Reshma Saujani

Moms First (formerly Marshall Plan for Moms)

Founder and CEO

Girls Who Code

Girls Who Code is a non-profit organization working to close the gender gap in technology and change the image of what a programmer looks like and does. With their 7-week Summer Immersion Program, a 2-week specialized Campus Program, afterschool Clubs, and a 13-book New York Times best-selling series, they are leading the movement to inspire, educate, and equip young women with the computing skills to pursue 21st-century opportunities. Girls Who Code will have reached over 185,000 girls in all 50 states and several US territories. To join the movement or learn more, visit girlswhocode.com.

Reshma Saujani for New York

Candidate for New York City Public Advocate

Public Advocate for the City of New York

Former Deputy Public Advocate

WNYC Radio

Contributor for WNYC's It's A Free Country

Yale Law School

Research Fellow

New York's 14th District

I found myself at age 33 in a job I hated, in a life I didn't want. I was working as a corporate lawyer in New York City, and I felt stuck. Like is this it? And then my best friend Deepa called and she said "just quit." There was nothing profound about what she said, but there was something about hearing that permission in that moment that gave me the courage to walk into my boss's office and quit. And I decided that instead of getting another job I was going to hate, I was going to run for the United States Congress in a primary against an 18-year incumbent. This was back in 2010. I was the first South Asian woman to run for Congress. I even rallied all the Indian aunties that were just so happy to see an Indian girl running. It was the best 10 months of my life. But spoiler: I lost. And I didn't just lose. I lost horribly. There was a headline at the time "Just How Bad Was Reshma Saujani’s Loss?" I'll spare you the details, but it was capital B BAD. I was humiliated. I had just pissed off the entire Democratic establishment for not waiting my turn. But also I had this big aha moment. For so long, I had stopped myself from doing things that I thought that I could fail at. And so I gravitated toward the things that I knew that I could ace. And I had this revelation that maybe instead of living my life perfectly, I could live my life bravely. And that's what led me to starting Girls Who Code, even though I myself was not a coder. Lesson: you never know where failure leads you, so embrace it every time.


And you, which setback set you forward? Inspire others, share your proudest failure with #WorthItResume #LOrealParis

Failed Congressional Candidate

Fortress Investment Group

Formerly Deputy COO,(liquid markets) Formerly Deputy GC (liquid markets)

Carlyle-Blue Wave Partners

Associate General Counsel

Carret Asset Management

Attorney

Reshma Saujani is a leading activist, the founder of Girls Who Code, the founder and CEO of Moms First, and the host of My So-Called Midlife with Lemonada Media. She has spent more than a decade building movements to fight for women and girls’ economic empowerment, working to close the gender gap in the tech sector, and most recently fighting for the structural changes moms need and deserve including affordable child care and paid leave. She is a New York Times bestselling author of several books including PAY UP: The Future of Women and Work (And Why It’s Different Than You Think), Brave, Not Perfect, and the Girls Who Code book series. As a leading voice on women’s empowerment, her 2023 Smith College Commencement speech on imposter syndrome has more than 18 million views, and her influential TED talk, “Teach girls bravery, not perfection,” has more than 54 million views globally. In 2024, she launched My So-Called Midlife, a podcast with Lemonada Media that quickly entered Apple’s Top 10 show chart, reached #1 in Health and Fitness, and was named one of the best new podcasts of the year by TIME magazine. Reshma began her career as an attorney and Democratic organizer. In 2010, she surged onto the political scene as the first Indian American woman to run for U.S. Congress. Reshma lives in New York City with her husband, Nihal, their sons, Shaan and Sai, and their dog Steve.

Hey guys, I turned 50 last week.

If you have been listening to my podcast, you already know that midlife and I have had a complicated relationship. And honestly, for a long time, I was not sure if I wanted to make a big deal out of this birthday. There are headlines every day about how 50 is the new 30. And friends, they annoy me. I do not need to be 30 again. I do not even want to be 30 again. 30 was chaotic. 30 was defined by pressure to achieve and pressure to pretend I had everything under control. So the more I thought about it, the clearer it became that 50 is not a replacement age. It is not a rerun or a second chance at youth. 50 is its own season. And I wanted to greet it as myself, not as some younger version I was supposed to channel. We’re told to hide our age, that it’s rude to ask women how old we are. I’m done hiding my age. I am 50 and damn proud of it!

On top of that, so often us women spend a whole lot of time and money planning our weddings, planning our kids’ birthdays (iykyk), but we don’t spend it celebrating ourselves. I decided I wanted to put in that same amount of time and energy with friends and family to celebrate my own personal milestone… with lots and lots of dancing.

So I bit the bullet. I planned a girls trip. I planned a party (with help from my husband Nihal). Everyone there helped get me where I am, and I wanted to celebrate them just as much. I did something that felt brave in its own simple way: I let myself be seen. I bought a stunning gold dress. I had the audacity to want to be celebrated. And here is what I learned: You should ABSOLUTELY make a big deal out of the moments that matter to you. You should let the people who love you surround you with joy even if your instinct is to downplay your needs.

I hope this is a reminder to all of you out there to celebrate your life. So if you are on the fence about celebrating yourself, consider this your gentle nudge. I hope you choose to honor your happiness. I hope you celebrate your milestones. I hope you let your village show up for you. And I hope you trust that you are worth celebrating.

(Photo: Maxwell Brown / @maxwellpicswell)

Founder/CEO of Moms First | Founder of Girls Who Code | Host of My So-Called Midlife

The workplace was never built with women in mind. The system was broken from the jump. For anyone trying to make women think that we’re the problem, yet again, just stop. Stop blaming women. Blame the system instead. Better yet, do something about it! 👏👏👏

P.S. Hate to get all self-promotional, but I'll be sharing a deeper dive into that whole New York Times thing in my Substack next week, so be sure to subscribe 😉

Why is the school day 8:30 to 3 and the work day 9 to 5?

But go on, keep blaming women for ruining the workplace. 🙃
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(Video: Aspen Ideas 2024 panel, The Dilemma of Modern Parenting)

A few years ago, I gave a speech at Bill Gates's Summit. I was slotted between Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. Here's what I learned.

(Video: Throwback to my episode of Steven Bartlett's Diary of a CEO)

Some of you may have seen the New York Times headline — "Did Women Ruin the Workplace?"

Once again, stop trying to blame feminism and women for our broken systems. Women didn’t “ruin” the workplace. It’s ALWAYS been broken.
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(Video: Old but relevant 🙃)

Last month had more layoffs than any October since 2003, with U.S. employers cutting more than 153,000 jobs. Some big companies are attributing it to people being replaced with AI, hence the name "AI layoffs."

I'm calling bullsh*t. Here's why.

We often don’t think that moms break, but they’re broken right now.

What’s more is that we are made to believe it’s all our fault.

Moms, you can’t girlboss your way out of a broken structure. We aren’t the problem. The problem has always been the structure.

#AllHerFault

Reshma Saujani is the Founder of Girls Who Code and the Founder/CEO of Marshall Plan for Moms, a movement to center mothers in our economic recovery and value our labor by advocating for policies that support moms. A lifelong activist, Saujani was the first Indian American woman to run for U.S. Congress. Her fourth book, Pay Up: The Future of Women and Work (and Why It's Different Than You Think), is due out on March 15, 2022 via One Signal Publishers. Reshma has spent more than a decade building movements to fight for women and girls’ economic empowerment, working to close the gender gap in the tech sector, and most recently advocating for policies to support moms impacted by the pandemic. She lives in New York City with her husband, Nihal, their sons, Shaan and Sai, and their bulldog, Stanley.

Irery Melchor-Durán, Ph.D.

ICYMI: The Department of Education recently unveiled a plan to exclude nursing, teaching, and other women-dominated fields from a list of “professional” degrees, which would limit how future generations of nurses and teachers can obtain student loans and pursue these fields.

Here’s the thing: This isn’t just bad for women. It’s bad for ALL OF US.

Let’s break it down!

True or false: The largest pay gap is for women over 50 🤔
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It’s true. I call it the midlife penalty.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. For too long, we’ve been made to feel like our lives are over the minute we enter menopause.

I’m calling BS.

My friend Gary Barker, PhD is an expert in the study of boys and men. These are 3 of the stats that keep him up at night.

If you missed it, Gary joined me on My So-Called Midlife last week to dive into one of my favorite issues: the crisis of disconnection, and how it’s hurting men and women alike. Listen on all your favorite podcast apps!

(Source: Equimundo: Center for Masculinities and Social Justice's State of American Men report)

What the heck is chatfishing? And why is it a problem? Dating expert Damona Hoffman joined me on My So-Called Midlife this week to break down the rules of finding modern love in midlife. She also gave me some of her best practical tips, including taking a new match offline as early as possible.

Listen to the episode on all your favorite podcast apps and then pick up a copy of Damona's book, F the Fairy Tale!

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