Founder of Girls Who Code Reshma Saujani
to Speak at University of Utah

Feb. 27, 2020 – The Obert C. and Grace A. Tanner Humanities Center at the University of Utah presents the 2020 World Leaders Lecture Forum given by Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code, Friday, March 6, 11 a.m. at Kingsbury Hall. The event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required and can be obtained through the Kingsbury Hall box office.

“I am especially excited to welcome Reshma Saujani for the World Leader Lecture because she invites us to rethink leadership,” said Erika George, director of the Tanner Humanities Center. “The world needs more women in leadership, yet too often we do not think of women as leaders and we socialize young girls to be too cautious. Saujani encourages courage because perfectionism prevents far too many women and girls from taking the risks required to become leaders. Utah has a unique opportunity to bring humanists and technologists together to create an inclusive innovation ecosystem.”

Saujani is dedicated to closing the gender gap in technology and changing the image of what a computer programmer looks like and does. In 2012, she founded Girls Who Code to provide young women with the computing skills necessary to pursue tech opportunities in the 21st century. Along with her international nonprofit, bestselling books “Brave, Not Perfect” and “Girls Who Code: Learn to Code and Change the World,” TED Talk and award-winning podcast, she has sparked a worldwide conversation about women and technology.

In her 2016 TED Talk, Saujani discusses how girls are taught to be perfect while boys are taught to be brave, which contributes to the underrepresentation of women in STEM. She says, “when we teach girls to be imperfect and we help them leverage it, we will build a movement of young women who are brave and who will build a better world for themselves and for each and every one of us.”

Saujani is a graduate of the University of Illinois, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and Yale Law School. Her work on behalf of young women has earned her broad recognition on lists including, Fortune World’s Greatest Leaders, Fortune 40 Under 40, Wall Street Journal Magazine Innovator of the Year, Forbes Most Powerful Women Changing the World and Fast Company Most Creative People, among others. She is the winner of the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education.

This lecture receives support from the Tanner Humanities Center’s World Leaders Lecture Forum Advisory Board and campus community organizations. For a full list, visit thc.utah.edu.    

About World Leaders Lecture Forum
The Tanner Humanities Center established the World Leaders Lecture Forum in 2006 to bring internationally influential men and women to the University of Utah to address world events and global concerns. The invited guest delivers a free public lecture on campus then speaks to approximately 350 business, university and government leaders at a private dinner. This program has sponsored the visits of former Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Barak, Nobel Peace Prize recipient Shirin Ebadi of Iran, President of Colombia Cesar Gaviria, former President of Doctors Without Borders James Orbinski, Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard and former CIA Director John Brennan, among others.

About Tanner Humanities Center
Since 1988, the Tanner Humanities Center at the University of Utah has promoted humanities inquiry and exchange by supporting innovative scholarly projects and creating opportunities for interaction among scholars, students and lifelong learners. They offer twenty programs in three major areas, research support, public lectures and programs, and faculty outreach. The activities reflect a vision of the humanities as not only relevant, stimulating and cutting-edge, but also essential for developing critical thinking, tolerance and respect on campus and in the community.

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MEDIA CONTACTS
--Jana Cunningham, University of Utah College of Humanities, jana.cunningham@utah.edu, 801-213-0866