"Lean in," New York State Assemblyman Michael Blake told the girls gathering for selfies at Google's New York headquaters, the new home of Black Girls Code. Though he meant it literally, it was the message of today's event, which welcomed the STEM-focused nonprofit to Google with a day of workshops and a tour of the its new digs.
Black Girls Code was founded by electrical engineer Kimberly Bryant to teach girls ages seven to 17 how to code. Despite the grand mission, Bryant started small, with six girls, after she was unable to find a suitable coding class for her own daughter.
"Our dream was to teach these girls that look like you, that look like my daughter seven years ago, six years ago, how to be the next tech innovators," Bryant told the audience of tweens. She recalled that the first grant Black Girls Code got was from Google, prompting her to reflect on how ensconcing Black Girls Code in the Google office is a full-circle moment.
Google donated 3,000 square feet of office space to Black Girls Code as part of its GlobalGiving month. Making the girls a part of Google is more than symbolic, emphasized Bonita Stewart, vice president of global partnerships at Google.
"We build relevant products for everyone," she said, arguing that diversity is necessary for the growth and sustainability of Google. "By having a diverse culture we bring the best, most innovative products to market."
Google and government leaders present spoke mostly of moving forward, but it's not a secret that tech is not the most welcoming industry to women, particularly black women. Stewart recounted that her niece, who attends the same magnet school that Sergey Brin did, was met with surprise when she expressed an interest in coding.
Yet black women are the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs. "It's not about getting a job, it's about owning your own company," New York Public Advocate Letitia James told the crowd.
As proof of what's possible, New York City's first CTO, Minerva Tantoco, told the girls that at one of her first events in the position she was asked if she was there to see the CTO. "I am the CTO," she said. "I think these people are here to see me."
"This is the face of technology and I'm looking at it in all of you You are the face of technology," Tantoco told the girls. "You are the face of a CTO. This is what technology looks like."