CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

New York Life | August 11, 2020

Aligned by a commitment to closing the gender gap in technology, New York Life recently signed on as one of the latest sponsors of Girls Who Code. An international nonprofit organization working to close tech’s gender gap, Girls Who Code is a leader in the movement to inspire, educate, and equip young women with the computing skills needed to pursue 21st century opportunities.

Since launching in 2012, Girls Who Code has reached 500 million people through its work and 300,000 girls through its programming. College-aged alumni of Girls Who Code are declaring majors in computer science and related fields at 15 times the U.S. average.

In 2019, the organization was named the #1 Most Innovative Non-Profit on Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list.“We’ve admired the work of Girls Who Code for some time now,” explained Trish Madlangbayan, Corporate Vice President with New York Life Technology’s Enterprise Computing Services – Technology Engineering team. “We’re proud to sponsor this innovative organization as New York Life too values diversity, equity, and inclusion and is very much focused on closing tech’s gender gap.”

According to New York Life Business Information Officer Dave Castellani, “While there is certainly greater focus on recruiting women into the tech industry, there is still a lack of women at the mid to senior levels and we are very much focused on changing this. Part of the challenge is retaining women. Working to eliminate unconscious biases in the hiring process, offering work-life policies, and highlighting the benefits of gender diverse collective thinking are some initiatives we currently have in place. Our team is excited to support Girls Who Code and look forward to the learnings that we’ll certainly gain from the partnership as well.”

New York Life’s sponsorship supports Girls Who Code after school clubs for 3rd to 12th grade girls and college programs to help Girls Who Code alumni succeed and build community with other women in tech. Members of the New York Life team will have the opportunity to participate in Girls Who Code signature events including speed mentoring, recruitment opportunities for New York Life internships and careers, and alumni community-building activities.

Reshma Saujani, Girls Who Code founder and CEO, adds, “Sponsors like New York Life ensure early pipeline development and pave the way for the next generation of Girls Who Code alumni, the technology leaders of tomorrow.”Other examples of New York Life’s commitment to these initiatives include the team’s support of an internal Women in Tech group and work with organizations including Year Up and AnitaB.org’s annual Grace Hopper Celebration.