Mastercard Morocco Empowers Girls to Become Tomorrow’s Technology Leaders with First Girls4Tech™ Digital Launch in Middle East and Africa

• Mastercard’s flagship STEM program reaches one million girls in 30 countries worldwide
• Program expands to new markets in the Middle East and Africa as Mastercard expands global commitment to reach five million girls by 2025

Mastercard's signature science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) program, Girls4Tech™, has officially reached its initial goal of educating one million girls worldwide. The program has a new and inspiring ambition to reach five million girls by 2025. In the Middle East and Africa, Mastercard will be rolling out the signature program to new markets, including Morocco and Saudi Arabia.

In Morocco, and for the first time ever in the Middle East and Africa region, the Girls4Tech program was launched during a digital session with Jeanne d’Arc International School Casablanca.  The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a shift away from the traditional classroom, causing a global surge in online learning as teaching is undertaken through digital platforms.

Launched in 2014, Girls4Tech offers activities and a curriculum built on global science and math standards. It incorporates Mastercard’s deep expertise in technology and innovation, enabling students to discover a range of STEM careers such as fraud detective, data scientist and software engineer.

Starting as a hands-on, in-person session run by employee volunteers, the program has expanded into new topics such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, and enhanced access to its STEM curriculum through a digital learning experience, Girls4Tech Connect, which has been translated into eight languages including Arabic and French.

“We’re delighted to bring our flagship STEM program to Morocco for the first time in a unique digital format. Our goal is to help young girls develop STEM knowledge and learn crucial life skills that are pertinent to their future studies and careers. This is why Girls4Tech aims to ignite their curiosity and teach them how to apply these subject skills in the real world,” said Mohamed Benomar, Country Manager, North Africa, Mastercard.

“We look forward to enabling more girls to pursue careers in STEM fields, as we strive towards improved gender parity across the country,” he added.

“At Jeanne d’Arc International School Casablanca, we place a huge importance on technology and STEM subjects. The Girls4Tech program allows students to learn about these subjects through interactive and engaging digital tools that are easily accessed and simple to use. We look forward to encouraging more of our female students to learn about the diverse range of future careers they can follow through STEM subjects,” said Ahmed Guessous, School Principal at Jeanne d’Arc International School, Casablanca.


How Girls4Tech reaches future STEMinists:

• • Announced a new partnership to create a Girls4Tech digital curriculum with Discovery Education — the global leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms — to reach an additional 1.6 million girls by 2023.

• Partnering with other global and national organizations such as Scholastic, AIF in India, Major League Baseball, Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), The R&A, YCAB in Indonesia and Arus in Malaysia to further scale the program and offer STEM skills in unique ways to girls ages 8-16.

• Adding new curriculum to give students deeper exposure to the growing fields of cybersecurity and AI.

• Launching new programs like Girls4Tech 2.0 for girls ages 13-16, and Girls4Tech & Code, a 20-week coding program for girls 8-11.

Moving the needle for Girls in STEM

In 2019, Mastercard commissioned a study to understand gender and generational differences surrounding perceptions and attitudes of STEM-based topics and programs. It also explored challenges and motivations students cited for pursuing college majors and careers path.

The study showed that females are less confident, receive less encouragement and need more mentors in STEM. Mastercard’s Girls4Tech program provides each of those elements to young women.

To learn more about Girls4Tech and access the online lessons, please visit Girls4Tech Connect.