28th May 2022

The Andrews Labor Government is supporting gender diversity in key digital technology jobs, encouraging the continued growth of career opportunities for women.

An essential part of any digital service is the coding that sits beneath it – and social enterprise Code Like a Girl supports girls and women looking to build rewarding careers in what has traditionally been a male-dominated field.

Paid internships is a key initiative of Code Like a Girl, providing professional experience in a range of environments, enabling participants to contribute to live projects and build skills that can only be learned on the job.

The Labor Government has joined with Code Like a Girl to deliver five paid internships within government departments as part of a pilot program for women passionate about coding.

The program will also provide women in the public service with an intensive four-month course with Code Like a Girl’s School of Code – which turns participants with no coding knowledge into junior web developers.

Current statistics illustrate why Code Like a Girls’ work and the Government’s new training and internship programs are so essential, with women only making up 31 per cent of Victoria’s digital technology workforce the program will increase diversity and representation across the sector.

Lack of diversity in Cyber Security is even more pronounced with less than one in five Cyber Security workers being women. That is why the Government is also partnering with the Australian Women in Security Network to deliver a pilot training course for 26 women currently working in the tech sector.

Part of the Digital Strategy 2021-26, the Government has partnered with Microsoft and RMIT to deliver digital course content, so the Victorian Public Service have the digital skills they need for the future.

Victoria’s wider tech sector is a major jobs provider and driver of business activity – it contributes more than $38 billion to the economy annually and supports almost 140,000 workers across 20,000 businesses. For more information on Code Like a Girl internships, visit codelikeagirl.com/internships.

Quote attributable to Minister for Government Services Danny Pearson

“We’re proud to be the first government to partner with Code Like a Girl, which plays a leading role in creating more diverse and innovative workplaces and boosting representation of women in the tech sector.”

Quote attributable to Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy Jaala Pulford

“We’re supporting the growth of women in tech by helping them get the skills they need, providing more job opportunities and also strengthening the digital workforce.”

Quote attributable to Parliamentary Secretary for Digital Government Harriet Shing

“We’re creating career pathways for women in tech and ensuring they’re at the centre of the rapid growth in digital industries, providing better gender equity and workforce participation while being good for business, good for innovation and good for economic growth.”

Quote attributable to Code Like a Girl Founder and CEO Ally Watson OAM

“We are so excited to be partnering with the Victorian Government to boost the state’s digital capabilities and get more women into the tech sector.”