Teach girls bravery, not perfection | Reshma Saujani

The Bravery Deficit: Why Women Are Underrepresented in Leadership

Personal Journey and Motivation

• The speaker recounts her brave decision to run for Congress, transitioning from a behind-the-scenes role in politics to a candidate.

• Despite being told by pollsters that she would not win, she ran anyway, driven by the desire to disrupt the status quo and make a difference.

• On election day, she received only 19% of the vote, leading to feelings of humiliation despite initial support from major publications.

Societal Expectations and Gender Differences

• The speaker reflects on how societal norms encourage women to seek perfection while promoting risk-taking behavior in boys.

• Girls are socialized to avoid failure and play it safe, whereas boys are encouraged to take risks and embrace challenges.

• This disparity leads to a "bravery deficit," impacting women's representation in various fields including STEM and leadership roles.

Psychological Insights on Performance

• Research by psychologist Carol Dweck shows that bright girls tend to give up more easily than boys when faced with difficult tasks.

• A study indicates that men apply for jobs if they meet 60% of qualifications, while women only apply if they meet 100%, highlighting differences in confidence levels influenced by socialization.

Impact on Career Opportunities

• The emphasis on perfectionism among women results in missed opportunities in high-demand fields like tech, where many positions remain unfilled due to underrepresentation of women.

• The speaker founded a coding company aimed at teaching girls coding skills as a means of fostering bravery through trial and error.

Overcoming Perfectionism

• Coding is presented as an iterative process requiring perseverance; girls often fear making mistakes rather than embracing the learning journey.

• Observations reveal that girls frequently delete their attempts at coding instead of showing progress due to fear of imperfection.

Empowering Girls Through Technology

The Importance of Supportive Networks

• Reshma Saujani emphasizes the need for a supportive network to help girls overcome struggles and build confidence in their abilities.

• She shares inspiring examples of young women, such as high school students who created "Tampon Run" to challenge menstruation taboos and sexism in gaming.

• Another example includes a Syrian refugee who developed an app to assist Americans in voting, showcasing innovation driven by personal experiences.

• A 16-year-old girl created an algorithm to detect cancer types, motivated by her father's illness, highlighting the impact of perseverance among girls.

Socializing Imperfection and Courage

• Saujani argues that girls must be socialized to embrace imperfection early on, which is crucial for their development and future contributions to society.

• She stresses the importance of teaching bravery in schools and workplaces so that young women can pursue their dreams without fear of failure.

• Encouraging girls to be comfortable with imperfection will foster a movement of courageous young women ready to create positive change.

Growth of the Program

• In 2012, Saujani's program taught 20 girls; this year it aims to teach 40,000 across all 50 states, indicating significant growth and demand for such initiatives.

• The stark contrast between graduates from computer science programs (7,500 last year) versus those being trained through her initiative highlights the urgency of addressing gender disparity in tech fields.

Industry Partnerships and Impact

• Saujani mentions partnerships with major companies like Twitter, Facebook, Adobe, IBM, Microsoft, Pixar, and Disney to embed "Girls Who Code" classrooms within their offices.

• She notes that diverse engineering teams lead to better outcomes; companies benefit from including more women due to their significant influence on consumer purchasing decisions.

Conclusion: The Call for Action

• Reshma encourages tech companies not yet involved in her program to join efforts aimed at increasing gender balance within engineering teams.