CALGARY, Alberta, March 08, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Shaw Communications Inc., in partnership with Hackergal, is celebrating International Women’s Day with Code the Future — a new initiative designed to introduce young women, including non-binary, gender queer, and trans individuals, to the basics of code and help inspire them to further explore the world of STEM.
Beginning today, anyone who visits codethefuture.ca will be given the tools to create a custom, web-based digital image using CSS and Javascript coding languages. Once they have finalized their design, they are encouraged to share their image with their social networks to inspire others and spread positive messages that celebrate women in STEM.
“Code the Future is an accessible, and easy-to-use platform designed to introduce young women to the possibilities of code,” said Lisa Cooke, Vice President, Advertising, Shaw Communications. “Through this initiative, we want to help inspire more young women to go outside of their comfort zone, express themselves creatively, and spread messages of empowerment to celebrate the women that are closing the gender gap that is still so prevalent in STEM fields.”
“Code the Future is a fun opportunity to showcase how creative coding can be while raising awareness against gender bias in the technology industry. It is inspiring to see how code can be an empowering tool to amplify change,” said Lucy Ho, Founder and Executive Director, Hackergal.
In Canada, the gender-gap in STEM fields remains significant — with women making up approximately 23 per cent of the relevant workforce in 2017, according to McKinsey and Company1. With Code the Future, Shaw and Hackergal are giving young self-identifying women a simple platform with relevant content to experience coding and show that STEM is for everyone.
The introduction of Code the Future builds on Shaw’s existing partnership with Hackergal — a not-for-profit organization that strives to bring equality to the tech industry by inspiring young girls to learn how to code. Through their Hackathons and Ambassador programs, Hackergal provides girls across the country with the opportunity to explore the possibilities of code in a fun and engaging environment.
For more information on Code the Future please visit codethefuture.ca.
About Shaw Communications Inc.
Shaw is a leading Canadian connectivity company. The Wireline division consists of Consumer and Business services. Consumer serves residential customers with broadband Internet, Shaw Go WiFi, video and digital phone. Business provides business customers with Internet, data, WiFi, digital phone, and video services. The Wireless division provides wireless voice and LTE data services.
Shaw is traded on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges and is included in the S&P/TSX 60 Index (Symbol: TSX – SJR.B, NYSE – SJR, and TSXV – SJR.A). For more information, please visit www.shaw.ca
