TORONTO, March 8, 2017 /CNW/ - In recognition of International Women's Day, Scotiabank is making a $150,000 donation to Ladies Learning Code, a national not-for-profit organization working with women and young people to help them become passionate builders - not just consumers - of technology.

The Bank's donation will support the organization's Girls Learning Code programming, which covers topics from HTML and CSS to 3D printing and hardware hacking.

"We are excited to once again partner with Ladies Learning Code to provide girls with the opportunity to learn what they can create with technology," said Maria Theofilaktidis, Executive Vice President, Retail Distribution at Scotiabank, and the Bank's Executive Champion of Women. "At Scotiabank, we aim to support organizations that are committed to helping young people in our communities to reach their infinite potential. Through the important work of Ladies Learning Code, we are investing in the skills of young female Canadians to ensure that they are equipped for roles in the ever changing digital landscape."

The Girls Learning Code workshops and after school programming are designed to help girls see technology differently – as a medium for self-expression, and as a means for changing the world. Currently there are more than 60 events scheduled to take place in locations across Canada this year, including the workshops happening on national Girls Learning Code Day, May 13, 2017.

"We're excited to be partnering with Scotiabank on our Girls Learning Code programs including our signature national Girls Learning Code Day," said Melissa Sariffodeen, CEO, Ladies Learning Code. "With Scotiabank's support we'll provide thousands of girls from coast to coast with learning experiences that expose, educate and inspire them to be passionate builders and not just consumers of technology and use technology as a tool to change the world." 

As Canada's international bank, Scotiabank is committed to building an inclusive culture for all of our customers and employees globally. We are proud to be involved with organizations and initiatives that celebrate gender inclusivity and equality:

• as a supporter of Catalyst;
• through the creation HeForShe@Scotiabank, modeled from the UN Women initiative which encourages men to promote, share and reinforce action on gender inclusion within and beyond their own teams;
• as a gold sponsor of the UN Gender Equality Forum, taking place in Toronto, April 3 – 4;
• through our partnership with Women's Executive Network (WXN) for over 15 years and co-presenting partner of their National Speaker Series;
• by working with Women in Capital Markets (WCM) on initiatives, such as the Return to Bay Street Program;
• as presenting sponsor of the Women of Influence Luncheon Series; and
• our 2017 International Women's Day campaign was designed to inspire women, replacing the word richer in the Bank's tagline – You're richer than you think. – with motivational words such as braver, wiser, bolder. Our media campaign includes national radio spots, digital ads and promoted social media posts.

About Scotiabank

At Scotiabank, we aim to support organizations that are committed to helping young people reach their full potential. Young people are our future leaders and Scotiabank's goal is to help ensure that they have the necessary skills and resources they need to support their success. Together with our employees, the Bank supports causes at a grassroots level. Recognized as a leader for our charitable donations and philanthropic activities, in 2016, Scotiabank contributed more than $70 million to help our communities around the world.

Scotiabank is Canada's international bank and a leading financial services provider in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean and Central America, and Asia-Pacific. We are dedicated to helping our 23 million customers become better off through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With a team of more than 88,000 employees and assets of $887 billion (as at January 31, 2017), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (TSX: BNS) and New York Exchanges (NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankViews.

SOURCE Scotiabank