Does Course Structure Increase STEM Employment for Women and Underrepresented Minorities in Technology Training Programs? Evidence from LaunchCode

We examine three coding bootcamps offered by LaunchCode (LC101, Women+, and CodeCamp) to understand if tailored structures within coding bootcamp programs—designed for underrepresented groups in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)—lead to increased program persistence for women, underrepresented minorities, and low-income individuals. We also examine if these tailored structures lead to increased economic benefits in relation to STEM employment. We find that Women+ participants were roughly twice as likely to complete both the course and the apprenticeship than similar LC101 participants, while CodeCamp participants were roughly five times as likely to complete the course and roughly twelve times as like to complete the apprenticeship. We find that non-completing CodeCamp students found a STEM job much faster than similar LC101 students, suggesting a propensity to secure a job before completing the course in an immersive setting. Conversely, while non-completing Women+ students found STEM jobs more slowly than similar LC101 students, we do not observe a disparity between Women+ completers and non-completing LC101 students or completers. This suggests the efficacy of gender-focused programming in reducing gender disparities in job finding. Also, we find that course-completers in CodeCamp and Women+ experienced greater rates of STEM employment after 36 months when compared to similar LC101 students, suggesting the importance of content knowledge and work experience for students with little-to-no background in computer science, as well as for Women and non-binary persons in a longer term. Our findings demonstrate the effectiveness of tailored structures within coding bootcamp programs in reducing disparities in STEM job participation among women and underrepresented minorities.