Girls Who Code under fire for working with arms dealer Raytheon

pcgamer.com:

As reported by Motherboard(opens in new tab), Girls Who Code, a nonprofit to support women pursuing careers in tech, including the games industry, is taking part in a new student mentorship initiative with Raytheon Technologies. Raytheon is a weapons manufacturer that has sold arms to Saudi Arabia which have been used to kill civilians(opens in new tab) in its invasion of Yemen, and which spent $15,390,000 on lobbying the US government in 2021 according to Open Secrets(opens in new tab).

According to Raytheon's press release(opens in new tab), the joint effort is a «four-month pilot program» targeting STEM students near graduation. It launched on August 30. Tarika Barett, CEO of Girls Who Code, stated, «We're overjoyed to partner closely with Raytheon Technologies on this pilot program and are excited by the opportunity to continue to provide students with the tools and confidence they need to make a difference.» Students partaking in the program will be in contact with mentors from Raytheon, and will take part in networking events, interview prep, and community service projects.

As GamesIndustry.biz(opens in new tab) points out, Girls Who Code has accepted donations from Raytheon and companies with questionable ethical underpinnings in the past. You’d hope for a socially conscious organization to hold itself to a higher standard, especially as it exceeded its operating budget by almost $10 million in 2021 according to ProPublica(opens in new tab).

Girls Who Code has a worthwhile mission, helping underserved and underrepresented individuals pursue lucrative, potentially socially impactful careers. But partnering with a company that profits off war and death to do so pollutes that mission. Accepting donations from