The challenges building GirlsCodeToo
Inception
The GirlsCodeToo (GCT) initiative was co-founded by Alicia Cesa Bianchi, David Cleres and Lara Fritsche-Riparip in July 2021. GCT has hosted 54 workshops with 450 attendances in 2021, 42 workshops with 525 attendances in 2022, and 26 workshops with 540 attendances so far in 2023. We are now a team of six volunteers in the core team and have +10 ETH Zurich and EPFL students supporting us on our mission to bridge the gender gap in tech in Switzerland. GCT strives to empower girls of all age groups, fostering a passion for technology within them. Through a nurturing and secure environment, GCT aims to equip young girls with the necessary tools and skills to emerge as future female leaders and tech entrepreneurs, addressing the current gender disparity in these fields. The approach involves offering diverse role models, conducting themed workshops and leadership classes, and establishing coding clubs.
Motivation
Through my experiences teaching both young girls and boys, I observed key differences in their approach in learning how to code. Seeing this gender disparity in the tech industries, I decided to be part of the change and create an environment for more girls to easily find their passion for technology.
Challenges
Creating and running a nonprofit organization can be rewarding, but it also comes with its fair share of challenges and hardships. It is much easier to share the successes rather than the hardships, but it is important to know what shortcoming may occur.
Fundraising
We heavily rely on donations, grants, and fundraising efforts to sustain our operations. Securing consistent funding can be a major challenge, especially in competitive funding landscapes.
Resource Constraints
We operate with limited resources, including finances, and staff. This can make it difficult to execute more programs in different regions of the country effectively and efficiently.
Volunteer Management
We rely on volunteers to carry out their mission. Recruiting, training, and retaining volunteers can be challenging, as people's availability and commitment levels can vary.
Mission Alignment
Keeping a diverse group of stakeholders aligned around our short-term goals can be challenging, especially as organizations grow and evolve.
Burnout
GirlsCodeToo founders and staff are passionate about our cause, but this passion can lead to burnout due to long hours, high expectations, and emotional involvement. During this journey, I've experienced this myself, but with great team support, I was able to recover and find a work-life balance again.
Despite these challenges, we are driven by our passion for change and we find ways to overcome these obstacles to create meaningful change and run GirlCodeToo as impactfully as possible.