Dell launches initiative for girls in technology, partners with Girls Who Code

Program contributes to Dell’s 2020 Legacy of Good goal of helping 3 million underserved youth directly.
By Bernie Monegain
02:59 PM

Technology giant Dell is partnering with Girls Who Code, a national nonprofit dedicated to closing the gender gap in technology.

The goal is to strengthen and expand after-school programs in computer science education for about 15,000 girls in grades 6-12 across the country.

In addition to a $400,000 cash donation to support the after-school computer science initiative, Dell bring to bear a combination of financial, technical and mentorship support.

Dell announced it would appoint five women technology leaders as program ambassadors to organize and deliver mentorship services.

Besides materials and supplies for the STEM curriculum, the program will help fund field trips to expose girls to leading technical organizations and professionals.

The programs will be concentrated in communities across the Great Plains and Rockies, the Southeast, the Northeast and San Francisco.

“Never before in history has technology been so core to our economy and our society at large,” Karen Quintos, executive vice president and chief customer officer at Dell, said in a statement. “We have an incredible opportunity to truly drive human progress through technology, and we can’t realize the full potential of that without our girls.”

“It’s the incredible support by partners like Dell that have enabled Girls Who Code to become the largest computer science program for girls in the United States,” added Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of Girls Who Code.

The Dell national partnership with Girls Who Code is an extension of previous local-level support and is part of a long-term investment in youth learning specifically to enhance STEM programs for underrepresented populations in the U.S.

It’s not the first time Dell has stood up for girls. The tech company announced a national partnership with Girl Scouts of the USA in 2015 in part to support Digital Cookie 2.0, an online web platform to foster young girls’ entrepreneurship and STEM skills. The company also supports GirlStart, providing the hands-on technology access necessary for girls to learn about tech, engineering and mathematics programming.

Dell hosted executive directors from youth learning partners as part of the Women in IT track at its Dell EMC World, Oct. 18-20 in Austin, Texas.

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