In a recent announcement, Mastercard disclosed that they hosted their first digital Girls4Tech Connect Marathon in Sub-Saharan Africa in an effort to help enable 515 girls from the ages of 7 to 12 to pursue a career in Science and Technology.
“Global stats show that 80 percent of jobs created in the next decade will require some combination of STEM skills. Yet only 30 percent of the science and technology workforce is currently comprised of women. At Mastercard, we are tackling this challenge head on. Through Girls4Tech, our goal is to build foundational STEM knowledge and develop the critical skills that girls need for their studies and career success. By providing real life and hands-on activities for each concept, Mastercard volunteers show young girls that being friendly, enthusiastic, mathematical, artistic, scientific, logical, and even creative are all skills that connect to a STEM career.”
Kamini Redhi, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Mastercard, Sub-Saharan Africa
“We’ve noted that young girls still believe that careers in STEM are not meant for them. We appreciate the role that companies such as Mastercard are playing in giving girls from all walks of life an opportunity to change this narrative by exposing them to the diverse career opportunities available to them in STEM.”
Bongani Mgoqi, Principal at Tshedimosho Mahlaleng Primary School in Soweto, South Africa
“Mastercard’s Girls4Tech programme is a great initiative. We want our girls to have confidence in their ability to succeed in STEM related careers and to recognize that they can achieve anything. Our girls were excited to participate in the programme, and we believe this sort of exposure and encouragement is exactly what we need to build the future female leaders of tomorrow.”
Hannah Umoh, Program Manager at Government Primary school in Akwa Ibom, Nigeria
“Our girls are very excited to be taking part in this programme and to be learning new things about STEM related careers. Girls4Tech is an important initiative to exposing our girls to the digital future.”
Daniel Muthee, Principal at Woodcreek School in Nairobi, Kenya
