Mastercard has launched a new initiative to draw more young girls to the traditionally male-dominated fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) as part of its signature STEM curriculum. The company announced earlier in the week that it is launching a new website called Girls4Tech Connect featuring a suite of online and creative educational resources.
The primary objective of the initiative is to help parents and teachers inspire kids in the age group of 8-12 to grow an interest in STEM, right from the comfort of their home.
Mastercard launched the new website with support from its education partner, Scholastic.
All the activities included in the program are built on global science and math standards. They also incorporate Mastercard’s prowess in the fields of payment technology and innovation. The company is optimistic that the program will go a long way encouraging young children to take an interest in a diverse range of careers such as software engineering, data science, fraud detection, and so on.
Now in its sixth year, Mastercard’s STEM curriculum has engaged more than 800,000 students across the world through inquiry-based activities and exciting real-world challenges.
“Teachers, parents and students alike are adjusting to a rapidly changing environment and a potentially new reality. Mastercard is proud to be launching Girls4Tech Connect, a learning platform providing fun and engaging activities to encourage children to learn STEM disciplines from the comfort of their own homes,” said J.K. Khalil, General Manager, Saudi Arabia & Bahrain, Mastercard.
He added: “Building on the various workshops we’ve conducted across the region and in Saudi in particular, we not only aim to enable young girls to pursue life-long careers in STEM fields but further strive to achieve gender equality.”
Under the new initiative, Mastercard will be adding new activities to the curriculum on a weekly basis. Students, parents, and teachers can access these activities using the Girls4Tech website.
