Rewriting the Code Revenue and Competitors

Rewriting the Code is a 501(c)3 focused on recruiting, retaining and advancing women in tech. There is a critical talent shortfall in the tech industry that threatens US innovation and our ability to compete globally. 600,000+ highly paid positions currently go unfilled, but only 55,000 computer science (CS) majors graduate each year from US universities. Women represent the largest source of smart, well educated, highly motivated candidates available to reduce this tech talent gap. Close to 60% of college students today are female. Thanks to significant investments in K-12 educational programs designed to include more girls in CS, introductory computer science courses at most universities boast a 50-50 gender balance. Unfortunately, the quit rate among women in CS is alarmingly high – fewer than 20% graduate with a major in CS. The problem worsens in early tech careers. 41% of women in technical careers quit in the first ten years (compared to 17% of men) largely due to cultural – not family – reasons. At the same time, tech executives are beginning to realize the importance of the large and growing base of female consumers. They are eager to include women who bring the experience, perspectives and strong technical talent to help design and develop the products to meet the needs of women and men who buy their products. Many tech executives now understand that the recruitment and retention of women in technical roles is a bottom line issue: it enhances revenue, performance, and productivity. Rewriting the Code is building substantive programs and partnerships among leading universities, tech companies and other organizations to better understand why women are quitting at alarming rates, and to take meaningful action to retain women in computer science majors and tech careers.