WEBVTT - Creating Coding Opportunities for Young Women

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<v Speaker 1>You're listening to Bloomberg BusinessWeek with krol Messer and Tim

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<v Speaker 1>Stenebek on Bloomberg Radio.

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<v Speaker 2>Got a number for you, mister stanoviek Okay, less than

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<v Speaker 2>twenty percent of undergraduate computer science degrees go to women,

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<v Speaker 2>less than twenty percent, and that data is coming from

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<v Speaker 2>the National Science Foundation. So that means four out of

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<v Speaker 2>every five degrees, four out of every five in an

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<v Speaker 2>industry already dominated by men. Have you seen the Barbie

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<v Speaker 2>movie Anybody go to Men? And our next guests are

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<v Speaker 2>trying to change that and get more young women and

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<v Speaker 2>individuals into coding.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, very pleased to have with us this afternoon, oz Emiokparia,

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<v Speaker 3>the CEO of Code with CLASSI. Also with us is

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<v Speaker 3>kwk's content and community coordinator Alexis Williams. Both are here

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<v Speaker 3>in our Bloomberg Interactive Brokers Studio. KWK is a nonprofit organization.

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<v Speaker 3>It receives funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the philanthropic arm of

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<v Speaker 3>Bloomberg LP. It is the parent company of Bloomberg Radio. OZI,

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<v Speaker 3>I want to start with you just talk to us

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<v Speaker 3>a little about this organization because it's doing some really

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<v Speaker 3>important work.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah. So Coba Glossi started an twenty fifteen and is

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<v Speaker 4>the brainchild of our founder.

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<v Speaker 1>Carly Class.

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<v Speaker 4>So for those who are familiar, Carli Class is an

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<v Speaker 4>incredible entrepreneur, supermodel, philanthropist, and she started this organization back

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<v Speaker 4>in twenty fifteen based on her own personal experience learning

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<v Speaker 4>how to code and noticing when she lifted her head

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<v Speaker 4>up from the keyboard that there weren't other women in

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<v Speaker 4>the room. And so she used her platform, as she

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<v Speaker 4>has done many a time, to reach out to her

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<v Speaker 4>audience and say who else would want to have this

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<v Speaker 4>coding experience? And she was overwhelmed by the response from

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<v Speaker 4>her audience. Twenty one scholarship positions and she had thousands

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<v Speaker 4>of people interested, and that was the germ for Code

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<v Speaker 4>with Clossi back in twenty fifteen. And so here we

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<v Speaker 4>are eight years later, and we now have over ten

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<v Speaker 4>thousand young people in our alumni community. And this summer

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<v Speaker 4>we were about to wrap up our biggest summer ever,

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<v Speaker 4>sixty two camps, almost five thousand scholarships awarded, and we're kind.

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<v Speaker 2>Of on a role I want to bring a lix cinema,

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<v Speaker 2>But tell us about those alumni eight years that's a

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<v Speaker 2>big chunk of individuals and time invested. What are they

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<v Speaker 2>doing now? What are you hearing about that alumni base.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, so our oldest cohort of alumni who went through

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<v Speaker 4>our summer programming started in twenty sixteen, and so those

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<v Speaker 4>folks are now twenty twenty five years old. So they

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<v Speaker 4>are graduating from university, they're getting their first jobs all

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<v Speaker 4>the way through the cohort that we have this summer.

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<v Speaker 4>Who are some of our youngest scholars the summer A

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<v Speaker 4>thirteen and so when they complete this program, they will

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<v Speaker 4>join our global community. And so they're doing a range

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<v Speaker 4>of things from you know, giving ted talks like Alexis

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<v Speaker 4>has done, or winning science challenges. We had a winner

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<v Speaker 4>of the Apple Swift Student Challenge. So they're really just

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<v Speaker 4>sort of incredibly applying their skills and continuing to sort

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<v Speaker 4>of pursue their passion in tech.

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<v Speaker 2>Alexis, come on in on the work that you guys

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<v Speaker 2>are doing and just kind of building out this community

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<v Speaker 2>and what you are seeing.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I just think one of the most amazing things

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<v Speaker 1>about Code with CLASSI is so many people are interested

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<v Speaker 1>in anding in general, but I feel like it sounds

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<v Speaker 1>something so you know, difficult and challenging. But the work

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<v Speaker 1>that Code with Colossi does is really demystifying that idea

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<v Speaker 1>of what is an engineer, What does it mean to

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<v Speaker 1>make an app? What does it mean to make a website?

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<v Speaker 1>So it's really amazing to offer this opportunity to a

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<v Speaker 1>bunch of young people to have that demystified, to make

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<v Speaker 1>their first apps, to make their first websites, because I

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<v Speaker 1>think that's like one of the first steps into showing

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<v Speaker 1>people who have been pushed to the margins in a

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<v Speaker 1>space like engineering that it's not only possible, but there

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<v Speaker 1>are a group of people out there that are more

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<v Speaker 1>than willing and able to support them. And that's why

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<v Speaker 1>the work that Code with Colossi.

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<v Speaker 2>Does is we talk so much about inclusivity, and when

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<v Speaker 2>you said push to the margins, tell us about some

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<v Speaker 2>of the individuals, like who is actually participating in the program?

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<v Speaker 2>Because I agree with you, I hear more and more

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<v Speaker 2>when we talk about diversity, it's about inclusion, feeling like

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<v Speaker 2>you're belonging in that if you know, you might be curious,

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<v Speaker 2>but you're just like I don't belong Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>So Code with opens its doors to young women, gender

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<v Speaker 1>expansive youth and trans kids, and really it's one of

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<v Speaker 1>the first places where I talk to scholars all the time,

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<v Speaker 1>they're like, this is the first place I've felt welcome

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<v Speaker 1>and accepted. And that is honestly more important than being

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<v Speaker 1>able to learn how to code. Like having it be

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<v Speaker 1>a space having code with COLOSSI, be a space where

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<v Speaker 1>this is one of the first times people are walking

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<v Speaker 1>into a room and feel like they're being received with

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<v Speaker 1>open arms is so important.

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<v Speaker 2>We talk about tim and I have so many different

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<v Speaker 2>conversations about diversity inclusion. We do it with women in

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<v Speaker 2>venture capital and lack of funding and so on and

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<v Speaker 2>so forth. But you know, there needs to be these important,

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<v Speaker 2>big steps that are game changing, life changing, that really

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<v Speaker 2>make a difference.

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<v Speaker 4>And I think it's what's interesting is I think there's

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<v Speaker 4>diversity on a lot of dimensions. About half of our

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<v Speaker 4>scholars qualify for free and reduced lunch, so we have

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<v Speaker 4>socioeconomic diversity. We also have folks that come in actually

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<v Speaker 4>knowing how to code. So to Alexis's point, what they

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<v Speaker 4>are coming for is not just the rigor of the

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<v Speaker 4>skill building, but also the inclusion and acceptance. And so

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<v Speaker 4>we're finding this really interesting mix of people that you

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<v Speaker 4>wouldn't necessarily find out in the world naturally gravitating into

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<v Speaker 4>these same spaces. Again, eighty percent of our scholars are

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<v Speaker 4>people of color, so you know, not only gender and diversity, socioeconomic,

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<v Speaker 4>skill level, political spectrum. We are sort of a space

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<v Speaker 4>that welcomes all in terms of trying to crack open

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<v Speaker 4>the door to a community.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I want to talk to you, Ozi about the

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<v Speaker 3>way that your own experience at some of the biggest companies,

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<v Speaker 3>some of the biggest tech companies in the world, kind

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<v Speaker 3>of shaped the kind of leader you are today.

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<v Speaker 2>Did you always feel like you belonged?

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<v Speaker 3>Well, that's what I'm wondering. I mean, you were at

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<v Speaker 3>Google for years, you were at EBA for years, you

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<v Speaker 3>were in the not for profit space at the John

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<v Speaker 3>Zuckerberg Initiative before this, talk to me a little bit

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<v Speaker 3>about I don't know your experience and what you want

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<v Speaker 3>to bring to the table, Like Carol ass, did you

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<v Speaker 3>always feel accepted?

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<v Speaker 4>Well, I think that's I think that's why I was

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<v Speaker 4>so drawn to the COVID classy opportunity. So I joined

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<v Speaker 4>COVID COLOSSI back in March. So I'm coming up on

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<v Speaker 4>six months and so I have lived experience as a

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<v Speaker 4>black woman in tech and often the only one in

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<v Speaker 4>many of these rooms, and I think, you know, I

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<v Speaker 4>definitely did not always feel accepted. I think there was

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<v Speaker 4>a tipping point in my career where you feel like

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<v Speaker 4>you have built your craft and understand your skills well

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<v Speaker 4>enough to sort of feel comfortable in rooms, but you

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<v Speaker 4>definitely build to that. It's not something that you sort

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<v Speaker 4>of walk in the door having or knowing. But I

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<v Speaker 4>think what that experience taught me is that we not

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<v Speaker 4>only have to focus on upskilling the individual and providing

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<v Speaker 4>incredible programs like we do at COVID Classy, but we

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<v Speaker 4>also have to think about what are the systems that

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<v Speaker 4>prevent people from being successful. So I would claim that

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<v Speaker 4>I'm quite credentialed right Stanford undergrad master's degree, like so

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<v Speaker 4>all the credentials, underachiever, but still found challenges. So it's

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<v Speaker 4>not about the individual talent. There are also hurdles that

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<v Speaker 4>are systemic, and so really thinking about that holistically is

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<v Speaker 4>what we are going to do in the next eight

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<v Speaker 4>years of Cope with Quasi's path is to say we're

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<v Speaker 4>doing an incredible job of sparking the interest of a

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<v Speaker 4>new generation but what are we doing with companies like

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<v Speaker 4>Bloomberg and others to really think about the systems On

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<v Speaker 4>the other side, what are the practices around hiring and

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<v Speaker 4>retention and promotion that are really going to create opportunities

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<v Speaker 4>for people?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, and you know we've often talked about this with

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<v Speaker 2>just women. I'm just going to very basic in terms

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<v Speaker 2>of you know, women come in, men out of college,

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<v Speaker 2>they start at the same level, and then as they

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<v Speaker 2>start to go up the last it gets very very different.

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<v Speaker 2>So where's the support network for that? I do want

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<v Speaker 2>to ask you though before we go, because we only

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<v Speaker 2>have about a couple of minutes. Alexis come on back, and

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<v Speaker 2>it's a two week summer camp. I want to see

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<v Speaker 2>if I've got the numbers right, sixty two camps, forty

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<v Speaker 2>in person in twenty cities, twenty two virtual. It's like

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<v Speaker 2>massive thirteen to eighteen year olds. So what are they

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<v Speaker 2>do in those two weeks?

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<v Speaker 1>So basically we have four different curriculums where a scholars

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<v Speaker 1>are alone learning the basics to different curriculums like mobile applications,

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<v Speaker 1>web development, AIML, data science. And it's a short two

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<v Speaker 1>week period, so they're learning really basics and getting to

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<v Speaker 1>build off of that basics that they learn in the

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<v Speaker 1>first week with a final project in the second week.

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<v Speaker 1>So it's important that they're setting down yeah, and getting

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<v Speaker 1>their education, but then they get to actually put it

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<v Speaker 1>into practice and then at the end of camp show

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<v Speaker 1>their peers, show their families the great things that they're making.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>So cool.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, what's the youngest age that somebody can can join?

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<v Speaker 4>Thirteen? And so what I think is remarkable again you know,

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<v Speaker 4>diversity and age range. You have thirteen year olds who

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<v Speaker 4>step up their game to be in the room with

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<v Speaker 4>eighteen year olds who are also learning these skills, and

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<v Speaker 4>it's again it's an application not only the hard skills,

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<v Speaker 4>but some of the what I call twenty first century

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<v Speaker 4>leadership skills around collaboration and critical thinking and creativity that

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<v Speaker 4>are really also applied in that final project as well.

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<v Speaker 4>So it really is incredible to see thirteen year olds

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<v Speaker 4>sort of hanging tough there.

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<v Speaker 2>I have a lot of nieces and I often just say,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, part of sometimes you just gotta like try

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<v Speaker 2>something because if we just spark an interest, and I

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<v Speaker 2>feel like that's what you guys, like, you're exposing them

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<v Speaker 2>two weeks is not a ton of time, but you can,

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<v Speaker 2>you can pack a lot in and you can spark

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<v Speaker 2>an interest or and then they know kind of like, Okay,

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<v Speaker 2>now I know what is the question to ask her.

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<v Speaker 2>I know something to pursue, and I think it's just

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<v Speaker 2>really cool stuff. We'll come back and let us not.

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<v Speaker 2>Things are going and we will love to bring Carly

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<v Speaker 2>with you.

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<v Speaker 4>We would love to, we would love to.

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<v Speaker 2>I met her once. She's really tall,