American non-government organisation Girls Who Code (GWC) took to hosting a virtual hiring summit at the end of January after the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) revealed shocking data on underprivileged girls.

THe UNICEF data estimates that, globally, 20 million secondary school-aged girls could drop out of school because of COVID-19.

A Spring 2020 survey of GWC in the USA alumni found that 30 per cent had lost job or internship opportunities due to the pandemic.

Of GWC’s current seniors, 40 per cent are still looking for work.

The revelation of the above data was the reason CEO Reshma Saujani and Jamaica-educated Dr Tarika Barrett organised the virtual summit, in an effort to aid young women.

GWC is a programme catering to girls starting at the elementary school level.

The NGO also has a total of 80,000 college-aged alumnae, which testifies to the work being done at GWC and that the girls are actually benefiting academically.

The mentioned alumnae body of 80,000 girls are entering the workforce amid the pandemic.

Very good, GWC!

Alongside helping underprivileged girls, GWC is dedicated to helping moms as well.

In January, the organisation placed a full-page advertisement in the New York Times for a ‘Marshall Plan for Moms’.

“It means cash payments for parents; it means paid leave and affordable daycare – not as a stop gap (during the pandemic), but passing those policies that we’ve been fighting for, for 40 years,” Saujani says.

Thes ad was dedicated to US President Joe Biden.

Also, the NGO is aimed at assisting women, even after they have graduated from GWC.

Therefore, when Barrett and Saujani placed the ad, it wasn’t solely in the best interest of current American moms but also the young women and alumnae of GWC as they understand the intense demands of mothering and running a company, as both executives have two children.

“Our alums are going to take on entry level jobs or even more sophisticated jobs; they’re going to become mothers,” Barrett says.

“We are doing this because we’re going to make it better for them.”

Barrett’s promotion to CEO of GWC, effective April 2 this year, is a way to show women empowerment and to show change and elevation in the tech industry- an industry dominated by men.

“By using her own position as a way to elevate women from within, Reshma is setting an example, not only for women in tech or women in leadership, but for the very girls she serves at Girls Who Code,” said Bozoma St John, GWC board member and Netflix chief marketing officer.

Our Today thinks it’s about time to elevate women and guide them into occupations they can envision themselves in and thriving too.

“We know very often that women report that it’s hard to be what they can’t see. It’s hard to feel connected to an organisation when they don’t see women in tech thriving.”

What happens next?

Amid the pandemic, many have suppressed motivation and even depression, especially when confined to working from home.

Barrett reported that she would want to wait until further on in the year, or after the pandemic has passed, to become the new CEO, wondering if she is “crazy” for agreeing to a new post.

However, what is reassuring is knowing that Saujani isn’t leaving for good, she is stepping down from CEO to COO.

Having a friend and business partner working alongside you can be empowering.

“I can say that in my life I’ve had mentors, but not the kind of mentor friends that I think Reshma has really presented in my life,” Barrett says.

Saujani shares the same sentiments, stating, “What I encourage every CEO to do, is have their Dr Barrett.”