Girls Who Code has been one of the most visible and most influential organizations in the women-in-CS movement since its founding in 2012 by Reshma Saujani. With more than 500,000 alumni in its After School and Summer programs, a growing set of campus chapters at universities, and an expanding international presence, it is the largest girls-in-CS nonprofit in the United States by program reach. For educators and schools evaluating whether to run a Girls Who Code club or partner program, the practical questions are: what does the curriculum actually teach, is it rigorous, how much does it cost, and what kind of commitment does it require from the teacher or club leader? This guide addresses each of those questions directly.
Program Structure: Three Core Tracks
Girls Who Code operates through three main program types: the Summer Immersion Program (SIP), the After School Club program, and the Campus Chapters program for college-level students.
Summer Immersion Program (SIP): A 6-week intensive program for high school girls in grades 10–12, hosted by corporate and university partners (Google, AT&T, Boeing, various universities). Girls Who Code selects participants and hosts provide the venue; students attend full-time for six weeks, learning programming, working on team projects, and engaging with women professionals in CS. The SIP is not a school-run program — it is a Girls Who Code-operated program that schools can encourage students to apply to. It is free for participants. Corporate and university partners fund the cost. For schools in areas with SIP sites, promoting the program to eligible students is a meaningful contribution to the pipeline.
After School Club Program: The primary program for school-based implementation. Clubs meet for approximately 1 hour per week for the full academic year and follow a curriculum developed by Girls Who Code, provided free to registered club facilitators. The program targets middle school girls (ages 11–14) primarily, though clubs at the high school level are also supported.
Campus Chapters: University-level clubs using Girls Who Code materials and branding, targeting undergraduate women in CS programs. Campus Chapters connect to local high school clubs for mentoring opportunities and run their own programming for university women in computing.
The After School Club Curriculum: What It Teaches
The Girls Who Code After School Club curriculum is a yearlong programming curriculum organized into thematic units. The current curriculum framework includes:
- Unit 1: Introduction to Computer Science — Creative Computing. Scratch-based introduction to programming concepts using visual tools. No prior programming experience required. Students learn sequencing, loops, conditionals, and basic event handling through creative projects (animated stories, interactive greeting cards, simple games).
- Unit 2: Web Development. HTML, CSS, and basic JavaScript. Students build personal websites and learn to think about design and user experience alongside code. This unit is where most students transition from visual/block-based to text-based coding.
- Unit 3: Python. Introduction to Python programming through data and text manipulation. Girls Who Code's Python units emphasize data literacy alongside syntax — students analyze datasets, visualize information, and connect programming to real-world questions about their communities.
- Unit 4: Social Impact Project. Student teams identify a problem in their community, research it, and build a technical project (website, app, data visualization) that addresses it. The Social Impact Project is the centerpiece of the Girls Who Code educational philosophy: CS as a tool for social change, not CS for its own sake.
The curriculum materials — lesson plans, slide decks, activity guides, and project briefs — are provided to registered club facilitators through the Girls Who Code Educator Portal. Materials are comprehensive enough that a facilitator without programming expertise can run the early units with modest preparation; the Python and Social Impact units benefit from a facilitator with more technical background.
Curriculum Rigor: An Honest Assessment
Girls Who Code's curriculum is designed for beginners with no prior programming experience, which means it is not rigorous in the sense that an AP Computer Science course is rigorous. A student who completes the full Girls Who Code club curriculum will not emerge as a proficient programmer in the way that a year of AP CS or a summer coding bootcamp would produce. What the curriculum does produce — and this is its actual educational goal — is exposure to programming concepts across multiple languages, confidence in the ability to learn technical material, and a social environment that counteracts the "computing is for boys" message that girls receive implicitly and explicitly throughout their education.
The research on Girls Who Code outcomes — published by the organization and by independent evaluators — shows that program alumni are significantly more likely than non-participants to pursue CS in high school and college. The mechanism is primarily social and motivational rather than technical skill acquisition: girls who participate in Girls Who Code develop a computer science identity, a sense of belonging in technical spaces, and peer networks with other girls who code. These psychological outcomes persist and drive subsequent technical learning better than skills training alone.
For schools looking to complement (not replace) rigorous CS curriculum, Girls Who Code clubs work well alongside a CS course that provides the technical depth. The club provides community; the course provides rigor.
Getting Started: Club Registration
To register an After School Club, an adult facilitator creates an account on the Girls Who Code educator portal and completes the registration process, which includes agreeing to program guidelines and providing basic information about the club's planned participants and meeting schedule. Registration is free. Upon approval, the facilitator gains access to the full curriculum materials.
The facilitator does not need to be a CS teacher — any teacher, counselor, parent volunteer, or community member who commits to the weekly meeting schedule and is willing to learn the curriculum alongside students can run a club. The Girls Who Code program was explicitly designed to expand beyond CS departments and into schools where the CS teacher is overburdened, absent, or non-existent.
Equipment requirements: students need access to computers (one per student) with internet access. The curriculum is browser-based (Scratch, code.org tools, and repl.it for Python) and does not require software installation. Chromebooks, school computers, or personal laptops all work.
Evaluating Whether Girls Who Code Is Right for Your School
Girls Who Code is an excellent fit for: schools where girls are underrepresented in existing CS electives or after-school activities; schools with no CS teacher but an interested adult facilitator; schools looking for a structured, low-cost, ready-to-run curriculum for a girls-focused STEM club; and schools whose CS offerings are limited to advanced courses with barriers to entry that exclude girls who haven't yet self-identified as "CS people."
It is less suited for: schools that already run a strong, inclusive introductory CS program with gender-balanced enrollment; schools looking for rigorous advanced content for already-proficient coders; or contexts where the goal is rapid technical skill development rather than identity formation and community building.
The UN Women's documentation on women in STEM provides the international policy context for why programs like Girls Who Code exist and what the documented evidence shows about the effectiveness of identity-focused versus skills-focused interventions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Girls Who Code curriculum free?
Yes — the After School Club curriculum is provided free of charge to registered facilitators through the Girls Who Code educator portal. The Summer Immersion Program is free for participants (funded by corporate and university partners). Campus Chapters use Girls Who Code materials under the same free-access model.
What programming languages does Girls Who Code teach?
The After School Club curriculum covers Scratch (visual block-based), HTML/CSS, JavaScript (basic), and Python. The SIP covers a broader range depending on the specific host partner's curriculum. Python and web development are the primary text-based languages in the standard club curriculum.
Do I need to be a CS teacher to run a Girls Who Code club?
No — Girls Who Code explicitly designed the facilitator model to not require CS teaching expertise. Facilitators need commitment to the weekly schedule, willingness to learn alongside students, and the organizational capacity to manage an after-school club. Technical background is helpful but not required for the early units.
What age group is Girls Who Code designed for?
After School Clubs primarily target middle school girls (grades 6–8, approximately ages 11–14), though high school clubs are also supported. The Summer Immersion Program is for high school girls in grades 10–12. Campus Chapters are for college undergraduates.
How does Girls Who Code define its impact?
Girls Who Code reports that its alumni pursue CS at a rate 15 times the national average for girls. Independent evaluation studies have documented increases in CS identity, belonging, and intention to pursue CS among program participants. The primary documented impact is on social and motivational outcomes (confidence, belonging, identity) rather than technical skill levels.
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