Black Girls Code Founder Kimberly Bryant Talks About Empowering Girls, Sisterhood, and Partnering with Lyft

Black Girls Code is a not-for-profit dedicated to providing young and pre-teen girls of color with access and opportunities in STEM-related fields. Through the organization, they are exposed to and taught in-demand skills in technology—including computer coding and programming.

Black Girls Code founder and CEO Kimberly Bryant recently stopped by Black Enterprise to talk about the mission of the organization. “It’s really about creating girls that have self-confidence, that have a strong sense of self-efficacy so if they went into technology, or if they go into a different field like entertainment or journalism, that they have this sense of self-confidence in their own innate ability so they can lead,” said Bryant. The electrical engineer added that the org’s goal is “to create the next generation of technology leaders that’ll create companies of their own.”

Bryant, who graces the cover of the January/February 2018 issue of Black Enterprise alongside MeToo founder Tarana Burke, also talked about the power of black sisterhood. “Anytime you get more than a couple, one or two or three black women together, you’re creating a powerful mechanism of change.”

In February, Black Girls Code announced a new partnership with Lyft to raise funding for young women of color in tech. Lyft added the nonprofit to its list of organizations that directly benefit from its Round Up & Donate program, which allows customers to round up their fares to the nearest dollar and give the extra cash to charitable causes.

The announcement came just months after Bryant turned down a $125,000 grant offer from the ride-sharing services biggest competitor, Uber. According to Bryant, BGC is very selective when choosing what organizations to partner with. “One of the key indicators that we always look for in a partner is how are you enacting in the community? Are you being in the community in a positive way, are you creating positive change?” she said.

Watch the video below.

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