Getting Started Guide to Women TechMakers
I was fourteen when I heard Beyonce singing, “Who rules the world, Girls”.I was really fascinated by the power that the lyrics hold. However, after opting for Computer Science Engineering, I felt like a minority in the technical field. Rather than ruling the world, girls are often seen filling non-technical posts in any technical industry. As a result of which, the sex ratio in technical fields is highly imbalanced. Other various industries do not face such scarcity of active participation of women like this particular technical field. So looking at the situation, former VP of Google I/O Megan Smith, inaugurated the new campaign in 2012 under the name Women TechMakers.
The campaign was started after a wide survey conducted in all the top-notch Technical industries and the participation of women was found devastating in all the sectors. It has been seven years since the onset of this campaign that it took the shape of a community holding over millions of WTM members around the globe. Being a member of WTM, this article will be my small contribution to the community to educate the girls and aware them about the bountiful opportunities they can avail.
Women TechMakers is a women-centric community which is pledged to its cause. Women TechMakers aims at bridging the gender gap in technical fields. As technology is building way too faster than any other industry, it demands accurate decisions and prompt actions by its preservers and creators as well. As the diversity of perspectives can produce a more precise outcome of any problem, WTM encourages to bring a flow of variety in opinions. As stated earlier, WTM revolves around different programs to promote females into the field of technology, numerous opportunities are aligned for the accomplishment of their motto.
Women TechMakers is not an outburst of toxic feminism. Rather the aim of the community was to inspire, advocate and provide various resources so that women can establish themselves in the technical genre and also become compassionate towards technology. Diving deep into the matter is why the participation of women is so less in technical fields, it has been found out that lack of clarity about technology and accurate data is one of the reasons. For treating this issue, WTM has numerous schemes.
Firstly, on signing up as a member of WTM, all the members receive curated contents about new technologies every week. Also, they keep on updating about new inventions and discoveries in technology. Sometimes, they even provide links to various free or paid courses under Google certifications.
Anita Borg Scholarship is another branch of the community. The Scholarship program dedicated to honor the endless efforts the founder of the Institute of Women and Technology toward bringing gender equality in technical fields by dismantling all barriers and revolutionize people thought about women. The Scholarship is divided into different categories according to the latitudinal dimension. For availing the Scholarships, one needs to fill their details and quality in the phone interview. The Scholarship is continued by a series of meetups and conferences conducted under the Grace Hopper Celebration. Availing this Scholarship is just the tip of retreats which one would get. From learning new technology to working on real-time projects, all are guided by top-notch leaders around the globe. The parameters of the Scholarship are pretty simple but the outcomes are ample.
Following are the links to apply for the upcoming scholarship.
The last phase of WTM is periodic meet-ups. Just like other communities, Women TechMakers also organizes various meetups and conferences around the globe. Once you become a member of WTM, you can either attend the conference or even be a speaker in such huge scale events. Every year during International Women Day, WTM holds its annual summit to celebrate women in technology. Women leaders from all fields including entrepreneurs and other speakers come together under the same roof to communicate, support and inspire each other through their work.
For knowing the upcoming meetups of WTM, click here.
Now the real question is how to join WTM?
The bigger the question looks like, the solution is much simpler.
Firstly fill out the form for willing to join WTM. The link is provided here. Usually, the application screening takes around 72 hours. Once the screening process is over, you virtually become a part of WTM. As mentioned earlier, being a member of WTM provides lots of perks like getting updated news about new technologies and information about meetups near you.
Click here to fill up your WTM application form and be a member of this community today:
Apart from virtually being a part of WTM, you can also join your local WTM community. Almost every city has got a branch of this community. One can either directly be a facilitator if she has got enough experience and wit fit for the post or can start by volunteering the events conducted by them. Active participation in these events and showcasing leadership qualities are the parameters of evaluation in these kinds of meetups.
Women TechMakers is associated with numerous other partners who are working for the same cause of upliftment of women in the field of technology. The numerous other partners are:
- Women Who Code
- Write Speak Code
- Girl Develop it
- Tech Ladies
- Google Developers Group
- AkiraChix
- Women Catalysts
- #I Am Remarkable
The main motive of writing this blog was to create awareness among all the girls who think technical fields are gender-specific. WTM was established to equalize the gender gap in technical industries based on the core aim of re-instigating confidence among the girl. Cause at the end of the day it doesn’t matter where are you from and how have you been if you don’t have the guts to stand out and say your story to others and keep inspiring yourself first than others. So keep on learning and spreading your knowledge and also never forget to be sincere with your views.
