Founder and CEO of Girls Who Code speaks at Purdue

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of Girls Who Code, a national nonprofit organization working to prepare young women for jobs of the future, gave a lecture Oct. 3 at Loeb Playhouse in Stewart Center.

The presentation, titled "Closing the Gender Gap in Technology," was part of the Purdue Series on Corporate Citizenship and Ethics and presented by the Krannert School of Management, College of Education's James F. Ackerman Center for Democratic Citizenship and the College of Science.

In her groundbreaking book, Women Who Don’t Wait in Line, Saujani advocates for a new model of female leadership focused on embracing risk and failure, promoting mentorship and sponsorship and boldly charting your own course — personally and professionally.

After years of working as an attorney and supporting the Democratic Party as an activist and fundraiser, Saujani left her private-sector career behind and surged onto the political scene as the first Indian-American woman in the country to run for U.S. Congress.

Following the highly publicized race, she stayed true to her passion for public service, becoming deputy public advocate of New York City, and most recently running a spirited campaign for public advocate on a platform of creating educational and economic opportunities for women and girls, immigrants and those who have been sidelined in the political process.

A true political entrepreneur, Saujani has been fearless in her efforts to disrupt both politics and technology to create positive change.

Saujani is a graduate of the University of Illinois, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and Yale Law School. She was recently named to CNBC’s Next List; Crain’s 40 Under 40; Fortune’s 40 Under 40; Forbes’ Most Powerful Women Changing the World; Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People; Ad Age’s Creativity 50; and Business Insider’s 50 Women Who Are Changing the World. She has also been recognized as one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in New York by the New York Daily News, The Wall Street Journal Technology Innovator of the Year and an AOL/PBS Next MAKER.