Corporations, politicians, and educators alike have positioned computer programming as essential for individual job success, and teaching “underrepresented minorities” to code is also frequently offered as a solution for the often-problematic gender and racial politics of Silicon Valley corporations. This project examines the power relations of the learn-to-code trend, particularly in terms of race and gender politics. By studying this phenomenon in both theory and practice—and placing it in relevant historical context—this project interrogates the popular belief that mass technological skills training will necessarily result in increased equity within Silicon Valley corporations.
