Mastercard has extended access to its signature Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) curriculum, Girls4Tech, through a suite of new online, creative educational resources. The program has been designed to help parents and teachers engage and inspire kids, ages 8-12. Through the newly launched website Girls4Tech Connect, as well as through activities made in collaboration with Mastercard's education partner Scholastic, teachers and parents across the globe can download lessons to help students learn about STEM topics from the comfort of their homes. These activities are built on global science and math standards — and incorporate Mastercard's deep expertise in payments technology and innovation — to enable children to discover a range of STEM careers, such as Fraud Detective, Data Scientist and Software Engineer. Now in its sixth year, Girls4Tech has engaged more than 800,000 students across the globe through inquiry-based activities and real-world challenges, all with the goal of inspiring more girls to pursue STEM careers and reduce the gender gap in these fields. In January 2020, Mastercard pledged its commitment to reach 2,020 girls in the region. "Teachers, parents and students alike are adjusting to a rapidly changing environment, and a potentially new reality. Mastercard is proud to be launching Girls4Tech Connect, a learning platform providing fun and engaging activities to encourage children to learn STEM disciplines from the comfort of their own homes," said J.K. Khalil, general manager, Saudi Arabia & Bahrain, Mastercard "Building on the various workshops we've conducted across the region and in Saudi in particular, we not only aim to enable young girls to pursue life-long careers in STEM fields, but further strive to achieve gender equality," he said. Beginning this week, new activities will be posted on a weekly basis at the Girls4Tech website, Facebook page and Twitter handle. Lessons are currently available in English, with additional Spanish and Chinese language content to follow in the coming weeks. While all lessons are designed for students to work independently, materials are also available for teachers to guide online sessions. Impact Highlights from the First Six Years • To date, Girls4Tech has reached more than 800,000 girls in 27 countries and on 6 continents. • The program has engaged more than 4,400 employee mentors worldwide. • Mastercard has partnered with Scholastic, Be Better China, Major League Baseball, Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), R&A and YCAB in Indonesia to further scale the program and offer STEM skills in unique ways to girls ages 8-16. • As technology skills evolve, a new curriculum was launched in 2019 to give students deeper exposure to the growing fields of cybersecurity and AI – Girls4Tech Cybersecurity & AI. • Girls4Tech programs also extend to girls ages 13-16 with Girls4Tech 2.0, as well as a 20-week coding program, Girls4Tech & Code for girls 8-10. — SG
