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"These days, most everyone is tech-savvy\u2014from being up to date on the coolest gadgets to hopping around on social media, it's hard not to be. But as much as these things are an integral part of daily life, women are still woefully underrepresented in STEM\u2014science, technology, engineering, and mathematics\u2014fields.\n\nOnly one-quarter of all computer science jobs are held by women, and the statistics aren't improving: According to research, only 14 percent of all comp sci graduates last year were female. While the numbers can be discouraging, there's a new crop of girl coders making themselves known in the tech world.\n\nJackie, 22, is one of them. She believes there's a cultural stigma about girls in tech and admits to being a \"secret coder\" for years because she didn't see herself in a profession dominated by \"greasy dudes in old hoodies, crowded around a computer screen in a dark room.\" Casey, a high school junior, says it's a hard-to-break cycle. \"Girls aren't brought up to aspire to be in STEM, and we don't have many role models,\" she explains. \"It's hard to spark widespread interest: Not a lot of girls are in coding because not a lot of girls are in coding.\"\n\nJackie's desire to code began when she wanted to start a blog but was unsatisfied by the template designs available. She decided to customize her own by following tutorials online, and though she found the step-by-step instructions tedious at first, she learned to write her own code\u2014and love it. \"It's like creating high-concept art,\" she says.\n\nLaTorria, an engineer at Microsoft, agrees that creativity is key. \"Coding is similar to learning a new language,\" she explains. In fact, when you code, you're often writing in what are called programming languages. \"Once you learn the language, you can speak it, or in this case, tell the code what task you would like the computer to perform. The interesting part about coding is discovering how truly creative you can be when you get over the initial challenges.\"\n\nSixteen-year-old Ming taught herself to code in first grade using the MIT program Scratch, going on to learn languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. \"For me, the most interesting part is the logic,\" she says. \"I love solving puzzles. That's pretty much all coding is, detangling the different elements, getting them to line up, and then having them all work together.\"\n\nNetworks for tech-minded girls like Ming are growing across the country. Genevieve, a college junior, is an advisor for Microsoft's YouthSpark, which aims to \"empower through technology and education.\" She says it allows her to be the change she wants to see: \"In the end, I hope something I say or an experience I share clicks with other girls and they find their own path like I did.\" LaTorria is a graduate of DigiGirlz, YouthSpark's course for high school girls, while Jackie is involved with Geek Girl, which hosts conferences and camps for aspiring female engineers.\n\nOne of the largest initiatives is Girls Who Code, a nonprofit organization that seeks to close the gender gap in the tech world by educating teen girls through immersive summer camps, regional clubs, and digital forums. Though GWC partners with big name companies like Twitter, Google, and eBay, the most influential advocates are the girls themselves. After participating in the GWC summer camp, Ming was inspired to start an Indiegogo campaign to provide better tech education to teens in Cambodia, while Casey founded a club at her school to encourage STEM-related projects.\n\nFor each of these barrier-busting coders, the support of a tight-knit community of likeminded girls is a reminder that they're playing a crucial role in the development of these fields. \"Girls should feel empowered to do anything related to science, technology, engineering, and math,\" says LaTorria. \"Your potential is as limitless as your passion.\""^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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