By: Aeris Rodriguez

(Picture courtesy of girlswhocode.com)

Girls Who Code was a club that met every Tuesday dedicated to teaching girls computer code, from the basics of code to various coding languages. Recently however, Wake County Public Schools barred Girls Who Code from continuing to operate. Members of the club were sent an email announcing that all future meetings were canceled, with no explanation as to why, subsequently crushing many female students’ hopes. Girls Who Code was meant to fill the gap between the number of men and women in the computer sciences industry and to change the stereotype of what a programmer looks like. Since the program has been discontinued in the county, former members are left worried and confused.

Former member Sydney Harrop remarked on the disbandment of the club, stating that “I was very disappointed that it was discontinued… I was really excited for this year, to see what the club would become, and how much we would learn. I had really high hopes for Girls Who Code.” 

The Page attempted to find information on why the club was discontinued, but to no avail. However, The Page found that in 2022, Pennsylvania had banned multiple of the Girls Who Code book series from classrooms. The Register, a British technology news website, had reached out to Pennsylvania’s Central York school district to inquire as to why the books were banned, but didn’t receive a response. However, the books are now once again allowed in Central York schools. 

Although not much is known about why Girls Who Code surprisingly ended, the dream for more women in computer coding lives on, though with its fair share of trials and tribulations. Only time will tell if the club returns to Wake County, but for now, former members are moving on, but remain puzzled.