Women coders wanted
area that WeThinkCode (WTC) wants to improve is the number of women coders passing through its programme. Women make up fewer than 20% of the participants even though the school actively tries to recruit female coders.
WTC’s Johannesburg campus co-ordinator Jackie Zvoutete says most people think coding is a male thing, which is not true.
“It is crazy because the code that sent the first spaceship to space was written by a female.”
Zvoutete says that, during the boot camp, students are expected to work to tight deadlines. “This is also where we lose most of our students, a bulk of whom are females, because they think it is a male space and this is not for them.”
A 2016 study by software development platform GitHub found, based on three million requests for coding, that women are ranked as better coders than men — as long as those doing the ranking did not know they were women.
One of WTC’s best women students, Naledi Matutoane, agrees there is more than enough room for women to excel as coders.
She says of the boot camp: “It was the hardest test of my entire life but it was worth it. It’s intense but, if you are willing to put in everything you need to get it, you will learn so much.”
Her view is that “I can do it own my own” was one bad habit she had to let go off. “It [the boot camp] put me out of my comfort zone, especially when you are not used to working with others.”
Matutoane heard of the programme from her mother, who had heard about it on the radio.
She says she had no idea what she wanted to study after completing matric, except that it should be in computer science.
WTC’s WomenThinkCode support programme was launched to try to ensure women students complete the programme.
Matutoane says: “I flunked the first boot camp but they gave me a second chance. When I came back, I knew what to do.” figure it out themselves. Passing is a sign that a prospective student is a logical thinker.”
Manamela says: “They tell you that they are an aptitude test but to me they were memory games. The games were so hard but I kept going at it.”
The games only make sense once you start the programme. “I think it is more about having the potential to code and less about whether you can code or not, because the games have nothing to do with coding but it is the thinking behind them,” says Manamela.
The selection process involves a four-week intense boot camp at which students are taught basic coding language. Zvoutete says that, once students grasp the basic C-programming, they are able to move on to more complicated coding.
Coding requires trying and making mistakes and facing rejection but never giving up, she says.
The programme, through its “coding for success” initiative, also builds skills such as research and presentation. This entails students working in different groups every month, at which they present projects to staff members and corporate sponsors.
Zvoutete says the purpose is to ensure that the student is well rounded. “This is to prepare them for the workplace, because they are going to have to work in teams.”
A recent project developed by students is an application aimed at helping people to manage their money and budgets.
After the two-year programme, students are placed in internships with the corporates that sponsor the WTC. They work as software developers or coders both locally and overseas.
Ninety percent of WTC students enter internships. Those who pass — also 90% — are all guaranteed to get jobs, Zvoutete says.
Naledi Matutoane says she plans to diversify and to use her coding skills to venture into untapped areas. “People think all you gonna do with coding is software development but there is so much you can do. For example, in fashion, they are starting to use 3D printing for materials and you do not necessarily need coding but it will help you.”
She says that cosmetic giant L’Oréal recently developed an app that customers can use to take selfies and test products on themselves. “That is something you need a coder to do.”