THE STUFF OF DREAMS: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced Friday that the tech giant will donate $75 million over three years to global youth computer science education. The company will distribute the money to nonprofits through YouthSpark, its youth education arm, which claims to have reached over 300 million young people to date.
When asked about specific organizations doing great work, Nadella highlighted Technology Education And Learning Services (TEALS), a computer science education nonprofit started by Microsoft engineer Kevin Wang, in a Q&A video from SalesForce’s DreamForce Conference. Nadella said he wants to grow the number of students reached fivefold to 30,000 students reached in the States. According to Microsoft’s press release, the funds will grow the TEALs program “from 131 schools in 18 states to nearly 700 schools in 33 states in the next three years.”
This particular donation aims at youth from backgrounds underrepresented in computer science in the hopes of cultivating a more diverse workforce. Like many tech companies, Microsoft itself is trying to diversify its makeup—and has some ways to go. Just last week, seven-year Microsoft technical employee Katie Moussouris brought a gender discrimination lawsuit against her former employer. USA Today reports that 83 percent of its technical and leadership positions are occupied by men. Nadella himself has taken heat for his views on gender and promotion.
