- This is not just about getting my daughter
or other girls a seat at the table,
this is about making the table more inclusive,
building a better table if you will.
Unless we change it, it won't happen.
- [Chelsea Clinton] Kimberly Bryant loved math
and science as a kid.
She was an unapologetic, self-proclaimed nerd.
After high school, she studied electrical engineering
at Vanderbilt.
As excited as she was by all
of the innovation happening in her field,
she couldn't help but notice that she was one
of the few women and the only black woman
in most of her lectures and discussions.
- It's really important
that there be diversity in that process.
Diverse corporations make better decisions
and actually make more money.
(upbeat music)
We were thrilled to include you in the book of "Gutsy Women"
because what you did to create Black Girls Code
was such a terrific step
and I'd love to know a little bit about how you did it
and also has it exceeded even your wildest dreams
about what it could mean?
- It definitely has exceeded my expectations.
For me, the journey with Black Girls Code
really started with seeing my daughter, Kai,
develop this interest in science and technology
and for the very first time for her to really show
that she might follow my footsteps.
She wanted to be so many things until
the day she decided she wanted to be an engineer.
- Which is what you are.
- Which is what I am.
And when I saw how her classrooms were.
Very much like my classrooms were.
I became very concerned because my daughter is my baby.
She hadn't quite found her voice that way
and I was, and still am, fiercely protective of her
and really wanted her dreams to be able to grow.
And I didn't feel that in that classroom where she was
surrounded by lots of little boys that didn't want her
to be a part of what they were doing on the computer,
I didn't think that that would necessarily happen.
And so I really just started with an intention that,
I'm gonna take money out of my savings
and send five other girls to this camp
for coding with Kai for the next summer,
and it grew from there.
- I think part of what you said,
which is so painful to hear,
is how little had changed from when you were a student
to then seeing how the classroom still looked the same
a generation later for your daughter.
- Well the interesting part about it,
and somewhat sad part about it as well,
is I remember when I took her to this first summer camp
I did not even really think about the classroom
until she said something
about how she felt othered or isolated.
And then it hit me, that is just like my college classroom.
It really hit me and how much as a society,
even myself, and having that experience,
have become used to a norm that was detrimental
to the growth of my own daughter or other daughters.
And that really started the balls like turning in my head,
like this cannot continue.
- You know one of the things I feel like you are pioneering
with Black Girls Code is making the point
that the tech industry, who does that computer coding,
it's really important that there
be diversity in that process.
If we accept that this is how it's always been,
this is how it's always going to be,
we are doing a great disservice not only to our girls,
but also to our boys and to our society at large.
- Absolutely, I think that is the key point is that
this is not just about getting my daughter or other girls
and other people of color a seat at the table,
this is about making the table more inclusive,
building a better table if you will.
And I think that is what is most important about this work
is that it lifts and creates opportunities for everyone
to have a different result.
Unless we change it, it won't happen.
- [Chelsea Clinton] As the Black Girls Code graduates
go through college, graduate school, and their careers,
the world will see what they build, create,
and then help others imagine.
- I think the research certainly shows that more diverse
teams and teams that have more women in leadership roles
and in the boardroom are more successful.
And so I think one of the things that we're trying to do
is make sure our girls have skills so that they're ready.
So like, I'm from the South,
we say if you stay ready you don't have to get ready.
(laughing)
My goal is to make sure they're ready to take part in the
industry when those opportunities and those doors open.
One of the things that we've always said within BGC
is that we see tech as just a tool, it's just a tool.
The girls that come through our program
can use that for whatever.
They can become a doctor,
many of them are in the field of medicine,
they can go into biotech,
they can become a leader, like yourself.
And this is just another tool in their toolkit
and we want them to see it that way
but not limit themselves to just one thing
because that's where we feel
that there is the greatest power.
(upbeat music)