Girls Who Code | Odgis + Co

girlswhocode.com

5/6/2015
Reshma Saujani, Founder & CEO of Girls Who Code, spoke last week at the Women Presidents Organization 2015 Annual Conference.

In a talk titled “The Workforce of the Future: 2050,” she shared how closing the gender gap in technology and computer science will change the future of business and the workforce worldwide.
 

Talking Points


MISSION

Girls Who Code programs work to inspire, educate, and equip girls with the computing skills to pursue 21st century opportunities.
 

VISION

Girls Who Code’s vision is to reach gender parity in computing fields. We believe this is paramount to ensure the economic prosperity of women, families, and communities across the globe, and to equip citizens with the 21st century tools for innovation and social change. We believe that more girls exposed to computer science at a young age will lead to more women working in the technology and engineering fields.
 

PATH TO SUCCESS

The U.S. Department of Labor projects that by 2020, there will be 1.4 million computer specialist job openings. To reach gender parity by 2020, women must fill half of these positions, or 700,000 computing jobs. Anecdotal data tells us that an average of 30% of those students with exposure to computer science will continue in the field. This means that 4.6M adolescent girls will require some form of exposure to computer science education to realize gender parity in 2020. Girls Who Code has set out to reach 25% of those young women needed to realize gender parity.
 

Girls Who Code aims to provide computer science education and exposure to 1 million young women by 2020.


Together with leading educators, engineers, and entrepreneurs, Girls Who Code has developed a new model for computer science education, pairing intensive instruction in robotics, web design, and mobile development with high-touch mentorship and exposure led by the industry’s top female engineers and entrepreneurs. Girls Who Code launched in 2012 with one program in New York City, and in just one year expanded its Summer Immersion Program to 8 programs in 5 cities nationwide.

Building on this success, in 2014 the organization launched over 160 Girls Who Code Clubs in schools, libraries, and community-based organizations across the country, and expanded its Summer Immersion Program to 19 programs in 5 cities nationwide.

Learn more about Reshma’s work and Girls Who Code at girlswhocode.com

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