TechWomen Initiative - apply today!

by Akhila Iruku

What better way to learn about a day-in-the-life then actually meeting someone like you across the globe? The U.S. Department of State is helping to close the gap between women in technology through a peer-to-peer mentorship program around the world...talk about a long distance relationship. The TechWomen Initiative, sponsored in part by Google, fosters cross-cultural collaboration between women in MENA and women in the U.S. in STEM fields and empowers both to create positive social change. Emerging female leaders in MENA are paired with female professionals in the U.S. for a five-week long mentorship program to produce and implement a mutually beneficial project for the host country in MENA. One of the most significant outcomes of this experience to me would be gaining the perspective of obstacles women face in different climates and how we can encourage each other to step beyond our comfort zones. Understanding the work climate that professional women face across the globe provides a range of depth whose impact can only be embraced through a face to face interaction.

The TechWomen Initiative has opened up applications for this year’s program taking place between October 1st through November 1st. The deadline to apply is February 22nd, 2012. Visit the site www.techwomen.org for more information and do not forget to apply by the deadline that is rapidly approaching!

Women Techmakers Give Back

by Phoebe Peronto, Associate Product Marketing Manager for Developer Marketing at Google

The Women Techmakers series is back for round two on Google Developers Live (GDL) all week at 2:30pm PST. In the spirit of the holidays, hosts Megan Smith of Google[x], Lacy Caruthers (Google Giving), Angela Lin (YouTube EDU) and Pavni Diwanji (Google+), sit down with women who are using their technical backgrounds to effect social change and make an impact.

Watch Women Techmakers any time by visiting us at our new home. Tune in live, view archived episodes, and check out upcoming content.

Women Techmakers: starting the conversation

By Amanda Surya, Manager of YouTube and Commerce Developer Relations

Google strongly supports diversity and inclusion in all our communities, including users, employees, and developers. In that spirit, last week we launched Women Techmakers (WTM) on Google Developers Live, bringing visibility to talented women leaders in technology industries.

The inaugural week of WTM programming told the stories of 6 prominent women in the tech industry and produced some enlightening conversations. From impromptu in-house product testing, to how to start a company, to crafting that perfect startup pitch, to visualizing the presidential election in a new way, to manipulating petabytes of data, our first class of women techmakers taught us new things technically and professionally.

Read more...

The G(irls)20 Summit: Connecting Women Globally

by Molly Larrison

The G(irls)20 summit is a Google funded global symposium for girls 18-20, with a representative from each G20 nation, with a mission to advance the full participation of girls and women globally through their economic and political empowerment. The annual event takes place three weeks before the G20 summit, and addresses cultural, political and economic issues that reside close to home and heart, for these girls.

Annually, Googlers from around the globe volunteer to mentor G(irls)20 Ambassadors, sharing ideas, creativity, energy and experience, as they (the Ambassadors) begin a journey of empowering girls into women of significant leadership. Just before the applications were due for the G(20)irls 2013 summit this year, Googlers mentored 38 selected delegates from 21 countries that ranged from Turkey, US, Mexico, Russia and Kenya, to name a few. I was paired up with a South African delegate, Thato Mokoena.

Thato Mokoena shared her proposal with me titled “Presidential Girl, empowering the next generation of women leaders”, co-authored with Veronica Cho, South Korean delegate. In this proposal they aim to politically engage adolescent girls, resulting in economic successes in the local communities. The proposal also suggests structuring an environment for women to thrive through girls’ club, parliament and mentorships.

A quote by Congresswomen Betty McCollum inspired Thato to recognize the challenges girls face in developing areas, and motivate us to support the action.

“Every girl deserves to have her voice heard and the realities of her life understood because for too long girls have been forced to be silent, invisible and subordinate. Now is the time for these creative, smart, beautiful voices to tell the world how they feel and what they think. And, I want to hear what’s on their minds.”
-- Congresswoman Betty McCollum, U.S. House of Representatives

The proposal goes on to indicate that there are three components to building the environment appropriate to foster girls into leaders: Parliament, clubs and mentorships. Parliament provides a ‘forum’ where girls can learn how to become leaders and practice these skills. Parliament is also ‘an environment’ which fosters growth and enables a dialogue for positive solutions that will impact each community. The completion of parliamentary session and workshops may result in ‘micro-grants’, allowing for implementation of the ideas and design. The result is two-fold. These girls will experience growth and gain confidence to move on and mentor others. The community also reaps the benefits of the project’s rewards.

Thato’s proposal acts as a solid reminder of how the planet’s hopeful youth imagines a better, more evolved world. Their passion of thought & idea exists from what is true in the heart and mind. This vision is proposed in an 8 page document describing how their leadership can help change the world. For more information on the The G(irls)20 Summit, please visit the website here.

Get Involved! Conferences for Women

Check out this list of conferences for women happening at various cities across the globe in 2013!

New Launches Support Women's Development in the Middle East

Patricia Estridge, Events Manager, MENA patriciae@
Google’s Women in Technology (GWiT) group in the MENA region have launched two new initiatives to enable more women to effectively use the internet this month. The g|fwd: Google for Women’s Development Workshops, and Google Women in Technology Ambassadors. Both projects are intended to support the group’s mission, “Using technology to help women realise their potential as leaders, entrepreneurs and individuals”.
The first initiative is the pilot launch, the g|fwd: Ideas to Implementation workshop was held at the American University of Cairo on the 2nd and 3rd of May. The workshops provide a hands on training for women who are looking to establish or improve an online presence for themselves, their business, or a cause. There were 15 separate participants in the workshop, with projects ranging from a small business photography service provider, to a charity addressing the plight of women and children in Northern cairo’s slums.


The participants were invited to attend with a guest to help them on their projects, and were provided with access to Google Technology experts to help them during the workshop. Power sessions were held throughout the days, to provide essential knowledge of online tools to help the ladies with their efforts, and time was given between the sessions for the participants to begin implementing what they learnt. Luisella Mazza, co-leader of the GWiT Group said, ‘we wanted to offer the women the chance to solidify their knowledge onsite, to give them the best chance of leaving the workshop with a good start on their projects, and a good idea of what they should do next to make their projects a success.’
Thoughts from participants included:

“I was able to meet up with some amazing ladies who had the passion to incorporate technology in their lives to serve their community better via various projects. It's always inspiring to mingle with people with a strong will to learn, challenge and make a difference!”

“I met with a lot of interesting people, heard new ideas and perspective. I had a blast =)”

“The workshop as we implement[ed] what we learned not just receiving information.”

The second initiative, the Google Women in Technology Ambassadors program, is intended to enable the scalability of the GWiT mission throughout the MENA and SSA region. This initial launch in MENA is something that we hope to replicate in SSA this year.
So far, we have had 182 applications, and have chosen 50 GWiT Ambassadors, covering 5 countries in MENA, with 10 chapters.
If you would like to sign up - please do so here
These volunteers are taking part in the initiative because they want to help the development and education of women in their communities, which they (and we) feel is an essential component to improving the lives of all people in their communities economically and socially.


This year, we hope to see our GWiT Ambassadors benefit personally from the program, and implement plans to inspire, empower and educate the women in their own communities.
Enthusiasm from the Ambassadors is really strong - here are some quotes from them from the launch event:

“As they say a leader is made not born... if ladies in the MENA region are trained, led and get their ideas, [and] positive energy shaped in a good way beside tech[nical knowledge] they’ll lead the whole community instead of following [it].”

“The most important thing in being a leader is to be the change you wanna see in the world -as the Mahtma ghandi said- is to make a difference in your life and in other's life, is to try to make the world-your world- a better place for now & for the future, for you and for your children and Grandchildren.”

“I wanna to be a one who make change to the others.”

Students in Uganda to gain specialised ICT training

Top performing students at Makerere University in Uganda are to gain scholarships and specialised ICT training through a new partnership.

Global ICT service provider Huawei has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the College of Computing and Information Technology.

“Our aim is to work closely with Makerere University to help in training the next generation of ICT professionals whom we hope will in years to come, contribute positively to the development of the ICT sector in the country,” said Eric Yang, Huawei’s Managing Director for Uganda.

Under the MoU, selected students will gain specialised ICT skills in Huwaei centres in Uganda, Kenya and South Africa.

There will also be the opportunity to study at the Huawei University in China.

Top performing students will benefit from internship placements and fully funded scholarships.

By Emily Spaven

Technology degrees available at East African university

A variety of technology courses are being undertaken at an Information and Communication Technology Centre of Excellence in East Africa.

The centre, which opened last September, is a campus of Carnegie Mellon University – a major higher education institution in the US.

Carnegie Mellon University in Rwanda (CMU-R) is offering a Master of Science degree in Information Technology as well as a number of Personal Development courses.

These courses are designed to help both mid-career professionals and recent graduates enter a career in leadership and innovation within the technology industry.

“With CMU in Rwanda, Rawandan students will benefit from an excellent education, moving beyond learning about the history of programming languages and engineering in theory to practical application of the technology,” said student Arlette Umuhoza.

Scholarship funding is available. More information can be found on the Financial Aid section of the CMU-R website.

By Emily Spaven

Informa Telecoms & Media expands in Africa

Informa Telecoms & Media has expanded its team in Africa, with the aim of deepening its coverage across the continent. The company provides market intelligence for the global telecoms and entertainment industries.

“There are now unprecedented levels of interest and investment in the African telecoms industry,” said Nicholas Jotischky, Informa’s Principal Analyst for Middle East and Africa research.

He went on to say that, up until recently, the telecoms business in Africa was largely about “rapid consumer growth”, but this is now evolving. 

Mr Jotischky explained that there is now the opportunity to investigate themes such as the power of next-generation networks, the role of partnerships, the potential benefits of cloud computing and the impact of mobile enterprise and government.

Women at Informa

Of Informa Telecoms & Media’s 13-strong global management team, two are women – Event Director and Managing Director of IIR Telecoms Carolyn Dawson and HR Director Sian Bartle. 

There are also two women on the MEA region team of analysts – Research Analyst Mai Barakat and Senior Analyst Thecla Mbongue.

However, with Informa Telecoms & Media’s plans to expand, we’ll hopefully see an increase in the number of women employed by the company over the next few years.

By Emily Spaven

The ‘tremendous growth’ of digital marketing in MENA

Some 58% of marketers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are set to increase their digital marketing budgets in 2012, according to a new report.

The research, conducted by Econsultancy and ArabianBusiness.com, shows just how rapidly digital marketing is expanding in the region. 

Econsultancy’s 57-page State of Digital Marketing in MENA report is based on a survey of more than 400 B2B marketers. 

It shows that firms plan to spend 27% of their marketing budgets on digital this year, compared 22% in 2011. 

Further to this, some 52% of the companies surveyed said they are increasing their digital marketing budgets by at least 20%.

Econsultancy’s Research Manager, Aliya Zaidi, said it is a “lack of local talent” that is holding some companies back from “making the most out of digital”. 

“There’s huge demand for Arabic copywriters in this region, and companies need to address the skills gap by investing in further digital education and training,” she added.

The full report can be accessed via this link.


By Emily Spaven

Jobs in technology promoted at UAE careers fair

Female UAE nationals interested in a career in technology may benefit from attending a jobs fair in Dubai this week. 

The Careers UAE fair is being held from today (5 March) to Wednesday (7 March) at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. It focuses not only on recruitment, but education and training too.

A number of the exhibitors are either directly involved in or have links to the technology sector, including Ajman University of Science and Technology, Emaratech (Emarat Technology Solutions) and the Higher College of Technology.

Also exhibiting is electronics and electrical engineering company Siemens. "Currently, we have 189 open positions, and we anticipate that this number will grow even more," said Erich Kaeser, Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Middle East. 

"We are working towards building strong R&D capabilities in the UAE and throughout the region, and we are eager to hire qualified, committed and educated local candidates who truly understand the local market context," he added.

More information on the Careers UAE fair can be found on the event’s website.

By Emily Spaven

SOUTH AFRICA: Plan for 1.5 million students by 2030

South Africa's government plans to raise university enrolments from a current 900,000 to 1.5 million by 2030, to achieve a participation rate in higher education of 23%, according to a green paper published on Thursday  .... Read Full Article

Over 140 academics attend ACBSP Conference at Dubai Women's College

DUBAI - Dubai Women's College, a Higher Colleges of Technology flagship institution, hosted recently the 2011 International Council of Business Schools and Programs/Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs Region 8 Annual (ACBSP) Conference at its campus in Dubai ....Read Full Article

First Global Arab IT Company to launch in UAE

The official launch will be announced during 15-17 January 2012 in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah under the patronage of H.H.Sheika Hind Bitnt Abdulaziz Al Qassimi, Chairperson of UAE Business Women Council ....Read Full Article

Top Business Leaders to Watch in 2012

As a regular participant on recruitment panels for MTN, Yvonne Makolo has learnt to distinguish passionate applicants from passive ones. But from her office in Kigali's MTN Centre, it doesn't take long, or an expert for that matter, to discern the excitement and dedication inherent in Makolo herself .... Read Full Article

Calling all Women Tech Bloggers

I'm always looking for new voices from women who write about tech. If you are one such female tech blogger, here's how you can get noticed by BlogHer Tech ....Read Full Article

Arab women’s rights can be boosted by social media, says report

CAIRO: Women’s rights in the Arab world can be boosted by social media, a new study by the Arab Social Media Report said, citing nearly three-quarters of Arab users believing that new media can help improve women’s rights across the region ....Read Full Article

Women of Uganda Network

Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) is a non-governmental organisation initiated in May 2000 by several women's organisations in Uganda to develop the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) among women as tools to share information and address issues collectively ....Go to website

Women to dominate tech, and other trends

Chip maker and technology group Intel says that women are emerging as the dominant users of technology and if it continues to enhance its ease of use, the fairer sex will continue to dominate the adoption of technology .... Read Full Article

Women urged to take up more jobs in telecom, retail

Dubai: Encouraging more jobs for women in mobile phone retail and telecoms industries across 11 emerging countries could help families and boost revenues for mobile companies, suggests a new study released in Dubai yesterday ....Read Full Article