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STORY
How Girls Who Code was founded

If you’re in tech, you may have heard of Girls Who Code, the nonprofit that has empowered over 500,000 girls in all 50 U.S. states and abroad to learn how to code and to see themselves in the technology industry. 

But did you know that the nonprofit was founded far away from tech—and actually was the result of a failed Congressional run?

In 2010, 32-year-old corporate lawyer Reshma Saujani was facing a quarter-life crisis. In her own words, “I’m doing all the things that I’m supposed to do, but I’m still not happy and I still don’t feel like I’m living my life of purpose.”

So, she decided to run for Congress in New York, becoming “the first Indian‑American woman to run.”

But Saujani lost—decisively. On election night, she captured just 19% of the vote. 

“I lost horribly,” Saujani recalls. “I was humiliated.” But, as she was retracing her steps through her failed campaign, a “big aha moment” emerged: While visiting schools on the campaign trail, she kept noticing the same thing: the computer labs were filled with boys—and nearly empty of girls. 

This detail “inspired me to start Girls Who Code,” a nonprofit program to “close the gender gap in tech.”

Two years later, she launched the first summer immersion program in 2012 with just 20 students. Today, 13 years later, Girls Who Code has served 670,000 women and nonbinary students interested in computer science and other tech-centric careers.

UNSPOKEN RULE
Let your goals change.

Career advice often sounds like this: “Set a goal and never give up.” But the truth? Sometimes the goal ends up becoming a means to a much bigger end.

In Saujani’s case, she may not have gotten what she thought she wanted—but she got something perhaps even more meaningful.

This can be you, no matter where you are in your career.

• If you’re a student: Didn’t get into a certain class or club? Ask yourself: “What else can I do with my new-found free time?”—and use this chance to explore! (This happened to me: I didn’t get a certain leadership role and it ended up being the best thing ever.)

• If you’re in your early career: Didn’t get the project you wanted? Stay in touch with people (here’s how!) and, in the meantime, express enthusiasm towards your plan B. (This also happened to me: I didn’t get my top choice project, showed commitment towards my plan B—and walked away with a glowing business school recommendation letter.)

• If you’re in your mid to late career: Got laid off from what you thought was your “forever job”? Use the chance to reconnect with your old colleagues. (This happened to a good business school friend of mine. It was then that he realized that people were much more willing to talk to him because he was being vulnerable and because they no longer thought he was trying to sell them something.)

So if something isn’t clicking anymore, don’t ignore it. Get curious. Adjust. Pivot. Let your goals change. The next version of your dream might be even better.

The best is yet to come!

—Gorick

What’s an “unspoken rule”? They’re the things that separate those who get ahead from those who stumble—and don’t know why. You can learn more about these rules in the workplace in my Wall Street Journal bestselling book called—you guessed it—The Unspoken Rules.

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Gorick Ng
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Harvard career advisor | WSJ bestselling author | Fortune 500 keynote speaker | First-gen

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Sources

1. Reshma Saujani was facing a quarter-life crisis

2. “the first Indian‑American woman to run.”

3. She’s the first Indian-American woman to ever run

4. captured just 19% of the vote.

5. “I lost horribly. I was humiliated.”

6. “inspired me to start Girls Who Code” 

7. “close the gender gap in tech.”

8. the first summer immersion program in 2012 with just 20 students

9. Girls Who Code has served 670,000 women and nonbinary students