TED2016
Reshma Saujani: Teach girls bravery, not perfection
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We're raising our girls to be perfect, and we're raising our boys to be brave, says Reshma Saujani, the founder of Girls Who Code. Saujani has taken up the charge to socialize young girls to take risks and learn to program -- two skills they need to move society forward. To truly innovate, we cannot leave behind half of our population, she says. "I need each of you to tell every young woman you know to be comfortable with imperfection."
Reshma Saujani - Education activist
Through her nonprofit, Girls Who Code, Reshma Saujani initiates young women into the tech world. Her goal: one million women in computer science by 2020. Full bio
Through her nonprofit, Girls Who Code, Reshma Saujani initiates young women into the tech world. Her goal: one million women in computer science by 2020. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
So a few years ago,
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I did something really brave,
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or some would say really stupid.
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I ran for Congress.
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For years, I had existed
safely behind the scenes in politics
safely behind the scenes in politics
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as a fundraiser, as an organizer,
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but in my heart, I always wanted to run.
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The sitting congresswoman
had been in my district since 1992.
had been in my district since 1992.
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She had never lost a race,
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and no one had really even run against her
in a Democratic primary.
in a Democratic primary.
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But in my mind, this was my way
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to make a difference,
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to disrupt the status quo.
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The polls, however,
told a very different story.
told a very different story.
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My pollsters told me
that I was crazy to run,
that I was crazy to run,
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that there was no way that I could win.
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But I ran anyway,
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and in 2012, I became an upstart
in a New York City congressional race.
in a New York City congressional race.
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I swore I was going to win.
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I had the endorsement
from the New York Daily News,
from the New York Daily News,
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the Wall Street Journal
snapped pictures of me on election day,
snapped pictures of me on election day,
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and CNBC called it one of the hottest
races in the country.
races in the country.
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I raised money from everyone I knew,
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including Indian aunties
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that were just so happy
an Indian girl was running.
an Indian girl was running.
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But on election day, the polls were right,
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and I only got 19 percent of the vote,
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and the same papers
that said I was a rising political star
that said I was a rising political star
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now said I wasted 1.3 million dollars
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on 6,321 votes.
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Don't do the math.
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It was humiliating.
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Now, before you get the wrong idea,
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this is not a talk
about the importance of failure.
about the importance of failure.
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Nor is it about leaning in.
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I tell you the story
of how I ran for Congress
of how I ran for Congress
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because I was 33 years old
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and it was the first time
in my entire life
in my entire life
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that I had done something
that was truly brave,
that was truly brave,
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where I didn't worry about being perfect.
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And I'm not alone:
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so many women I talk to tell me
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that they gravitate
towards careers and professions
towards careers and professions
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that they know
they're going to be great in,
they're going to be great in,
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that they know they're
going to be perfect in,
going to be perfect in,
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and it's no wonder why.
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Most girls are taught
to avoid risk and failure.
to avoid risk and failure.
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We're taught to smile pretty,
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play it safe, get all A's.
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Boys, on the other hand,
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are taught to play rough, swing high,
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crawl to the top of the monkey bars
and then just jump off headfirst.
and then just jump off headfirst.
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And by the time they're adults,
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whether they're negotiating a raise
or even asking someone out on a date,
or even asking someone out on a date,
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they're habituated
to take risk after risk.
to take risk after risk.
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They're rewarded for it.
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It's often said in Silicon Valley,
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no one even takes you seriously
unless you've had two failed start-ups.
unless you've had two failed start-ups.
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In other words,
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we're raising our girls to be perfect,
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and we're raising our boys to be brave.
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Some people worry
about our federal deficit,
about our federal deficit,
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but I, I worry about our bravery deficit.
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Our economy, our society,
we're just losing out
we're just losing out
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because we're not raising
our girls to be brave.
our girls to be brave.
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The bravery deficit is why
women are underrepresented in STEM,
women are underrepresented in STEM,
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in C-suites, in boardrooms, in Congress,
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and pretty much everywhere you look.
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In the 1980s, psychologist Carol Dweck
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looked at how bright fifth graders
handled an assignment
handled an assignment
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that was too difficult for them.
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She found that bright girls
were quick to give up.
were quick to give up.
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The higher the IQ,
the more likely they were to give up.
the more likely they were to give up.
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Bright boys, on the other hand,
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found the difficult material
to be a challenge.
to be a challenge.
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They found it energizing.
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They were more likely
to redouble their efforts.
to redouble their efforts.
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What's going on?
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Well, at the fifth grade level,
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girls routinely outperform boys
in every subject,
in every subject,
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including math and science,
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so it's not a question of ability.
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The difference is in how boys
and girls approach a challenge.
and girls approach a challenge.
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And it doesn't just end in fifth grade.
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An HP report found
that men will apply for a job
that men will apply for a job
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if they meet only 60 percent
of the qualifications,
of the qualifications,
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but women, women will apply
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only if they meet 100 percent
of the qualifications.
of the qualifications.
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100 percent.
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This study is usually invoked
as evidence that, well,
as evidence that, well,
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women need a little more confidence.
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But I think it's evidence
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that women have been socialized
to aspire to perfection,
to aspire to perfection,
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and they're overly cautious.
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(Applause)
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And even when we're ambitious,
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even when we're leaning in,
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that socialization of perfection
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has caused us to take
less risks in our careers.
less risks in our careers.
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And so those 600,000 jobs
that are open right now
that are open right now
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in computing and tech,
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women are being left behind,
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and it means our economy
is being left behind
is being left behind
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on all the innovation and problems
women would solve
women would solve
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if they were socialized to be brave
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instead of socialized to be perfect.
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(Applause)
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So in 2012, I started a company
to teach girls to code,
to teach girls to code,
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and what I found
is that by teaching them to code
is that by teaching them to code
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I had socialized them to be brave.
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Coding, it's an endless process
of trial and error,
of trial and error,
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of trying to get the right command
in the right place,
in the right place,
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with sometimes just a semicolon
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making the difference
between success and failure.
between success and failure.
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Code breaks and then it falls apart,
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and it often takes many, many tries
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until that magical moment
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when what you're trying
to build comes to life.
to build comes to life.
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It requires perseverance.
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It requires imperfection.
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We immediately see in our program
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our girls' fear of not getting it right,
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of not being perfect.
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Every Girls Who Code teacher
tells me the same story.
tells me the same story.
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During the first week,
when the girls are learning how to code,
when the girls are learning how to code,
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a student will call her over
and she'll say,
and she'll say,
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"I don't know what code to write."
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The teacher will look at her screen,
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and she'll see a blank text editor.
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If she didn't know any better,
she'd think that her student
she'd think that her student
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spent the past 20 minutes
just staring at the screen.
just staring at the screen.
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But if she presses undo a few times,
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she'll see that her student
wrote code and then deleted it.
wrote code and then deleted it.
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She tried, she came close,
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but she didn't get it exactly right.
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Instead of showing
the progress that she made,
the progress that she made,
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she'd rather show nothing at all.
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Perfection or bust.
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It turns out that our girls
are really good at coding,
are really good at coding,
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but it's not enough
just to teach them to code.
just to teach them to code.
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My friend Lev Brie, who is a professor
at the University of Columbia
at the University of Columbia
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and teaches intro to Java
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tells me about his office hours
with computer science students.
with computer science students.
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When the guys are struggling
with an assignment,
with an assignment,
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they'll come in and they'll say,
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"Professor, there's something
wrong with my code."
wrong with my code."
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The girls will come in and say,
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"Professor, there's something
wrong with me."
wrong with me."
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We have to begin to undo
the socialization of perfection,
the socialization of perfection,
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but we've got to combine it
with building a sisterhood
with building a sisterhood
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that lets girls know
that they are not alone.
that they are not alone.
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Because trying harder
is not going to fix a broken system.
is not going to fix a broken system.
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I can't tell you how many women tell me,
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"I'm afraid to raise my hand,
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I'm afraid to ask a question,
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because I don't want to be the only one
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who doesn't understand,
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the only one who is struggling.
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When we teach girls to be brave
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and we have a supportive network
cheering them on,
cheering them on,
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they will build incredible things,
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and I see this every day.
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Take, for instance,
two of our high school students
two of our high school students
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who built a game called Tampon Run --
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yes, Tampon Run --
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to fight against the menstruation taboo
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and sexism in gaming.
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Or the Syrian refugee
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who dared show her love
for her new country
for her new country
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by building an app
to help Americans get to the polls.
to help Americans get to the polls.
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Or a 16-year-old girl
who built an algorithm
who built an algorithm
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to help detect whether a cancer
is benign or malignant
is benign or malignant
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in the off chance
that she can save her daddy's life
that she can save her daddy's life
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because he has cancer.
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These are just
three examples of thousands,
three examples of thousands,
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thousands of girls who have been
socialized to be imperfect,
socialized to be imperfect,
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who have learned to keep trying,
who have learned perseverance.
who have learned perseverance.
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And whether they become coders
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or the next Hillary Clinton or Beyoncé,
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they will not defer their dreams.
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And those dreams have never been
more important for our country.
more important for our country.
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For the American economy,
for any economy to grow,
for any economy to grow,
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to truly innovate,
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we cannot leave behind
half our population.
half our population.
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We have to socialize our girls
to be comfortable with imperfection,
to be comfortable with imperfection,
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and we've got to do it now.
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We cannot wait for them
to learn how to be brave like I did
to learn how to be brave like I did
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when I was 33 years old.
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We have to teach them
to be brave in schools
to be brave in schools
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and early in their careers,
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when it has the most potential
to impact their lives
to impact their lives
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and the lives of others,
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and we have to show them
that they will be loved and accepted
that they will be loved and accepted
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not for being perfect
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but for being courageous.
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And so I need each of you
to tell every young woman you know --
to tell every young woman you know --
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your sister, your niece,
your employee, your colleague --
your employee, your colleague --
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to be comfortable with imperfection,
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because when we teach
girls to be imperfect,
girls to be imperfect,
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and we help them leverage it,
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we will build a movement
of young women who are brave
of young women who are brave
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and who will build
a better world for themselves
a better world for themselves
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and for each and every one of us.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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Thank you.
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10:57
Chris Anderson: Reshma, thank you.
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It's such a powerful vision you have.
You have a vision.
You have a vision.
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Tell me how it's going.
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How many girls
are involved now in your program?
are involved now in your program?
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Reshma Saujani: Yeah.
So in 2012, we taught 20 girls.
So in 2012, we taught 20 girls.
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This year we'll teach 40,000
in all 50 states.
in all 50 states.
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(Applause)
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And that number is really powerful,
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because last year we only graduated
7,500 women in computer science.
7,500 women in computer science.
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Like, the problem is so bad
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that we can make
that type of change quickly.
that type of change quickly.
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CA: And you're working with some
of the companies in this room even,
of the companies in this room even,
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who are welcoming
graduates from your program?
graduates from your program?
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RS: Yeah, we have about 80 partners,
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from Twitter to Facebook
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to Adobe to IBM to Microsoft
to Pixar to Disney,
to Pixar to Disney,
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I mean, every single company out there.
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And if you're not signed up,
I'm going to find you,
I'm going to find you,
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because we need every single tech company
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to embed a Girls Who Code
classroom in their office.
classroom in their office.
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CA: And you have some stories
back from some of those companies
back from some of those companies
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that when you mix in more gender balance
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in the engineering teams,
good things happen.
good things happen.
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12:02
RS: Great things happen.
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I mean, I think that it's crazy to me
to think about the fact
to think about the fact
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that right now 85 percent of all
consumer purchases are made by women.
consumer purchases are made by women.
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Women use social media at a rate
of 600 percent more than men.
of 600 percent more than men.
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We own the Internet,
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and we should be building
the companies of tomorrow.
the companies of tomorrow.
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And I think when companies
have diverse teams,
have diverse teams,
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and they have incredible women
that are part of their engineering teams,
that are part of their engineering teams,
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they build awesome things,
and we see it every day.
and we see it every day.
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CA: Reshma, you saw the reaction there.
You're doing incredibly important work.
You're doing incredibly important work.
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This whole community is cheering you on.
More power to you. Thank you.
More power to you. Thank you.
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RS: Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Reshma Saujani - Education activistThrough her nonprofit, Girls Who Code, Reshma Saujani initiates young women into the tech world. Her goal: one million women in computer science by 2020.
Why you should listen
Reshma Saujani is the Founder and CEO of Girls Who Code, the national non-profit organization working to close the gender gap in technology and change the image of what a programmer looks like and does. The organization has already reached 90,000 girls in all 50 US states. She is the author of three books, including the forthcoming Brave, Not Perfect, which is scheduled for release in winter 2018, Women Who Don't Wait In Line and the New York Times Bestseller Girls Who Code: Learn to Code and Change the World. Her TED Talk has sparked a national conversation about how we're raising our girls. In 2010, Saujani surged onto the political scene as the first Indian American woman to run for US Congress. She has also served as Deputy Public Advocate for New York City and ran a spirited campaign for Public Advocate in 2013. She lives in New York City with her husband, Nihal, their son, Shaan, and their bulldog, Stanley.
Reshma Saujani | Speaker | TED.com