Five Years and Growing...Mastercard Commits to Reaching 1M Girls Globally by 2025 With Signature STEM Education Platform
April 23 2019 - 6:00AM
Business Wire
Girls4TechTM is designed to help young girls
become technology workplace leaders of tomorrow
Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are two of the
hottest technology fields today, with job opportunities continuing
to grow across both. However, worldwide, women make up less than 20
percent of the professionals in these high-tech jobs1, and only one
in 20 girls opts for a STEM-based career2.
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Currently in its fifth year, Girls4Tech,
Mastercard's hands-on, inquiry-based STEM program has reached more
than 400,000 girls (ages 8-12) in 25 countries, more than doubling
its established 2017 goal. As Mastercard marks the 5th anniversary
of the program, the company builds on a successful track record of
impact with an even more ambitious commitment to reach 1M girls by
2025. (Photo: Business Wire)
To help narrow the gender gap, Mastercard has been cultivating
young technology enthusiasts as part of its signature education
platform, Girls4Tech. Currently in its fifth year, this hands-on,
inquiry-based STEM program has reached more than 400,000 girls
(ages 8-12) in 25 countries, more than doubling its established
2017 goal. Today, as Mastercard marks the 5th anniversary of
the program, the company builds on a successful track record of
impact with an even more ambitious commitment to reach one million
girls by 2025.
Mastercard created Girls4Tech in April 2014 to inspire young
girls to pursue STEM careers through a fun, engaging curriculum
built around global science and math standards. The program
incorporates Mastercard’s deep expertise in payments technology and
innovation, and includes topics such as encryption, fraud
detection, data analysis and digital convergence.
“Today we celebrate the 400,000 girls who gained new STEM skills
through the Girls4Tech program and learned that a future in
technology can and should include them,” says Susan Warner, senior
vice president of Global Volunteerism at Mastercard. “We hope to
have sparked many future careers in STEM fields, because gender
parity in tech will ultimately make all companies – and our society
at large – better and stronger.”
New Curriculum Unveiled
As technology skills continue to evolve, the Girls4Tech program
is launching a new curriculum to give girls deeper exposure to the
growing fields of cybersecurity and AI.
Furthermore, to continue the engagement with girls who have
already participated in the program, Mastercard is launching
Girls4Tech 2.0. Designed for older students, ages 13-16, the new
program aims to keep girls excited about STEM throughout the
critical high school years and also emphasizes important 21st
century skills – such as collaboration, creativity and
communication – as they work in teams to apply their technical
knowledge to solve real-world challenges.
New Partnerships to Expand Reach and Narrow the Gender Gap in
STEM Education
Girls4Tech works with a network of global partners to increase
the reach and impact of its program.
- In the U.S., Mastercard and Scholastic
will continue to work together into 2020, building upon a
successful first year. The custom, co-branded program will expand
the Girls4Tech curriculum with new themes in privacy, AI and
algorithms.
- In partnership with American Airlines,
Mastercard will host its first Girls4Tech Takes Flight brainathon.
The two-day event will challenge 50 girls to innovate solutions to
humanitarian challenges outlined by the United Nations on gender
equality; smart cities and sustainability; health and wellbeing;
and quality education.
- In Ireland, in partnership with the
golf organization R&A, Mastercard recently launched an
evergreen golf-themed version of the program, where girls gain
exposure to STEM through a deeper dive into the business and
science of golf.
- In partnership with Major League
Baseball (MLB), Mastercard will continue working with MLB youth
academies and organizations later this year with the customized
Girls4Tech program that includes sports and STEM components.
Impact Highlights from the First 5 Years
- To date, Girls4Tech has reached over
400,000 girls, with events in 25 countries and on 6
continents.
- The program has engaged more than 3,500
employee mentors worldwide.
- Mastercard has partnered with Be Better
China, MLB, Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), R&A,
Scholastic, and Singapore Committee for UN Women to further scale
the program and offer STEM skills in unique ways to girls ages
8-12.
- The program has achieved global reach
with the curriculum translated into 12 languages.
“Teachers and students alike are eager for resources that help
connect curriculum standards to the real world of today, and
tomorrow.” says Ann Amstutz Hayes, senior vice president of
Scholastic National Partnerships. “We are pleased to be
collaborating with Mastercard on this important program to increase
awareness of STEM career opportunities for all students and help
drive an understanding for the importance of creative thinking and
problem solving across the curriculum and throughout life.”
“Mastercard’s Girls4Tech program has been a huge benefit to our
Youth Academies, especially in giving our kids opportunities beyond
the playing field,” says Del Matthews, vice president of Baseball
Development, MLB. “Part of our mission with the Youth
Academy network is to open up worlds of possibilities, and
Girls4Tech is something that can help them prepare for a great
variety of careers, in baseball and elsewhere. We are excited
to continue this partnership into 2019.”
To learn more about Girls4Tech, please visit the Girls4Tech
website.
About Mastercard Incorporated
Mastercard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com, is a
technology company in the global payments industry. Our global
payments processing network connects consumers, financial
institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than
210 countries and territories. Mastercard products and
solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping,
traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more
secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on
Twitter @MastercardNews, join the discussion on
the Beyond the Transaction
Blog and subscribe for the latest news on
the Engagement Bureau.
1 Cybersecurity Ventures research, March 2019
2 U.S. Department of Commerce, Women in STEM 2017 Update; World
Economic Forum, Gender Parity and Human Capital Report 2017
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MediaErin Goodhand(917)
408-8911Erin.goodhand@mastercard.com
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