With 12 and 13 year old kids in Merthyr recently, I ask how many of them would like to work in technology. 12 sets of male hands go up and 1 set of female. (Similar to the ratio I am told for job applications to web companies).

But both girls and boys are equally enthusiastic about using creative software and most of the girls follow fashion and celebrity blogs, with some having made their own…

So what might help these girls consider tech

careers – where demand is outstripping supply – rather than ones in hairdressing or beauty, where there is a surfeit of applicants?

Funnily enough, there are some principles from app design that can be useful here.

Reengineering Learning

These are guidelines I use when designing any sort of instructional content:

– To varying degrees, we learn through feeling, doing, watching and thinking – and for some of us, regardless of gender, that feeling aspect is vital. An emotional link will make us want to learn. So disaffected boys studying history may well perk up when a canny teacher announces class is to study the history of football, for instance…

– We can usefully categorize learners as why? learners, step-by-step learners and… to be continued

You’re welcome to chat about this subject further at Web Futures For Women, a free workshop on 28th October, hosted by SAW University of South Wales. There are a few spaces left and you can book here