Brave, Not Perfect
Reshma Saujani’s life has been anything but linear. As a daughter of refugees who fled from Uganda to the United States in the early 1970s, she grew up in Chicago, imbued with a deep love for her country and a call to service. She has founded two hugely successful nonprofits, has run for public office, and has hosted Jill Biden on a podcast for middle-aged women. But her path didn’t always seem so clear, she said.
Saujani spoke at Calvin University’s January Series on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, encouraging all people to follow their faith and passion to make the world a better, healthier, more connected, more just place.
From Politics to Purpose
As a young person, Saujani said, she believed that politics would be her path to service. She ran for the U.S. Congress in 2010 but experienced a crushing loss that left her humiliated. But when she woke up the next day, she said, she realized that something had changed inside her.
“I thought that if I tried and failed, it would break me,” she said. “But it didn’t.” Instead, the experience propelled her forward and ultimately led her to a much larger movement—one that is changing the lives of women, mothers, and families across North America.
From her experience of failure, said Saujani, came the founding of Girls Who Code, an organization dedicated to closing the gender gap in technology by teaching young girls to learn computer programming. When Saujani founded the organization in 2012, many of the girls she reached out to had never coded before. They quickly learned that coding is not just a skill—it’s a mindset.
Saujani observed that girls are often raised to be perfect rather than brave. They’re taught to avoid failure at all costs rather than to embrace it as a step toward growth. She had to teach the students in her program that they weren’t perfect – that it’s okay to make mistakes.
And bravery, she emphasized, is the antidote to perfectionism. Bravery is often involved in seemingly small things that we do. It’s part of raising your hand in class. Taking a tennis class even if you think you’ll look stupid. Asking and truly listening to someone’s perspective, especially if it’s different from your own.
Advocacy and the Power of Motherhood
As for many people in the world, 2020 marked yet another turning point in Saujani’s life. She gave birth to her second child in January that year, and then two months later found herself trying to run her nonprofit, homeschool her elementary-aged child, and take care of a newborn while COVID-19 brought the world to a standstill.
During the pandemic, Saujani became particularly aware of how the burdens of caregiving fell disproportionately on women as she saw how many of the young women she supported through Girls Who Code were forced to stay home to care for younger siblings. Meanwhile, 40 percent of parents went into debt just to afford childcare. The system was broken, she said.
Sensing a huge need for change, she said, she handed off Girls Who Code and founded another nonprofit, Moms First. She has since mobilized the largest bipartisan movement of mothers to fight for these necessary changes, lobbying both federally and at the state level to try to fix the broken childcare system in the U.S.
Reimagining Work and Parenthood
Saujani called for a cultural shift in how we value motherhood and caregiving. Too often, stay-at-home moms and working moms alike feel undervalued. The work of caregiving—whether for children or elderly parents—is rarely compensated for or recognized, despite its enormous social and economic contributions. “Why are we offended by the idea of compensating mothers for their labor?” Saujani asked.
But she doesn’t stop at advocating for women. Men and fathers are essential allies in this fight. “Dads love being able to spend time with their kids,” she noted. “They want paid leave and childcare too.” The movement for gender equity, she emphasized, should never be about tearing one group down to lift another up. Instead, it should be about creating opportunities for everyone.
Faith as a Centering Force
At the heart of Saujani’s message is faith—both in God and in the power of community. In an era when so many people feel unmoored, she sees faith as an anchor. Saujani said faith provides her a sense of purpose and connection. “I’m put on this earth in service of him,” she said, but in the fast-paced world of today, many have lost that sense of spiritual grounding. She encouraged people to return to practices that center them.
Meditate. Spend time in solitude. Serve others.
Faith, Saujani argued, reminds us of our inherent dignity, our shared humanity, and our responsibility to one another.
She also spoke about the courage it takes to live openly as a person of faith. In today’s polarized society, it can often be easier to downplay one’s beliefs, she said. But she encourages everyone to embrace their faith – not just privately but as a source of guidance in their advocacy and daily lives. “Raise your practice and faith,” she said, “and it truly allows you to embrace your gifts.”
