NORTHAMPTON — A leading activist and founder of Girls Who Code and Moms First will deliver the address at Smith College’s commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 21.

Reshma Saujani will receive an honorary degree at the event along with five other notable women: journalist Lulu Garcia-Navarro, former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, psychologist Susan Goldin-Meadow, family physician Camara Phyllis Jones, and writer and publisher Kelly Link.

Saujani, an attorney and Democratic organizer, founded Girls Who Code to help close the gender gap in the tech sector. Two years ago, in the midst of the pandemic, she founded Moms First, which advances policies that support mothers affected by the pandemic.

Saujani is the author of the instant bestseller, “PAY UP: The Future of Women and Work (And Why It’s Different Than You Think)” and the international bestseller “Brave, Not Perfect.”

Her influential TED talk, “Teach girls bravery, not perfection,” has more than 6 million views.

Saujani is a graduate of the University of Illinois, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and Yale Law School. She emerged onto the political scene in 2010 as the first Indian American woman to run for Congress.

Founded in 1871, Smith College is one of the largest women’s liberal arts colleges in the United States, enrolling more than 2,900 students from nearly every state and more than 75 other countries.

— James Pentland  ]]>