Danica Pascavage, the Philadelphia Outreach Manager at TechGirlz, was interviewed by Joe Pascavage, Design Manager at thinkcompany.com & Founder of getinterviewed.blog, to speak about the future she and the organization are paving for girls in tech. With over 18 years of technical instruction experience under her belt, Danica was ready to make a change in the world by introducing girls to the many careers in technology. In the interview, Danica speaks about the different approach she takes in teaching due to the gender gap in the field; she aims to show girls that their technology can make a significant impact in the world. With consistent motivation and exposure to the creative, technical projects TechGirlz has to offer, Danica sees a very bright future for girls in tech. The full article was originally published January 27th, 2021 on Medium.

Joe Pascavage: What is unique about your philosophy for girls in tech?

Danica: […] Research has shown that middle school is the age that girls step away from tech. There are many reasons for that, including not wanting to be seen as “different” and not wanting to associate with the tech professionals as portrayed in movies and shows. But there is another reason that I personally believe doesn’t get enough attention. Very typically speaking (there is just as much variance within gender as between), middle school is when girls begin to have feelings of wanting to change the world and society to make it better. Looking at their typical role models, they see counselors, doctors, nurses, and teachers as ways they can make the world better. They don’t see tech as a way to improve the world. Part of that is because the way we often teach tech is to teach coding to create a game, animation or a website, which doesn’t automatically translate to making a difference in the world.