A group of 15-year old girls started building apps, and it could land them a job at Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs
On the second floor of Goldman Sachs' headquarters in downtown New York, a group of 40 girls are diligently working on their final technology projects.
Many of them have never been introduced to computer science before, but after weeks of training, they are creating apps, computer games, and demos of their own.
Noor Kamal, a 16-year-old from Long Island, is working on an app that provides relaxing assistance for people affected by anxiety.
Rosa Olguin, a 15-year-old from the Bronx, is developing an app that acts as an aid for individuals to acknowledge, target, and solve their bad habits.
Together, these bright young girls are part of a seven-week summer-immersion program run by Girls Who Code (GWC) and sponsored by Goldman Sachs.
They've worked on everything, from programming in Scratch and Python to object-oriented and web programming and robotics. And now, as the experience draws to a close, they're working on two weeks of final projects.
It's clear that the program has had an effect. Kamal and Olguin, who were in different classes, hugged like long-lost friends as soon as they saw each other, chatting excitedly about what they were doing.
"I was really intimidated walking into Goldman Sachs," Kamal said. "At the beginning no one was talking to each other."
By the end, however, they clearly felt like a family.
Goldman Sachs
Kamal had no prior experience in tech before attending the program, but is now looking into a potential career in cybersecurity after a fireside chat with Phil Venables, Goldman's chief information risk/security officer.
GWC, founded in 2012 by politician Reshma Saujani, is a nonprofit dedicated to closing the gender gap in technology. The organization runs after-school and summer programs that expose female high-school students to computer science and programming.
GWC provides the teachers and teaching assistants while Goldman Sachs provides the resources, including the space, food, MetroCards, speakers, and mentors, and hosts the open house as well as the graduation ceremony.
Goldman Sachs
The partnership between GWC and Goldman Sachs began four years ago, when Liz Byrnes, the managing director of Goldman technology and head of the firm's Women in Technology network, met Saujani at the Grace Hopper Women in Technology conference in 2012.
Byrnes wanted the network to do more in the community, and while they found several interesting initiatives, it proved challenging to find a collaboration that was tech-related.
"We heard a rumor that there was a program in NYC to teach girls to code," she said, "and we were furiously emailing this startup asking how can we get involved."
Then, when Byrnes bumped into Saujani and her team at the conference, she was "hooked." The next summer, they collaborated with GWC for a summer-immersion program, the first financial-services company to do so. In 2014, Goldman expanded its commitment to two groups and 40 girls.
Every girl gets paired with a junior and a senior mentor, who are Goldman employees, and they meet every Monday for "mentoring Monday" sessions.
Over a hundred female employees at Goldman are involved with GWC, either though the mentoring sessions, workshops, or discussions.
The girls graduate this week and have been working on their final projects. They ranged from apps on forest conservation and addictions to eating disorders and how the Electoral College works.
Goldman Sachs
It's important for Goldman to support the development of technology and the next crop of engineers, especially among women. Women represent just 21.2% of senior executives at the firm, and minority women far less than that.
The partnership also comes as Goldman Sachs pitches itself as a tech company. The bank's technology division makes up more than a third of the firm, or about 11,000 people, and the company is focused on hiring top tech talent.
Several teaching assistants involved with GWC in previous years are now interns at the firm in the technology division, and Byrnes plans to stay in touch with the female coders through the alumni program.
- I spent $2,000 for 7 nights in a 179-square-foot room on one of the world's largest cruise ships. Take a look inside my cabin.
- Colon cancer rates are rising in young people. If you have two symptoms you should get a colonoscopy, a GI oncologist says.
- Saudi Arabia wants China to help fund its struggling $500 billion Neom megaproject. Investors may not be too excited.
- Catan adds climate change to the latest edition of the world-famous board game
- Tired of blatant misinformation in the media? This video game can help you and your family fight fake news!
- Tired of blatant misinformation in the media? This video game can help you and your family fight fake news!
- JNK India IPO allotment – How to check allotment, GMP, listing date and more
- Indian Army unveils selfie point at Hombotingla Pass ahead of 25th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market