Girls Who Code Founder Seeks ‘Future Female Talent’
Saujani founded Girls Who Code with the goal of bridging the technology gender gap.
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe founder of Girls Who Code says she sees good signs in Indianapolis when it comes to getting more girls into technology. However, Reshma Saujani says, for real change to take hold, "the way we raise our girls has to change." During her keynote address at Tuesday’s Indy Women in Tech Summit, Saujani said girls need to be encouraged to be risk-takers willing to fail, rather than being overly-coddled and protected.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business Reporter Mary-Rachel Redman, Saujani gave the example of how boys and girls are taught to play with LEGO blocks. She says girls tend to be encouraged to build something stable and with a story behind it, while boys are taught to "build high and break it down." Allowing girls to be imperfect and bold, she says, will inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators.
Girls Who Code, which has the goal of closing the gender gap in technology, has worked with nearly 90,000 girls in all 50 states.
Hundreds of people attended Tuesday’s summit, which was part of a week of events surrounding the Indy Women in Tech Championship LPGA event, which begins Thursday at the Brickyard Crossing Golf Club. The event also included panel discussions and presentations of report findings that Co-chair M.T. Ray says she hopes will give attendees "actionable takeaways" about increasing diversity in the local tech scene.