The good corporate citizens at Square are aiming to bring more bring more diversity to Silicon Valley by expanding their computer science education program for girls from college to high school. Twenty college and eight high school females will be schooled in the art of computer coding by Square engineers and other teachers. College students enjoy a four-day camp, while the new program for high schools will last eight months.
San Francisco has a lack of AP Computer Science classes, which usually prepares students for an end-of-semester standardized test that permits them to get college credit for introductory courses. Square’s eight-month program is designed to prepare them for the test.
There is no word yet on how Square will expand the program to the other several thousand female students in San Francisco not chosen for the camp. Representatives from Square say they are exploring how to expand access to the curriculum. The announcement itself preceded a roundtable discussion led by Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of about a dozen female entrepreneurs talking about their struggles with and solutions to society’s sexism (also, everyone at the table loves Square’s payment system).
The girls’ camp would be Square CEO Jack Dorsey’s second female coding cause, after he donated to the Girls Who Code with this Twitter co-founders, Biz Stone and Ev Williams. More details about the program and application dates can be found here.