Osi Imeokparia (Kode with Klossy) - Training Tech’s Next Gen [Entire Talk]

·46 min·4 clips

Supermodel Karlie Kloss posted 21 coding scholarships and got thousands of replies, sparking a global movement.

The episode begins with host Mike Lebbeck introducing Osi Imeokparia and Dani Lucas, both Stanford alums. Osi shares her background and role as CEO of Code with Klossy, a nonprofit focused on closing the gender gap in tech by providing free coding education and support to young women and gender-expansive youth aged 13 to 26. She recounts the organization's origin in 2015, when supermodel Karlie Kloss offered 21 coding scholarships via Instagram and received thousands of applications, revealing a massive unmet need. Today, Code with Klossy has a global community of 11,000 from over 100 countries, with 40% qualifying for free/reduced lunch, 80% identifying as people of color, and 70% of participants going on to major or minor in computer science—far above the national average of 4% for women. Osi presents data showing stagnant progress: women earn 22% of computer science degrees and make up 22.6% of the high-tech workforce, with only a 0.6% increase from 2015 to 2022. Dani Lucas then introduces McKinsey's research on the 'broken rung,' where for every 100 men promoted to their first managerial role, only 81 women are promoted overall, and only 52 in tech. She breaks down disparities by race: 99 Asian women, 86 white women, 65 Latinas, and 54 Black women promoted per 100 men. Dani explains 'experience capital'—skills built on the job that account for half of lifetime earnings—and how women often build it more slowly. She outlines three action buckets: choosing impactful experiences, developing irreplaceable skills like entrepreneurship, and addressing unique challenges like bias and parenthood. Dani illustrates entrepreneurship through the story of Caterina Fake, who pivoted from literature to co-found Flickr and later became an angel investor. Osi returns to emphasize that entrepreneurial skills can be learned and are essential for navigating systemic hurdles. She calls for equipping youth with these skills while also pushing corporate partners to reform promotion policies, parental leave, and bias mitigation. The episode concludes with a Q&A where students ask about career logic, metrics for gender inequality, and workplace policies to bridge the promotion gap.

As heard by us

A clear look at the broken rung and the experience capital shaping who gets promoted.

Osi's career is framed by technology, but the episode is really strongest when it turns that frame toward the leadership pipeline. The broken rung gives the conversation its clearest stakes: for every 100 men promoted, 86 white women advance, compared with 65 Latinas and 54…

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Why you'd press play

You want a clearer view of the broken rung that keeps talent from moving into leadership.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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