CARMEL, IN – Jun. 30, 2021 – The Zotec Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Zotec Partners (Zotec), a leader in technology-enabled and data-driven healthcare revenue cycle management solutions to optimize patient and provider financial experiences, is pleased to announce its partnership with Girls Who Code to bring the technology-focused Summer Immersion Program to students in Indiana. The two-week virtual camp runs from June 21 to July 2 and teaches high school girls computer science skills to prepare them for a successful career in tech.
“The Zotec Foundation is thrilled to partner with Girls Who Code to expand the Summer Immersion Program to Indiana students—preparing young women for STEM careers is a natural extension of our mission to create brighter opportunities for youth,” said Amy Waldron, director of foundation and corporate impact at Zotec. “We believe that all youth deserve the chance to succeed, and we are honored to invest in this program and to directly participate and contribute to make possible a future where career aspirations are attainable for all people.”
Girls Who Code and its partners are changing the image of what a programmer looks like and does. Program alumni are majoring in computer science-related disciplines at 15X the national average. Computing skills are the most sought-after in the US job market, with demand growing 3X the national average, yet the gender gap in technology and engineering is getting worse. Despite increased demand for STEM-related jobs, the share of women in the computing workforce has declined from 37% in 1995 to 24% today.
“Launching our Summer Immersion Program to include students from Indiana is extremely meaningful to our participants and will have an impact on STEM talent for the state,” said Dr. Tarika Barrett, CEO of Girls Who Code. “We are grateful to the Zotec Foundation for supporting this program and making our expansion a reality. We work with partners across the state to host clubs for students in grades 3-12, and now we have even more opportunity to create a sisterhood of supportive peers and role models using computer science to change the world.”
Girls Who Code expects the virtual program to serve 6,000 students around the world. It is open to sophomore, junior, and senior girls—trans, non-binary, and cis—no computer science experience required. Half of the girls served come from historically underrepresented groups—Black, Latinx and low-income. A self-paced program is also available breaking down barriers for students to participate asynchronously with support from Girls Who Code teachers and coaches. Visit www.girlswhocode.com for program details, locations and ways to get involved.
Later this summer, the Zotec Foundation will award 20 grants to Indiana charities serving at-risk youth in the areas of mentoring, career development, health equity and education programming, totaling $500,000. To learn more about the Zotec Foundation and our philanthropic vision, please visit the Zotec Foundation online here.
