Big Bang: Mastercard and Scholastic Team Up on STEM Education for America's Girls

Business Wire 9-Oct-2018 12:09 PM

International Day of the Girl Kicks Off New Effort to Educate and Empower Students for a Future in STEM

Across the globe, there is an increasing disparity between school-aged boys and girls who indicate an interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) related careers. Fewer than one in 20 girls consider a career in STEM, compared to one in five boys¹.

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Mastercard and Scholastic will work with teachers to help raise awareness of STEM-opportunities among all students. (Photo: Business Wire)

Today, Mastercard and Scholastic, the global children's publishing, education and media company, announced plans to help raise awareness of STEM-opportunities among all students, reaching 20,000 classrooms, including 300,000 girls nationwide through hands-on, in-class materials.

The free materials are based on Mastercard's Girls4Tech program, launched in 2014 to help bridge the gap between opportunity, awareness and readiness. It provides schools and community organizations with resources to educate, inspire and equip young girls with the skills and confidence they need to envision themselves as future professionals in STEM fields.

"There's nothing like helping a girl find her passion and reach her full potential," said Dana Lorberg, executive vice president of Operations and Technology at Mastercard. "Partnering with Scholastic exponentially broadens the impact Girls4Tech can make on our young girls today and in turn, our workforce of tomorrow. It's powerful for girls, women, education and STEM, and I'm incredibly proud to be a part of it."

In just a few short years, Girls4Tech has reached nearly 75,000 girls in 21 countries around the world. Through the collaboration with Mastercard and Scholastic, Girls4Tech will significantly broaden its reach in the U.S. by making these curriculum and resources more accessible for teachers to introduce into their classrooms.

"Teachers are always looking for ways to make STEM fun and engaging in the classroom," says Chandra Turner, executive director of Scholastic National Partnerships. "We are thrilled to have the opportunity to provide classrooms with these resources that will inspire the country's future engineers, mathematicians, and scientists."

Mastercard and Scholastic will work with teachers to adopt the Girls4Tech materials through a dedicated microsite on Scholastic.com, magazines and in-classroom guides. Teachers will have access to lesson plans and hands-on demos related to algorithms, encryption, fraud detection, data analysis, digital convergence and more. These materials were created in collaboration with some of the world's top technologists and inspired by the power of the Mastercard network.

The initiative also includes two contests: the Tech4Innovation contest encourages students to develop a future digital innovation to solve a real-world problem and the Teacher Sweepstakes asks educators to explain why their school would benefit from a Girls4Tech workshop event where students participate in activities based on innovation and technology.

For more information on Girls4Tech, visit https://www.facebook.com/mastercardgirls4tech/.

About Mastercard

Mastercard (NYSE:MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry. We operate the world's fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. Mastercard products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MastercardNews, join the discussion on the Beyond the Transaction Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.

About Scholastic

For more information about Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL), visit the Company's newsroom mediaroom.scholastic.com.

¹ Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Women in STEM 2017 Update; World Economic Forum, Gender Parity and Human Capital Report 2017

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