Charter 30: Reshma Saujani
By
Founder and CEO, Moms First
Read the full list of Charter 30 honorees here.
Saujani's advocacy organization Moms First, focused on building workplaces inclusive of working mothers, pushes workplace cultures forward on paid leave, child care, and pay equity. Under Saujani's leadership, the organization has released projects as diverse as a new report with high-profile collaborators like Meghan Markle and Geena Davis, direct campaigns to advocate for policy change on the state and federal level, and resources and tools for mothers themselves. For example, the organization released PaidLeave.ai in December, an AI chatbot that helps workers learn about their paid leave benefits and develop an action plan for accessing them.
When will the private sector realize that supporting women and moms in the workplace is not just good for their employees, but good for business too? Investing in supports that women and moms need to thrive — like child care and paid family leave—improves retention. Our economy depends on care because women can’t work without care.
As the founder of Girls Who Code, I know as well as anyone the risks technology poses to the most vulnerable among us. But I’ve also seen how, when we’re distracted by doomsday, we miss incredible opportunities to help those same communities. That means prioritizing getting AI in the hands of women, young people, people of color, and low-income communities while the technology is still in its relatively early stages. We must ensure their voice is at every table at the AI research centers, social media companies, Congress, the White House—so that they can shape the future of AI policy and technology, not simply be at the mercy of it.
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