Multinational financial services corporation Mastercard recently hosted its first virtual Girls4TechConnect Marathon in Sub-Saharan Africa, to inspire and prepare 515 girls, aged seven to 12, to pursue careers in science and technology.
Launched in 2014, Mastercard’s Girls4Tech education programme is centred on an interactive science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) curriculum that aims to impact five million girls globally by 2025.
Based on global science and maths standards, it incorporates Mastercard’s expertise in technology and innovation, enabling students to discover a range of STEM careers, such as fraud detective, data scientist and software engineer.
Starting as hands-on, in-person sessions and workshops run by employee volunteers, the programme has expanded to cover topics such as artificial intelligence and cyber security, with enhanced access to the company’s STEM curriculum through online sessions and a digital learning experience.
In 2017, Mastercard brought the Girls4Tech programme to SA, starting at Sandtonview Primary School in Johannesburg.
As part of the virtual marathon, Mastercard volunteers from across the continent hosted a series of virtual Girls4Tech sessions at schools in SA, Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya, to help equip girls with the foundational STEM knowledge and skills they need for their studies and career success.
“Global statsshow that 80% of jobs created in the next decade will require some combination of STEM skills. Yet only 30% of the science and technology workforce is currently comprised of women,” says Kamini Redhi, VP of marketing and communications for Mastercard Sub-Saharan Africa.
“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.”
Girls4Tech has already reached more than two million girls across 49 countries, including more than 2 500 in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana.
The primary schools selected for this Girls4Tech marathon have prioritised STEM subjects as part of their curriculum and are excited to participate in the initiative, notes Mastercard.
Bongani Mgoqi, principal at Tshedimosho Mahlaleng Primary School in Soweto, adds: “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.”
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