By Mrs Hudson-Findley (Director of Digital Learning, Enterprise and Sustainability)
Empowering Girls in the Digital Age: Nurturing Diversity and Inclusion
As a society, we stand at a crucial juncture where the digital world is increasingly permeating every aspect of our lives. For example, AI is an exciting new frontier and we are only just getting started with our exploration of VR and AR in the classroom. With this in mind, it's more important than ever for schools to foster an environment that empowers all students, particularly girls, to actively engage in the digital industry. It’s not an easy task, and can often feel like an up-hill struggle that we are not always winning.
When you’re climbing that hill it’s difficult to always see the fruit of one’s labours. However, young people like Isabelle Smith, one of our year 5 students made me feel like we are really getting somewhere, and that the future of the tech industry is bright. She had been inspired to create an app off of her own steam and in her own time. She has impressively moved through all the stages of development from concept to prototype and is now looking at developing the code to bring her design, which is based on encouraging kindness in others to life.
As Isabelle confidently demonstrated the features of her design to her peers I was struck by the feeling of “this is it – we need to make this the norm”. The need for us to continue to make girls feel like they are working within an environment that fosters their creativity while feeling inspired and safe to explore, should be a key priority for schools today. The lack of diversity in the digital industry isn't a reflection of interest or capability, but rather an environment that hasn’t consistently encouraged their participation.
We will continue to confidently challenge stereotypes, break down barriers and encourage a wider range of voices in the digital world. By doing so, we ensure the industry flourishes through diverse perspectives, bringing about innovative solutions and ideas. Our future digital leaders are in our classrooms today, let's ensure we are giving them the tools and the confidence to make a positive change.
