Zynga calls on its global network of players, launches in-game challenges and sets up company initiatives through Women at Zynga (WaZ) in support of International Women’s Day 2021

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar. 8, 2021-- Zynga Inc. (Nasdaq: ZNGA), a global leader in interactive entertainment, today announced that it has teamed up with Girls Who Code in support of International Women’s Day 2021. With a mission to raise awareness and support for women in tech, Zynga has pledged $100,000 from its Social Impact Fund to enable Girls Who Code (GWC) to support girls at all points throughout their educational journey from 3rd grade into the workforce.

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Zynga Teams up with Girls Who Code to Help Raise Awareness and Support for Women in Tech (Graphic: Business Wire)

GWC is an international non-profit organization dedicated to closing the gender gap in technology. The organization has reached more than 300,000 girls in the US, Canada, UK, and India; 50 percent of girls served are Black, Latinx, or from low-income backgrounds. Through its free Clubs program, GWC reaches young women at the most critical point in the pipeline, equipping them to use Computer Science to impact their community and providing a sisterhood of supportive peers and mentors to help them persist and succeed.

“Zynga is honored to team up with Girls Who Code to help forge a more inclusive industry in tech and games by expanding opportunities for girls and women across the globe,” said Phuong Phillips, Chief Legal Officer at Zynga. “Through their virtual workshops, school clubs, mentorship programs, networking and more, we are hoping to build the next generation of women in STEAM to help them to prepare and thrive in the tech workforce. With an incredible group of women at Zynga already doing so much to support our studios and employees around the world, it’s important that we take positive steps to help strengthen the future of our industry for years to come.”

“We know that passionate, diverse, ambitious young women are the key to transforming our workplace and our world,” said Dr. Tarika Barrett, incoming CEO at Girls Who Code. “We’re excited to partner with Zynga this International Women’s Day to send a loud signal to young women everywhere that they belong in technology and that they have support in their journey from school into the workforce. Zynga and Girls Who Code share a vision of a more fair and equitable workforce, where women of all backgrounds rise to the top.”

GWC now has more than 80,000 college-aged alumni, who are majoring in Computer Science and related fields at 15 times the U.S. average. At its current pace, the organization is on track to close the gender gap in new entry-level Computer Science and related jobs by 2030. With Zynga’s support, GWC will continue to expand its free Clubs and alumni programming, helping young women unlock opportunities in the technical workforce and connecting young women to role models and mentors to support them on their journey in tech.

This March, Zynga’s social channels will be shining a spotlight on some of the incredible women who help to promote a more inclusive workplace for Zynga’s family of studios around the world. Furthermore Small Giant Games, a subsidiary of Zynga Inc., will be calling on its global network of players in Empires & Puzzles to help raise awareness by changing their alliance description to include the hashtag #ChooseToChallenge - the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day. From now until March 14, a raised hand emoji has been included exclusively for the in-game chat function and, additionally, a raised hand avatar pin will also be rewarded to players who participate in this event.

For more information please visit:
www.zynga.com
www.girlswhocode.com
www.internationalwomensday.com

Editor’s notes
Key art and assets available for use at the following link:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/x7ey7f7kht5zbym/AADtJroaLak7G56DjgAbIVBra?dl=0

Empires & Puzzles is available to download for free on iOS and Android.

About Zynga
Zynga is a global leader in interactive entertainment with a mission to connect the world through games. To date, more than one billion people have played Zynga’s franchises including CSR Racing™, Empires & Puzzles™, Merge Dragons!™, Merge Magic!™, Toon Blast™, Toy Blast™, Words With Friends™ and Zynga Poker™. Zynga’s games are available in more than 150 countries and are playable across social platforms and mobile devices worldwide. Founded in 2007, the company is headquartered in San Francisco with locations in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, India, Turkey and Finland. For more information, visit www.zynga.com or follow Zynga on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or the Zynga blog.

About Girls Who Code
Girls Who Code is an international non-profit organisation working to close the gender gap in technology and change the image of what a programmer looks like and does. With their programs, they are leading the movement to inspire, educate, and equip young women with the computing skills to pursue 21st-century opportunities. Girls Who Code has reached 300,000 girls to date through its programs and 500 million people through campaigns, advocacy work, and New York Times best-selling series. To join the movement or learn more, visit girlswhocode.com. Follow the organization on social media @GirlsWhoCode.

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Zynga Media Contact:
Jonathan Lopera
jlopera@zynga.com

Source: Zynga