Mastercard is extending access to its signature STEM curriculum, Girls4Tech, through a suite of new online, creative educational resources. The programme has been designed to help parents and teachers engage and inspire kids, ages eight to 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 can download lessons to help students learn about STEM topics, from the comfort of their homes.
These activities are built on global science and maths 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 – including more than a 1,000 in South Africa – 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. Recently, Mastercard launched its first 2020 South African Girls4Tech programme at Phoenix College in Johannesburg where it reached 110 girls aged between nine and 11.
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
Girls4Tech has reached more than 800,000 girls in 27 countries and on 6 continents; and the programme 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 programme 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 programme, Girls4Tech & Code for girls 8-10.
