Brave Voices, Bold Futures: Reshma Saujani’s Fight for Freedom Through Equity and Code
- Jul 31
- 3 min read
When Reshma Saujani founded Girls Who Code in 2012, she wasn’t just launching a nonprofit—she was lighting a spark in a generation of young women who had been told, implicitly or explicitly, that tech wasn’t for them. That freedom could only come once you “fit in.” That perfection was the path to success. But Reshma had already learned the hard truth: perfection is a prison, and bravery is the key to breaking out.
As we celebrate the theme “The Power to Be Heard” in this Independence Month edition of HANNA Magazine, Reshma’s story stands as a testament to what happens when a woman dares to speak up, stand out, and create new systems in place of broken ones. Her work lives at the intersection of expression, identity, and impact. And it begins with a radical shift in mindset—away from perfect, toward brave.
Before she became a national voice for gender equity in STEM, Reshma took a leap of her own. In 2010, she ran for Congress in New York, becoming the first Indian-American woman to do so. She didn’t win, but the experience changed her life. On the campaign trail, she visited schools and noticed something disturbing: while boys were confidently raising their hands and diving into computer science, girls were often missing from the picture. That absence wasn’t due to lack of ability—it was a lack of exposure, encouragement, and permission.
So, Reshma gave them permission. Through Girls Who Code, she built a movement that has reached over half a million girls worldwide, many from historically underrepresented backgrounds. These girls aren’t just learning to code—they’re learning to lead, to speak up, to dream big, and to know that their voice belongs in any room, any boardroom, and any conversation.
Reshma has always been clear: this is not just about technology. It’s about economic freedom. It’s about power. In a world where tech shapes every part of our lives, access to its creation means access to shaping the future. Reshma’s mission is to make sure that future is built by all of us—not just a privileged few. And she knows that when women and girls gain the tools to create, they also gain the tools to speak, to disrupt, and to liberate.
Her bestselling book, Brave, Not Perfect, challenged another deeply rooted narrative: that girls should be quiet, compliant, and flawless. Reshma boldly calls out how society trains young women to seek approval instead of taking risks. She argues that real freedom—inner and external—comes when we stop performing and start pursuing what scares us. In her words and her work, she makes space for the messy, courageous, beautiful truth of growth.
Reshma’s leadership is unapologetically intersectional. She speaks about motherhood, burnout, racial equity, and the invisible labor women carry. In response to the pandemic’s impact on working mothers, she launched the Marshall Plan for Moms, pushing for national policies that recognize and support the value of caregiving. She understands that to be truly heard, women must be seen in the fullness of their identities—not just as professionals, but as people with complex lives and voices that matter in every arena.
What makes Reshma Saujani unstoppable isn’t just her intellect or ambition—it’s her relentless refusal to accept the status quo. She is brave enough to name what’s broken, bold enough to build something better, and visionary enough to know that freedom is not just granted—it’s claimed, coded, and created.
In honoring Reshma this month, we don’t just recognize her achievements. We recognize the thousands of girls she’s empowered, the systems she’s challenged, and the courage she’s modeled. Her voice is a call to action: to choose bravery over perfection, purpose over silence, and to know that every time a girl writes her first line of code, she’s not just learning a skill—she’s rewriting her future.
Because when one woman rises to speak her truth, a generation learns to listen—and then, to lead.
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