February 9, 2024

Sasi Kondru

11th Grade

Lebanon Trail High School

The gender gap in technology-related fields has to continue to persist. Only 32.8% of entry-level positions related to computer science are held by women, and only 28% of jobs in computers and math and less than 16% of engineering and architecture-related jobs are held by women. However, many people are working to fight this gender gap in STEM, including Reshma Saujani. Saujani created an organization called Girls Who Code, dedicated to teaching girls about coding and encouraging them to pursue a technology-related career. In this article, we will take a look at who Reshma Saujani is, how she started Girls Who Code, and the numerous accomplishments of Girls Who Code.

Early Life and Education

Saujani was born on November 18th, 1975, in Chicago, Illinois. Her mom and add, formerly engineers in Uganda, were a saleswoman in cosmetics and a machinist in a factory, respectively. Due to the lack of community and having low-paying and less interculturally reading jobs than when they were engineers, Saujani's father preached the importance of community and education to her. Saujani started fighting for change from a young age, starting an anti-racist when she was 12. Throughout her childhood, she was bullied for her race, which inspired her to want to fight for change. 

Saujani went to the University of Urbana-Champaign in Illinois with majors in Political Science and Speech Communication, later attending The John F. Kennedy School in Harvard to get a Master's Degree in Public Policy as well as the Yale Law School for her Juris Doctor Degree. She worked as a hedge fund lawyer and then at an investment firm, before switching fields. She has an extensive political career, running for New York Deputy Public Advocate and the Senate. She also served on Hillary Clinton’s National Finance Board during Clinton’s 2008 campaign election and was the first Indian American woman to run for Congress.

The Birth of Girls Who Code

During her political campaign, Saujani visited several local schools and saw a gender gap in the computer science classes, which would later inspire her to create a nonprofit called Girls Who Code in 2012. Girls Who Code is a nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching girls about coding through many virtual events, activities, and a summer camp.

Girls Who Code has reached 500 million people and served 300,000 girls. Over 21,500 Girls Who Code clubs have been created across various states in the United States, each with the mission to spread access to technology to middle and high-school-aged girls. Half of the girls they have served are from underrepresented groups. They have held several programs, and workshops, and have done campaigning to help close the gender gap in technology. They are on track to close the gender gap in technology and entry-level technology jobs by 2030. She served as the CEO of Girls Who Code for 9 years, before stepping down and handing over the position to Dr. Tarika Barrett. She has been named one of Forbes 40 under 40 and has received several other well-deserved recognitions.

Saujani has also pursued other charitable efforts. She also created legislation for a “Marshall Plan For Moms”, which advocated for paid child care, and paid leave, and hoped to change the way that motherhood is viewed in America. She serves on the Board Of Overseers for Harvard University and the International Rescue Committee. She also serves on the Board Of Trustees for the Economic Club of New York and is an ex-officio trustee for the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Today, she lives in New York City with her husband and two children. Saujani's contribution to computer science by helping close the gender gap in technology is very important.

As technology continues to spread and become more and more of a part of our everyday lives, it is important that females also have equal access to this technology and can get careers in technology and computer science, one of the fast-growing modern-day industries. Her contribution will help girls get access to technology and close the gender gap in the technology industry.