New England Council Member AT&T recently donated $1 million to the organization Girls Who Code, an initiative dedicated to encouraging and educating girls in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.
Launched in spring 2012 by founder and CEO Reshma Saujani, the Girls Who Code program aims to “inspire, educate and equip girls with the computing skills to pursue 21st century opportunities.” The program currently operates in five– but soon to be nine—cities and has educated 3,000 girls since its founding. Girls Who Code plans to use the $1 million from AT&T to expand the program’s summer sessions and after school clubs to more cities in order to reach more girls—the goal is to educate one million young women by 2020. AT&T is among many New England Council Members that have supported Girls Who code– GE, Google, Microsoft, and Verizon also all serve as partners, funders or supporters to the initiative.
“This is a huge moment for Girls Who Code,” Saujani wrote in an email to Bizwomen. “The more money we raise, the more girls we can teach. We’re incredibly grateful that AT&T has made closing the gender gap a priority.”
The New England Council commends AT&T on its generous recent gift to Girls Who Code, and thanks them and all other supporters of the initiative for their efforts in closing the gender gap in STEM education and empowering young girls across the country.