Reshma Saujani shares the core thesis and pedagogical insight behind founding Girls Who Code.
Assertion Partly supported
Saujani: Working mothers earn 58 cents for every dollar made by fathers
“We have a motherhood penalty, and what I mean by that is moms make 58 cents and every dollar made by fathers.”
Opinion
Saujani: Childcare advocates must partner with the private sector, not await Washington
“There's people who say, ah, we don't want the private sector to do anything because we want a federal solution. And I say, you're, no, absolutely not, because these are millions of women that can have access to childcare while we're waiting for Washington to g…”
Opinion
Saujani: Tech careers offer unprecedented upward mobility regardless of socioeconomic background
“This is a job where you can march up into the middle class. Maybe for the first time, we're kind of starting kids out at the same place. And whether you are a young girl living in a homeless shelter in Harlem, Or a girl going to the best private school in New …”
Insight
Saujani: Diverse cohorts learning new skills together build strong friendships
“I believed in this idea that if you actually bring together girls that were black, white, straight, gay, you know what I mean, rich, poor, and you put them in a classroom together, and you taught them a new skill set, that they would become best friends.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Saujani: Soros and Ford foundations initially refused to fund Girls Who Code
“I went to the big foundations, Soros, Ford, they wouldn't write me a check.”
Insight
Saujani: The entrenched non-profit sector strongly resists newcomers and new ideas
“When you have a new idea, and you're coming into a busy, fractured space where there are lots of different nonprofits, but they've been doing it the same way for 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, there's a real resistance to newcomers and new ideas.”