Ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Womenpreneur-Initiative, Friedrich Naumann Foundation Madrid and MujeresTech organised the Mediterranean Women Tech Week (MTWW 2020), which ran from the 30th of November to the 3rd of December 2020. This initiative circulated networking opportunities for Mediterranean women and introduced new voices to the debate surrounding the participation of Women in Tech and Innovation.
The four-day online event included networking sessions, master classes and tech talks. According to the European Commission, only 18% of ICT specialists are women and there is a considerable gender gap in the tech industry in Europe. Therefore, an important aim of the event was to showcase stories of successful women in Tech to inspire other women to join the tech and innovation industry.
Events, Conferences and Tech Talks from MTWW 2020
To kick off the Mediterranean Women Tech Week, the first event took the form of an online conference on the topic of boosting women’s role in the tech sector. Some high level speakers who attended were Olena Bekh, Senior Specialist in Human Capital at European Training Foundation; Sana Afouaiz, our Founder and Director at Womenpreneur Initiative; Teresa Alarcos, Founder and CEO at W Startup Community. The event was moderated by Valentin García, Entrepreneur and Innovation Strategist. Find out more by clicking here.
Day 2 focused on success stories of women in the tech sector. Five women shared their journeys and experience: Esther Molina, a Journalist at PymeTech EFE Agency, Growth by Comms and Content Director at Product Hackers; Soraya del Portillo, the CEO and Founder of Be Chiara; Ana Laguna Pradas, the Co-Founder & Data Scientist of Zoundreams; Vanessa Castro an Online Business Mentor for Mom Entrepreneurs and Community Builder and Ana Pérez García, the CEO and Co-Founder of Forest Chain. Follow this link to replay these five tech talks on Youtube.
Day 3 focused on insights, technologies and business opportunities in fintech and artificial intelligence with two master classes: Artificial Intelligence with Mónica Villas, an Ex-IBM executive, the Adjunct Faculty IE, Immune Data Science Lead, and Teacher at ESIC Business & Marketing School; and the Internet of Things (IoT) with Eva Díaz, the CEO Appogeo Digital, and the Former COO of Accenture, Deloitte and KPMG. These masterclasses were streamed live and can be watched again here.
Day 4 wrapped up the four-day online event with a conference highlighting positive achievements of women in the tech sector and their valuable contributions. The guest speakers were Beatriz Remón Barreiro, Chief Digital Officer IBM Spain, Greece, Portugal; Layal Jebran, CEO & Co-Founder Moubarmij; Lia Henneberger, HR/People Lead and Growth Facilitator and Sana Afouiaz, our Founder and Director at Womenpreneur-Initiative. Find out more by watching the livestream of day 4 here.
How to Incentivise Female Participation in Tech in the Mediterranean?
Amongst its panelists, The Med Women Tech Week discussed how to amp up female numbers in tech. Here is a summary of the recommendations given during the panel discussions:
- Introduce tech in all forms of early childhood education.
- Attract capital investment to women-led initiatives.
- Challenge stereotypes of “men only” in the tech industry and make it appealing for women.
- Promote successful female role models in the tech industry to tackle the cultural barrier.
- Build collaborative communities where women in tech can network, get advice and share experiences.
About Womenpreneur Initiative’s Mission:
Our overarching aim is to advance women’s roles in the entrepreneurial scene, technology, innovation and society. We have launched a number of initiatives promoting equal gender participation in entrepreneurial and tech sectors, with a specific focus on counteracting the effects the COVID-19 pandemic has on our cause. Since our establishment in 2016, we have continuously supported more than 13.000 women in 20 countries and have implemented more than 30 international projects. Ambitions to expand that base are constantly developing. More specifically, we are on the lookout for new partnerships with work based in the MENA region.
Discover a world of inspirational leaders and initiatives in the world of technology, entrepreneurship and gender equality – have a browse through our website, blog or our new Digital Hub.
Join Us and Support Our Initiatives in the MENA Region
Our latest project was the successful launch of our Womenpreneur Digital Hub. The hub is the first virtual space whereby MENA-based women can learn, connect and grow. We aim to ensure that every woman and girl in the MENA region can access the tools and develop the skills required to realise their fullest economic potential. The hub gives users free access to a diverse community of experts, mentors and peers to share tips and collaborate, as well as various opportunities. For example: job vacancies, scholarships, online courses, competitions, workshops, and so on.
Are you a promising candidate or does someone come to mind? If you believe a collaborative partnership between our organisations could be fruitful, get in touch here.
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