Reshma Saujani Quotes

“A movement only takes form from that first act. Exploring a curiosity, or a real passion, and being motivated by a desire to solve something – that's really the best way.”

“All that time I spent chasing Yale was time I could have been using to actually make a difference in the world. Bravery, not perfection, was the key that unlocked all the doors I've walked through since.”

“As women, we're presented this false choice that is either our children or our work. But I don't think I fully understood the paradox until I had a child. I bring my son to work and let other parents do the same. I am very intentional about the workplace that I create, and my son is a big part of that.”

“Being brave like women is about making choices based on what we want and what makes us happy, not what others expect or want for us.”

“Coding is the language of the future, and every girl should learn it. As I've learned from watching girls grow and learn in our classrooms, coding is fun, collaborative and creative.”

“Computer science is not just for smart 'nerds' in hoodies coding in basements. Coding is extremely creative and is an integral part of almost every industry.”

“Don't be afraid of failure. That's not an easy lesson for teenagers – especially teenage girls – to learn. Our society sends us a lot of messages that imply we're supposed to be ashamed when we fall short. But I think we should be throwing each other failure parties!”

“Embracing failure is the most important trait I've developed in my career. I have tried to learn from my failures, and I believe it has made me stronger, more confident and more resilient.”

“Every day, no matter how tired my father was, he'd put me in the car and drive me to Schaumburg Public Library, and he'd read to me from books about Dr. King, Mahatma Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt.”

“Everything I've achieved has come from perseverance. I've never met another entrepreneur who had a painless path to success – everyone who tries to bring new ideas to the world is tested.”

“For too many of our young people, that once-promised American dream has given way to an American debt burden and a bleak job market.”

“Girls Who Code doesn't exist solely to discover the next great female technology icon, although that would be great! In addition to coding, the girls at our program learn to pitch ideas and products, present themselves professionally, and interact with colleagues at every level of a company.”

“Girls Who Code is all about providing role models. You can't be what you can't see.”

“I always say if you're not failing, you're not trying.”

“I don't feel like I've achieved what I wanted to achieve yet, even though every day I get an email from another girl who tells me the difference that Girls Who Code has made in her life. I'm not done yet.”

“I don't like to do small things. If I'm going to do something, I'm going to really make an impact.”

“I have learned how to say no, and I have to check myself all the time. I'm not great at it still. Women get criticized a lot more for saying no than men do.”

“I have seen girls tackle every single big problem from cancer to lead poisoning to climate change to homelessness to bullying in schools. There is literally no problem that we can't solve.”

“I think that feeling of being thrown into the deep end and doing something you never thought you would accomplish is really powerful.”

“I think that if we want to cure cancer, we have to teach girls to code. If we want to do something about climate change, we have to teach girls to code. If we want to solve homelessness in our city and our country, teach girls to code. They're change makers.”

“I want women to be comfortable with being imperfect. I immediately see how girls are afraid to try things that they won't be good in. And women stay with the things they're good at even if that's not what they're put on this earth to do.”

“I'm a big proponent of mandatory computer science education. I think the first step is educating policymakers that technology is changing the way that we live and work, and it's happening so fast.”

“I'm a feminist with a capital 'F' and have always had a passion for policy.”

“I'm glad I didn't know how much patience entrepreneurship required. It took some time to turn that into a strength of mine, so that would've presented an obstacle when I was younger.”

“I'm not pro-Wall Street or anti-Wall Street. I'm pro-New York City.”

“I'm the daughter of refugees. The immigrant mentality is to work hard, be brave, and never give up in your pursuit of achieving the American dream.”

“I've been a female activist since the time I was 13 years old.”

“I've chosen opportunities where I might fail rather than live in the shadow of my own potential.”

“If you haven't failed you haven't tried anything new...”

“If you wait until everything lines up, it’s over.”