Mastercard has extended access to its signature STEM curriculum, Girls4Tech, through a suite of new online, creative educational resources. The program has been designed to help parents and teachers engage and inspire kids, ages 8-12.
Through the newly launched website Girls4Tech Connect, as well as through activities made in collaboration with its education partner Scholastic, teachers and parents can download lessons to help students learn about STEM topics, from the comfort of their homes or anywhere around the world.
These activities are built on global science and math 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 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. And with equipment like stem toys available for both schools and parents, children are able to engage with STEM more than ever and develop their skills, knowledge and, hopefully, love of these subjects.
“We know that these are challenging times for parents and teachers on many fronts and hope that these learning resources are a fun way to engage and inspire kids about STEM while at home,” says Susan Warner, vice president of Community Engagement at Mastercard, and founder of Girls4Tech. “The easy access to the website enhances what we’ve done in so many workshops. We look forward to building on both efforts when it’s once again safe to gather in person.”
New activities will be posted on a weekly basis at the Girls4Tech website, Facebook page and Twitter handle. Lessons are currently available in English, with additional Spanish and Chinese language content to follow in the coming weeks.
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
- To date, Girls4Tech has reached more than 800,000 girls in 27 countries and on 6 continents.
- The program 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 program 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 program, Girls4Tech & Code for girls 8-10.
To learn more about Girls4Tech and access the online lessons, please visit Girls4Tech Connect.