BY MATT PETRONZIO From Mashable

LONDON — Technology has an image problem.

That’s what Belinda Parmar, CEO and founder of Little Miss Geek and Lady Geek, said in a panel at the +SocialGood UK conference in London on Friday.

In conversation with Brothers for All cofounder Robyn Scott, Tech City UK CEO Gerard Grech, BT Group CEO Gavin Patterson and Mashable UK editor Blathnaid Healy, Parmar discussed the lack of girls in STEM, citing declining numbers of women in technology roles in both the U.S. and UK.

“By their teenage years, girls in particular have made their choices,” she said. “If you look at the studies, technology’s boring.” A 13-year-old girl once told Parmar she’d “rather be a garbage collector than work in technology.”

What we’re doing isn’t working. We need to normalize it, and make it so much about daily life,” Parmar added.

The UK is starting to do just that. In fact, it’s one of the few countries in the world that has introduced compulsory coding into primary-school curriculums, with some reportedly starting as young as 5 years old.

“That will give them a far stronger grounding in technology when they’re leaving school,” Grech said. “Coding allows you to be creative. We put a lot of emphasis on university and literacy — very practical in any economy. But creativity is absolutely critical in innovation.”

Of course, this applies to various countries. Scott, who is based in South Africa, talked about Brothers for All, which she cofounded along with two former maximum-security prisoners for armed robbery. The organization’s mission is to end the cycle of poverty and crime in South Africa, “a country where there’s a huge problem on both fronts,” by offering coding and entrepreneurial skills to current and former prisoners, Scott said.

“Many of the people we work with … have none of this baggage that comes with a developed economy,” she added. “Most of our students are actually girls, and they’re outperforming boys. They think coding is magic.”

Parmar said it’s very important to be aware of the subtle ways we portray technology differently to girls and boys, adding that it needs to be encouraged across the board.

IMAGE:The first panel of +SocialGood UK in London on Friday discusses ways to conquer the digital divide. Pictured from left to right: ‘Mashable’ UK editor Blathaid Healy, Tech City UK CEO Gerard Grech, Brothers for All cofounder Robyn Scott, Lady Geek CEO Belinda Parmar and BT Group CEO Gavin Patterson. IMAGE: MASHABLE, JULIA ESKELL

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