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Google, Square Hoping To Solve Gender Imbalance Through Recruiting

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - Silicon Valley tech giants have been taking heat for a gender imbalance among staff, particularly in the fields of engineering and coding, and now they're doing something about it – targeting young women for careers in the tech sector.

Recent payroll numbers from the likes of Google, Yahoo, LinkedIn and Facebook show that about 85 percent of the tech-related jobs at the firms are filled by men. But, according to Wired magazine, some of the bigger name firms are spending big to change that.

"Google recently announced the Made to Code campaign. The company has committed $50 million over the next three years to expand young girls' exposure to coding," writes Wired's Issie Lapowsky, who reports that Square and Codeacademy are similarly working to convince women that coding is cool.

Often there are access or cultural barriers that prevent women from perusing an interest in coding, and many of the programs popping up are designed to create a safe, supportive place to learn the language of code.

Read Wired's full story on how tech firms have bought in and are creating new avenues of access for women interested in coding careers.

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