Our History

Many people grow up with opportunities to attend engineering summer camps, with support at home to pursue computer science, or with role models in science. But not all girls, in fact most girls, do not have the financial means to have these influential experiences, or their community does not provide them with the mentors they need to be confident as a girl in STEM. This is reflected in the staggering fact that, even in 2020, less than 16% of engineers and architects are women, and only 25% of computer and mathematical positions are occupied by women.

Meet Our Founders

Sydney Gibbard and Mina Shokoufandeh began thinking about founding Girls Code the World in 2018 when they were juniors at The Pennington School in Pennington, New Jersey. Sydney and Mina decided to found Girls Code the World with the goal of gathering the opportunities that they had access to and sharing them with other girls.  

When Sydney and Mina went off to college, it became increasingly harder for them to capitalize on the momentum of their passions with Girls Code the World, so they dedicated the entire summer of 2020 to building their nonprofit. They incorporated as a nonprofit, recruited for a Board of Directors, created a website, and developed budgets, all while running virtual STEM programs for 8-12 year olds in the height of the pandemic.

Since then, our founders have been instrumental in not just the mission and direction of the organization, but in day-to-day activities with our interns, Board of Directors, and strategic planning. They could not be prouder of the impact Girls Code the World has made on people in their communities.

Our organization Girls Code the World provides opportunities, resources, and role models for young girls aged 8 to 12 in STEM-related fields. We empower girls to not just enter STEM fields, but to become leaders in these fields.  There is still significant progress to be made with creating and maintaining a female presence at higher levels of academia and other executive areas of STEM. It is crucial that this work begins at the start of a young female’s formative middle school years.  

From our founder, Sydney Gibbard:

“Many people may relate to the feeling that a topic is too massive, too systemic, and too historical to change. The intersection of women being underrepresented in STEM, socioeconomic status being a large barrier to entry into these fields, and marginalized communities having significantly fewer role models in industry leadership certainly felt impossible to take on for two high schoolers back in 2018.

But when we realized that grassroots, local change in your own community is Step #1 (and sometimes even more impactful)...Girls Code the World felt attainable. When you hear just one student say to you "I didn't know you could do this!" or "Wow that speaker was so cool, I want to be her", then you know you changed a girl's life.

SHE could be the next CEO of Apple. SHE could be the one to find the cure for cancer. SHE could create her own startup business. SHE could educate future generations of women in STEM.

Luckily, Mina and I have had incredible support to scale GCTW from running one program in 2018 to planning for 35+ programs in Summer 2023. But it all started with two passionate high schoolers, 12 student participants in a program, and a desire to take Step #1.”

We are growing!