace. 

  • Participants valued the opportunity: it created a space to share experiences, raise concerns, and to hear from each other. 

  • Delivering the training to all staff: the response was better when all staff, including senior leaders, were involved.

If you'd like further information, please contact our Research & Facilitation Coordinator, Saffron: saffron@youngwomenscot.org

YOUNG WOMEN CODE: PHASE ONE

Here you’ll find a summary of Phase One of Young Women Code. The project contributes to ending gender disparity in the digital technology sector in Scotland. 

Women currently represent 23% of the digital technology workforce in Scotland.

In Phase One of Young Women Code, we worked alongside CodeClan, and conducted an in-depth review to identify, address and reduce the intersecting barriers and challenges facing women entering and progressing within the digital technology sector. 

Key Findings:

We used an intersectional lens to review CodeClan’s data, procedures, and policies, and also had conversations with their staff, students, and graduates. The review set out to recommend how CodeClan could consider evolving to better meet the needs of young women in their training programmes and their staff team.

Our headline findings were that: 

  • The Part-Time Software Development course was CodeClan's only course with more than 27% women (58%)

  • Students want to be taught by more women 

  • Women reported feeling “measured by a different standard” to male peers in the tech job market 

CodeClan - Scotland’s national skills academy and a not-for-profit organisation founded in 2015 with a mission to bridge the digital skills gap and develop a new generation of digital professionals in Scotland. CodeClan focuses on equipping students with industry-led training with a view to securing employment. CodeClan has supported more than 2,000 people in gaining skills to transform their careers, working with more than 320 industry partners across Scotland’s commercial and public sectors.

Who was involved?

A huge thank you goes to our working group, made up of CodeClan staff, students, and graduates, who were critical friends at each stage of this project and supported us with our learning and recommendation development.

The Young Women’s Movement - We are Scotland’s national organisation for young women’s feminist leadership and collective action against gender inequality. We work to build a movement embedded in safe spaces and wellbeing for young women and girls to come together and access resources, networks and platforms to collectively challenge inequality, lead radical social change and re-imagine our world. 

Workplace Equality Fund - Who provided funding for The Young Women’s Movement to dedicate staff time to this important research.

Are you interested in this project? If you’d like to know more about Young Women Code or find out how your organisation could benefit from this project’s findings, please get in touch with The Young Women’s Movement’s Research and Facilitation Coordinator, Saffron: saffron@youngwomenscot.org