What girls need to feel welcome in a tech class

Picture the first day of a new coding club. Twenty-five students arrive. Twenty are boys. They rush to the computers, laugh loudly, and one starts showing off a game he "hacked." Five girls stand near the door. Two leave before the teacher finishes the introduction. By week three, one girl is left.

Nobody told those girls they couldn't code. Nobody was rude on purpose. And yet, the message was clear: "This space isn't really for you."

This scene plays out in schools all over the world. Research shows girls are just as capable in maths and computing. The difference is often not ability — it's belonging.

What do girls actually need to feel welcome in a tech class — and what can teachers, parents and schools do starting this week?

The numbers behind the gap

Around the world, women remain a minority in technology:

• UNESCO reports that women make up only about a third of researchers worldwide, and far fewer in engineering and computer science.
• The World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap reports have repeatedly found women are underrepresented in tech jobs such as cloud computing, engineering, data and AI.
• The ITU (International Telecommunication Union) reports that, globally, fewer women than men use the internet — and the gap is especially large in least developed countries.

In Africa, this gap starts early. Girls often have less access to phones and computers at home, more household chores and fewer female role models in tech.

Globally, about 65% of women use the internet compared with about 70% of men; in least developed countries the gap is much wider. (ITU, Facts and Figures 2024) Less access at home means school may be a girl's first real chance to explore technology.

It's not about ability

Let's be clear: girls are not "naturally worse" at maths, science or coding. International assessments like PISA show that gender gaps in maths are small, vary by country, and sometimes favour girls. When a gap changes from country to country, it's shaped by culture and experience, not biology.

What does differ is confidence. Studies often find girls rate their own abilities lower than boys with the same scores. A girl who gets 80% might think she's "not good at maths," while a boy with 70% thinks he's great. That confidence gap affects who signs up for tech clubs, who asks questions, and who continues.

"If you can't see it, you can't be it." — a phrase popularised by children's advocate Marian Wright Edelman and the Geena Davis Institute

Joke break: A teacher asked her class who had ever fixed a phone. Three boys raised their hands proudly. Then one girl said quietly, "I fixed all three of their phones last week." The boys suddenly became very interested in the ceiling.

10 things that make girls feel welcome

These ideas come from research and from educators who run girls-in-tech programmes.

Many girls won't join a tech club because they assume it's "for boys." A personal invitation from a teacher — "I think you'd be great at this" — can change that. Research on women in computing suggests encouragement from teachers and family is one of the strongest factors in whether women choose computer science.

• Invite girls personally

One girl in a group of 15 boys feels alone. Try to make sure girls are at least a third of the group, and put girls in groups together (at least two per team) so no one is isolated.

• Aim for a critical mass

In mixed groups, boys often grab the mouse or the robot. Use rotating roles (coder, tester, designer, presenter) with timers. Everyone touches the technology. See how this works in How to start a school robotics club with one kit.

• Rotate roles — including the keyboard

Posters, videos, guest speakers, examples in lessons. Mention women like Ada Lovelace (often called the first computer programmer), Grace Hopper, and African tech leaders. Invite a local female engineer, developer or designer to speak. See The women building new paths into science.

• Show women in tech — often

Research suggests many students — including many girls — are motivated by technology that helps people. Instead of "make a shooting game," try "build an app that reminds people to take medicine" or "program a robot that helps sort rubbish." Read From a classroom robot to a local solution.

• Start with purpose

Create a culture where questions are welcome and mistakes are normal. Ban mocking. Praise effort and strategy, not "being a genius." Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck's research on growth mindset suggests praising effort helps students persist.

• Make it safe to not know

Teachers sometimes call on boys more often, especially in technical subjects — without meaning to. Use a simple trick: keep names on sticks or cards and pick randomly, or alternate between girls and boys.

• Watch the classroom talk

Girls-only coding clubs can be a safe starting point, where girls build confidence before joining mixed groups. Programmes like Girls Who Code, Black Girls Code and many African initiatives use this approach.

• Offer girls-only sessions (sometimes)

Some parents worry that tech clubs mean late hours, unsafe travel or "useless" activities. Invite parents to a demo day. Show what their daughters built. Explain career paths and scholarships.

• Involve parents

Hold clubs at times girls can attend (not too late). Consider transport and safety. Allow girls to bring younger siblings if needed. Provide sanitary products in school toilets — it sounds unrelated, but it affects attendance.

• Plan for practical barriers

Language matters more than you think

Small words send big signals. Compare:

• "Guys, open your laptops." vs. "Everyone, open your laptops."
• "This is easy." (If a student struggles, they feel stupid.) vs. "This takes practice."
• "Who's the smartest?" vs. "Who tried a new strategy?"

Also check your examples. If every word problem features "Paul the engineer" and "Marie the nurse," switch them sometimes.

Real programmes making a difference

Across Africa, many initiatives support girls in tech:

• African Girls Can Code Initiative (AGCCI), launched by the African Union Commission, UN Women and the ITU, runs coding camps for girls across the continent.
• Girls in ICT Day, held every April and promoted by the ITU, encourages girls to consider careers in technology.
• Local groups in many countries, including Benin, run coding and robotics programmes for girls. FemCoders, for example, supports girls in tech and robotics.
• Competitions like the FIRST Global Challenge encourage mixed-gender teams. Read Team Benin au FIRST Global Challenge 2026.

A checklist for teachers

Before your next tech lesson, ask:

• Did I personally invite girls?
• Are girls at least a third of the group?
• Does every student touch the technology?
• Did I show at least one woman in tech this month?
• Is the project connected to a real purpose?
• Are mistakes treated as normal?
• Am I calling on girls as often as boys?
• Are session times and locations safe for girls?

What parents can do at home

• Share the family phone or computer fairly.
• Share chores fairly, so girls have time for clubs and homework.
• Say it out loud: "You could be an engineer." "You'd be a great programmer."
• Celebrate what she builds, even small things.
• Connect her with women in tech — relatives, neighbours, online communities.

For more on building confidence in young people, read Why local mentors can change a young person's future.

Why this matters for everyone

Technology shapes health, farming, money, education and government. If only half the population builds it, it will miss half the needs.

A famous example: early voice recognition systems often worked less well for women's voices, partly because they were trained mostly on men's voices. When technology teams are diverse, they catch problems earlier. We also discuss this in How AI Is Changing Africa, where data bias is a key risk.

Welcoming girls into tech isn't a favour. It's how Africa gets the best technology.

What girls say they want

When girls in tech programmes are asked what helped them stay, their answers are often simple:

• "A teacher who believed in me."
• "Friends in the club, so I wasn't alone."
• "Projects that meant something — like an app for my community."
• "Seeing a woman engineer who looked like me."
• "Nobody laughing when I made mistakes."

None of these cost much money. All of them require attention. That's the good news: making tech classes welcoming is mostly about habits, not budgets.

Belonging is built, one lesson at a time

The five girls standing at the door of that coding club didn't need a lecture about equality. They needed a teacher who looked them in the eye and said, "Come in. Sit here. You're going to be good at this."

That's where it starts.

Continue reading: What a first coding lesson can teach a child, Why African children should learn to build robots, technology and code, and our Education section.

Questions

Why are there fewer girls in tech classes?

Mostly because of stereotypes, fewer role models, less access to devices at home, lower confidence and practical barriers — not because of ability.

How can teachers encourage girls in coding?

Invite them personally, form groups with several girls, rotate roles, show women role models, connect projects to real purposes, and create a safe space for mistakes.

Are girls-only coding clubs a good idea?

They can be a helpful starting point to build confidence, ideally alongside mixed activities.