Code Club celebrates International Women’s Day

To celebrate International Women’s Day, we want to introduce you to some of the amazing women who work for Code Club across the world. 

They told us about the women who have inspired them, from grandmothers, to teachers, to scientists, and it’s been amazing to hear the impact that these #RealRoleModels have had on our colleagues’ lives. 

She wanted her school to be the best school for girls 

“My grandmother has been a huge inspiration to me. She founded a school for girls in Argentina, where we were taught to be independent, smart, and brave — all qualities she had. She was a great leader, she wanted her school to be the best school for girls in Argentina, and she was always innovating and taking inspiration from other schools around the world.

She introduced the International Baccalaureate (IB) to Argentina, and her school was the first to pilot the IB Diploma in 1976. She made sure her students were able to sit their Cambridge exams during the Falklands War; she hid their completed exam papers in the back of a car, drove to Uruguay, and sent them to the UK to be marked. She was awarded an MBE for this. She had a very clear vision, tremendous vigour, and was never silenced. She knew what she wanted and she did what she had to. I miss her every day.”

Jumped in and had a go! 

Nicola Curnow, Code Club Australia Program Manager

“I’m inspired daily by other women in tech, especially the teachers and volunteers who didn’t think they could code and jumped in and had a go, women of the past like Ada Lovelace, and women I work with every day who are in the minority in so many rooms but still outshine everyone!”

Learning fab new skills

“Lisa Brown runs both Manchester CoderDojo and Cheadle CoderDojo and inspired me to start my own. She fills her time volunteering and learning fab new skills — she even made me some awesome hand warmers in my team’s colours to keep me cosy at the football.” 

The only female school leader

Vasu Srivastava, Club Programme Coordinator, India

“I met Ms Divya Lokesh in 2016, and she was the only female school leader in the entire cohort of more than 30 leaders in Bangalore, India. She not only inspired me, but thousands of children who come to her school every day. 

She encouraged a lot of co-curricular activities in her school, despite it being the less popular choice amongst parents and management. She started Classical & Western Dance classes for the children in middle school, and hired a self-defence expert to teach the adolescent girls in her school. 

She is a pioneer in her field and is also a proud mother of two children; she manages a household and a school with more than 1700 children; she truly is inspiring!” 

Always DANCE! 

Christina Foust, Club Programs Manager, USA 

“I’m inspired daily by my mother, Emerita. She taught me that life is short, so do what makes you happy. Spend time with loved ones! Travel! Be kind! And always, DANCE!”

Totally awestruck

Kat Leadbetter, Programme Coordinator, Global Engagement

“I studied Astronomy at university and always felt hugely inspired by Jocelyn Bell Burnell, a physicist who helped discover the first pulsar. As she was a postgrad student when the discovery was made, Bell Burnell was never properly credited and therefore missed out on the Nobel Prize awarded to other scientists she had worked with. Regardless, she dealt with this gracefully and had a successful career in what is still a very male-dominated field. When she was the speaker at my graduation ceremony, I was totally awestruck!”

Share with us

Which women have inspired you in your life? Share with us on Twitter at Code Club UK or Code Club World and use the hashtag #RealRoleModels.