Girls in fifth through eighth grade are invited to attend a technology-themed conference June 8-9.
The annual SheSoft Conference features workshops, panel exhibitions, panel discussions and a lineup of speakers. The mission of SheSoft to “promote building software applications in young girls to bridge the gender gap in technology.”
Throughout the year, SheSoft offers webinars and seminars to girls participating in the software application competition. The winners of the competition will be recognized at this year’s conference. The conference will take place at Nysmith School for the Gifted on June 8 and at Hilton Washington Dulles Airport Hotel on June 9.
There will be workshops in programming, robotics, drones, cybersecurity and Alexa Voice. The schedule includes time to work with mentors as well as a luncheon and book publisher event and project presentations. No prior programming experience is required to attend.
SheSoft Founder and CEO Kirthi Kumar, a junior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, has been programming since third grade and wants to foster technology-related learning and achievements in other girls as well.
After noticing a pronounced gender gap while participating in national STEM competitions and hackathons, Kumar decided to work towards encouraging more female participation through her nonprofit. Equality in gender representation in STEM fields means more females will come to the table in solving local, national and global issues, she said.
“STEM Innovation and Technologist Championships and Conferences like this are critical to bring more girls into STEM in a young age, especially in technology, to bridge the gender gap,” Kumar said . “I appreciate these young girls and their parents for taking their step forward in embracing STEM to create the future women leaders in technology.”
Kumar received WashingtonExec’s STEM Rising Star Award at the 2018 K-12 STEM Symposium, and was one of the speakers at the 2019 K-12 STEM Symposium.