Philosophy

There's a gender gap in technology; only 5 to 20% of software developers in the US are women.

Coding is awesome. The environment where coding instruction typically takes place is not always awesome. Ever have the experience of being in a web class and having some know-it-all snatch the keyboard out from under your hands? (we have.) Ever gotten lost in an example exercise because you felt silly asking a question about something that everyone else seemed to be getting? (yep, we have too.) Or maybe you've avoided programming altogether because you have been intimidated by the whole idea of building a website. We think programming and other web business skills are terrific assets that not enough women have access to. We would like to change that, at least in our small corner of the world. If you decide to take a Web Start Women class (and we hope you do!), you'll be joining a friendly, open group of women who share a common goal: learning to program. Women and girls of any age with any level of experience--including none--are welcome. We encourage questions and embrace mistakes. Yes, that sounds weird, but think about it like this. If you aren't doing some things that don't work one of two things is going on: either you aren't doing anything or you aren't trying new things. Mistakes, fizzles, and flops are all necessary and valuable parts of the learning process.