Quotes from Reshma Saujani

I had to learn how to not be a micro-manager. Maternity leave made me do that. I just couldn't anymore.

As I've traveled the country, we visit tech incubators all the time where women are going into their second or third act in their career and learning how to be software programmers, or how to work at startup companies, and learning a completely different skill set. I think it's never too late.

You still hear this perception that boys are good at math and girls are not, and it's not cool and it's not interesting. And I think we have to shift the culture. It's so deeply entrenched in who we are.

In 2010, I ran for Congress in a Democratic primary against someone who had been there for 18 years. 'The Daily News' endorsed me. I was in 'The New York Times' above the fold. CNBC called this one of the hottest races in the country. On election day, votes for me never went past 19%. I lost.

For so long, women have been waiting to get recognized. The world doesn't work that way. We need to teach girls that it's OK to ask for what you want when it comes to your salary or whatever it is you want to enhance your career. No one is going to notice you no matter how amazing you are.

You really never know where your path will lead you, but working with technology was truly the best way I could make a difference.

There is a seductive simplicity in Donald Trump's vision to build walls and ban refugees to protect American interests. But we must always remember that we create far greater opportunity for all Americans when we enable the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of people globally to take root here.

Coding - everyone thinks it's a superpower. And so when you feel like, 'I've learned how to code,' and you say to your mom or the girl sitting next to you, 'I know how that app is built, I know the logic behind how that was created' - that's powerful.

For over a decade, the top 1% of income earners have seen their pay skyrocket, riding a wave of lobbyist-sponsored financial de-regulation. For the remaining 99%, wages have stagnated, and employment has fallen off a cliff.

For the American economy, for any economy to grow, to truly innovate, we cannot leave behind half our population. We have to socialize our girls to be comfortable with imperfection, and we've got to do it now. We cannot wait for them to learn how to be brave like I did when I was 33 years old.

I was definitely one of those girls where my father would sit me at the dinner table and say, 'What's two plus two?' And I'd be like, 'Five!' He would shake his head. Math and science intimidated me.

I don't feel like I've achieved what I wanted to achieve yet, even though every day I get an email from another girl who tells me the difference that Girls Who Code has made in her life. I'm not done yet.

I'm a big proponent of mandatory computer science education. I think the first step is educating policymakers that technology is changing the way that we live and work, and it's happening so fast.

I've chosen opportunities where I might fail rather than live in the shadow of my own potential.

I have learned how to say no, and I have to check myself all the time. I'm not great at it still. Women get criticized a lot more for saying no than men do.

I have seen girls tackle every single big problem from cancer to lead poisoning to climate change to homelessness to bullying in schools. There is literally no problem that we can't solve.

I never take for granted how lucky I am to be an American and what a privilege it is to spend each day at a nonprofit dedicated to helping the next generation of girls achieve their dreams. My journey, as the daughter of refugees, shows what refugees and the children of refugees can create for all Americans.

I was full of pride when President Obama talked about coding in his last State of the Union address. I was proud when Chicago recently made computer science mandatory as a requirement for graduation. To see this elevate to the level of a bigger conversation is progress.

We must stand up and fight for an America that welcomes young doers and dreamers instead of categorically denying entry to so many simply based on their religion or country of origin.

For too many of our young people, that once-promised American dream has given way to an American debt burden and a bleak job market.

I think that if we want to cure cancer, we have to teach girls to code. If we want to do something about climate change, we have to teach girls to code. If we want to solve homelessness in our city and our country, teach girls to code. They're change makers.

With my own son, my style of mothering has been to bring him everywhere. He's sitting on my lap during interviews. When I went to the White House to meet President Obama, he was there.

I always say if you're not failing, you're not trying.

What happens to boys in tech is in many ways different than what happens to girls in tech. it's not that they're facing sexism per se: it's that they don't think it's cool. So I think we really have to change the way we present technology.