When we started, most girls were not coding, yet they were more interested than ever in the stuff that code makes. We thought if we could make coding fun, and tied the cultural things that girls are inspired by and genuinely interested in, it might inspire more girls to get involved. If a teen asks us “What can you do with Code?”, we wanted our answer to be “You can literally do anything! Make the next hit film. Design the next trend in fashion. Help save lives. Build a new app." We want girls to see that it’s not just about building apps from ones and zeros; it’s about creating solutions that will impact billions. The best part is, even if girls don’t become engineers, they have learned skills (trial and error, critical thinking, etc) that will take them all sorts of places in life.

Made with Code has increased the scope and scale of our efforts by leaning into things girls love, specifically:

• Partnering with Wonder Woman and Google Play to share how coding is used in Hollywood movies, amplifying messages of female empowerment through a Wonder Woman coding project and mentor film with VFX producer Amber Kirsch.

• Hosting 40 girls in NYC for a globally livestreamed Talks@Google and coding event, featuring “A Wrinkle in Time” cast Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and director Ava DuVernay.

• Partnering with Snap to launch #MyFutureMe contest, inviting teens to design their own Snapchat Geofilter, and share the future they envision. Five finalists joined us at TEDWomen in New Orleans, where they worked alongside engineers to build a Snapchat Lens. A panel of judges including Ruth Porat, Evan Spiegel, Malala, and Lilly Singh selected a winning Lens to debut in the Snap app.

Since 2014, Made with Code has engaged with over 17 million girls, who have started over 11M coding projects. We’ve seen social grow by 40% in 2017 alone. But most important, our research has shown that Made with Code has impacted girls beyond the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines. 53% of non-STEM-Oriented teen girls who explored MwC felt coding can be used with their hobbies & interests, as compared to 37% of their peers in the control group. And 62% agree that Made with Code “made [them] want to learn more about coding”. The best part is, even if girls don’t become engineers, they have learned skills (trial and error, critical thinking, etc) that will open doors to new career and economic opportunities.