Words by Smiley Team
Best known for developing antivirus software, Avast is branching out from securing digital devices to securing new career opportunities for women. By partnering with social enterprise Code First Girls, the company hopes to boost the proportion of women working in tech, which currently stands at just 19 per cent.
Code First Girls tackles this issue by offering a range of career advancement and training opportunities to girls and women. Avast will be supporting students completing the organisation’s nanodegrees, offering one-to-one mentoring, online tuition and voluntary coaching to candidates.
The collaboration kicked off thanks to Janine Luk, a software engineer at Avast Secure Browser, who has experienced barriers to entering the tech industry herself.
She explained: “As an intersectional underrepresented individual in tech, joining the tech industry has always been a challenge. The lack of representation, the struggles of finding a role model that I could relate to, as well as the internal battles with imposter syndrome are all issues that I have to deal with on a daily basis.
“Coming from an unconventional route into Software Engineering, I understand how difficult it can be - which is why I want to use the privileges and opportunities given to me, to make it easier for others hoping to join the industry too.”
So it was her personal experiences that led Janine to contact Code First Girls, whose work had greatly impressed her.
“After having heard many positive reviews from close friends as well as seeing all the incredible milestones the organisation has managed to achieve in such a short period of time, I instantly knew I had to get in touch with the team at Code First Girls.”
As soon as they spoke about Avast supporting the organisation, she felt strongly that their objectives aligned and it would be a perfect opportunity for a partnership.
Code First Girls has an impressive track record of getting women into the industry. On average, 90 per cent of women helped by the organisation successfully gain work in partner organisations. The social enterprise has joined forces with over 50 universities and 65 businesses, including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, KKR, OVHcloud, Trainline, and Rolls Royce.
To help them continue on this path, companies like Avast can play a role in opening up the industry to more underrepresented groups.
“By encouraging and providing support to women and girls who are intrigued to get into coding, we have the power to challenge the status quo and to build products that incorporate a wider range of expertise, skills and knowledge - which will hopefully be better suited for more users,” Janine said.
If you work for a company interested in supporting Code First Girl’s mission of getting more women into tech, get in touch here.
