MasterCard Brings Girls4Tech To China

MasterCard announced a new agreement with Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) and Shanghai Be Better Education in order to bring the Girls4Tech program to young women in China.

The objective of this program is to bring MasterCard’s core principles of business to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to hands-on programs that engage women in getting to know skills that can help them pursue a career in those sectors.

“There have been quite a few innovation programs in recent years that are helping Chinese children to become change-makers. We’re pleased to have the chance to promote STEM and have it as part of the Be Better curriculum,” said Alan Wang, CEO and cofounder of Be Better.

As part of this program, roughly 30,000 young girls in classrooms throughout China will be able to participate in the event that will kick off across 10 cities, starting Sept. 15 in Shanghai.

“It is important to instill greater confidence in girls at a very young age, especially in STEM subjects. Girls4Tech presents a fun and unique opportunity to make this come alive in the classroom, allowing young girls to envision a future for themselves,” said Linda Chiu, director of NFTE Licensed Partners.

The program, which was launched in April 2014, has allowed more than 1,000 MasterCard employee mentors to participate in the Girls4Tech program as part of a worldwide rollout in the U.S., Germany, U.A.E., India, England, Italy, Australia, Argentina and Belgium. There are more markets planned for later in the year.

“While our inaugural Girls in Tech research indicates some promising trends around girls studying STEM subjects, there are still many concerns about their career decisions after graduation. Hands-on, experiential programs like this can help address low confidence in their competence or a perception of gender imbalance, while inspiring and empowering them to become the problem solvers of tomorrow,” said Ling Hai, copresident of MasterCard Asia-Pacific.