• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Summer camps remain a battleground over what it means to be American

2

Current price of oil as of July 13, 2026

3

The U.S. spent $30 billion to ditch textbooks for laptops and tablets: The result is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents

1

Summer camps remain a battleground over what it means to be American

2

Current price of oil as of July 13, 2026

3

The U.S. spent $30 billion to ditch textbooks for laptops and tablets: The result is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents
MPWMost Powerful Women

Sheryl Sandberg Is Working With Female Governors to Close Tech’s Gender Gap

By
Valentina Zarya
Valentina Zarya
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Valentina Zarya
Valentina Zarya
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 17, 2017, 12:54 PM ET
FORTUNE Most Powerful Women Summit - Day 2
Photograph by Paul Morigi—Getty Images for FORTUNE
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Female leaders from the public and private sectors have joined forces to work on technology’s gender problem.

On Friday, three female governors are convening with Facebook (FB) COO Sheryl Sandberg, Deloitte LLP’s consulting chief Janet Foutty, and Girls Who Code founder Reshma Saujani to discuss state-level computer science education policies benefitting girls.

The confab—to be hosted at Facebook’s headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif.—is the first of its kind, and is meant to be a day-long “working session” among state leaders and their staff to share best practices and come up with new ways of increasing girls’ interest in tech.

“It feels like now, more than ever before, there’s growing momentum around computer science education,” Saujani tells Fortune. “As that momentum continues, we want to make sure we don’t take our eyes off gender.”

Closing the so-called “tech gender gap” has been an area of increased focus recently, as the number of college-aged women majoring in computer science has declined over the past decade to about 18%, while the demand for engineering jobs has skyrocketed. There are currently more than 500,000 open computing jobs in the U.S. and only about 40,000 annual CS graduates to fill them, according to Girls Who Code.

“We need to harness the full talents of our population and this summit is proof that our female governors are committed to addressing and closing the gap,” Sandberg said in a statement.

Three out of the five women—yes, the there are only five—holding gubernatorial office in the U.S. are expected to attend the gathering: Rhode Island’s Gina Raimondo, Oklahoma’s Mary Fallin, and Iowa’s Kim Reynolds (who is currently lieutenant governor, but will replace current Gov. Terry Branstad when he begins his term as U.S ambassador to China).

The sitting female governors not planning to attend are Oregon’s Kate Brown and New Mexico’s Susana Martinez. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan both stepped down last month to assume new roles: The former is now U.S. ambassador to the UN, and the latter is a U.S. Senator.

Subscribe to the Broadsheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter on the world’s most powerful women.

The goal of the day will be to think deeply about the policies and accountability mechanisms that need to be put in place at a state level, with the ultimate mission of introducing several policies focused on girls’ computer education by the time the governors reconvene in July at the annual National Governors Association meeting.

“Other governors are really looking to [these women] on what they should be doing on these issues,” says Saujani, noting that several of them have already gotten the ball rolling on putting in place statewide policies around STEM education.

Raimondo launched an initiative last year to help every public school in Rhode Island teach computer science classes by December 2017. Reynolds has co-chaired Iowa’s STEM advisory council—which has lead initiatives to expand CS education in Iowa—since its creation in 2011.

About the Author
By Valentina Zarya
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in MPW

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in MPW

‘Close to as good as it gets’: Jamie Dimon just offered another warning on bubbly markets as Wall Street had a monster quarter
BankingJPMorgan Chase
‘Close to as good as it gets’: Jamie Dimon just offered another warning on bubbly markets as Wall Street had a monster quarter
By Mia OsmonbekovJuly 14, 2026
2 hours ago
e
Arts & EntertainmentSocial Media
American influencers turn Erling Haaland into the World Cup’s breakout brand
By Kaitlyn Huamani and The Associated PressJuly 13, 2026
1 day ago
Taylor Swift paid New York City more than $160,000 to cover the costs tied to her wedding, Mayor Zohran Mamdani confirmed
Arts & EntertainmentTaylor Swift
Taylor Swift paid New York City more than $160,000 to cover the costs tied to her wedding, Mayor Zohran Mamdani confirmed
By The Associated Press, Catherina Gioino, Andrew Dalton and Kimberlee KruesiJuly 10, 2026
4 days ago
Around 2.6 million fewer Americans have affordable healthcare access plan as affordability becomes top issue ahead of midterms
North AmericaAmerican Politics
Around 2.6 million fewer Americans have affordable healthcare access plan as affordability becomes top issue ahead of midterms
By The Associated Press and Ali SwensonJuly 7, 2026
7 days ago
bernie
PoliticsBook Excerpt
Bernie Sanders told me exactly why he had to run. The Democratic Party still isn’t listening
By Tad DevineJuly 7, 2026
7 days ago
Indra Nooyi sitting in a chair behind a red background.
SuccessCareers
Ex-PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi worked from midnight until 5 a.m. as a receptionist to pay for her Yale degree—and she says ‘respect went up’ because of it
By Preston ForeJuly 6, 2026
8 days ago

Most Popular

Summer camps remain a battleground over what it means to be American
North America
Summer camps remain a battleground over what it means to be American
By Seth T. Kannarr, Derek H. Alderman and The ConversationJuly 13, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of July 13, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of July 13, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 13, 2026
1 day ago
The U.S. spent $30 billion to ditch textbooks for laptops and tablets: The result is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents
Innovation
The U.S. spent $30 billion to ditch textbooks for laptops and tablets: The result is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 12, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of silver as of Monday, July 13, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Monday, July 13, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 13, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of gold as of July 13, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of July 13, 2026
By Danny BakstJuly 13, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, July 14, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, July 14, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 14, 2026
12 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.