While we have come a long way with wide support for girls’ education today, the gender gap still largely prevails, and especially in underprivileged kids and in the field of Science-Technology-Engineering-Math (STEM) education. Now, if you combine the two sub-groups, that set is even more devoid of girls.
STEM education is widely seen as critical for emerging jobs, yet stereotypes and other barriers often discourage girls from choosing these subjects. As a result, there is a widening gender gap in STEM fields.
Deepti Rao Suchindran, a neuroscientist, and her sister, Aditi Prasad, who works in public policy, decided to start bridging this widening gap and begin with the people who need their help the most.
The pair of sharp minds started a venture, Robotix Learning Solutions in 2009 to address this gap, inspired by initiatives like ‘Girls Who Code’ and ‘Black Girls Code’.
Under the aegis of Robotix, they next lay the groundwork for ‘Indian Girls Code’, a free, hands-on coding and robotics education programme for underprivileged girls.
Speaking to The Better India, Aditi explained the thought that led to their plan to get underprivileged girls the 21st century skills that are driving the world today.
While interacting with girls, we realised that if girls can solve real-world problems that they face at home, in their community, in their country by developing technology that is valuable to the world and personally meaningful to them, this will empower them in many ways.
Aditi hopes that the kids will now use their training to create their own little robots that could do simple tasks like picking up trash, segregating waste, etc. Robotix is also designing problem-based projects for kids.
(Source: The Better India)
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