Brave, Not Perfect

Former financial asset manager and attorney Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code, describes how culture shapes women’s actions, in that often they do only what they know they’re good at and may not recognize that trying and failing are part of success. In exploring the idea of succeeding by being willing to accept your flaws and false starts, the author explains why women should seek courage, not perfection.

Saujani’s first act of bravery was to run for political office. She was 33, and she lost the election spectacularly. Then she started the nonprofit organization Girls Who Code (GWC), which works with more than 90,000 girls in all 50 US states. The organization teaches skills in high demand, since coding is an essential capability for an estimated 1.4 million jobs. Saujani started the organizations in hopes of closing the technology gender gap by teaching girls confidence and bravery through coding.