Annalisa Arcella, a scientist based in London, spent her career working in data science, using her technical expertise to work alongside people in different sectors with different backgrounds. But a project in March 2021 led her in a new direction — working with cloud technology and ultimately becoming a Women Techmakers Ambassador.

She started working on a project for the Public Sector in London. The goal was to analyze thousands of responses to public policy consultations. She was collaborating with a customer engineer from the Google Cloud Platform team on the project, as it was her first time using the technology. After the two worked together, he suggested she participate in the Women Developers Academy, an intensive program for women in tech to develop their public speaking skills and confidence.

Annalisa was accepted to the Women Developers Academy a few months later. “For two months, they taught us how to contribute to the community via technical public speaking and writing blog posts, as well as how to prepare technical video content,” she says. After graduating, Annalisa was inspired to do more for the community of women in tech around her. “Joining the program motivated me to share my experience and inspire like-minded young women who want to pursue careers in tech,” she says. “I worked and lived in different countries between Europe and the U.S. and women are still a minority group in tech, especially in non-European countries.”

In December 2021, Annalisa became a Women Techmakers Ambassador, joining a global group of leaders around the world passionate about impacting their communities and building a world where all women can thrive in tech. Additionally, her first experience using Google Cloud Platform sparked her interest in new areas of technology and led her to a new role as machine learning engineering manager for PricewaterhouseCoopers. “I have always worked closely with engineers in high-performance computing environments, on the boundary of science and tech,” she says. “Now, I’m excited to move to machine learning engineering, spending most of my time on the cloud.”

Since becoming an Ambassador and getting a new job, Annalisa has kept quite busy. As an Ambassador, she’s been able to share her knowledge about Google Cloud, and is planning learning sessions in MLOps and Tensorflow. “I am meeting really inspiring people from all over the world,” she says. This role has also allowed her to mentor other women who are interested in getting into the tech industry, as well as participating in training sessions to help her grow her own skills.

In June — almost a year after she first participated in the Women Developers Academy — she took center stage to give a talk about the advantages of using fully managed Google Cloud services at the DataLift conference in Berlin. “The talk attracted many people, and the room was full,” she says. “I was talking about the challenges of a small team in machine learning operations, which is one of the hottest topics in data science right now.”

Growing up, mathematics was not one of Jade Lee’s favorite subjects. “I was absolutely terrible at it!” she says. “But when I got older, I recognized there are very few of us who are naturally good at mathematics.” With time and effort her skills improved, so much so that today she is pursuing her undergraduate degree in mathematics and economics at the London School of Economics. There, she also volunteers her time as a Women Techmakers Ambassador and Google Developer Student Club Lead.

While she enjoys math much more than when she was younger, Jade still believes that it is a “ruthless subject.” Since there is typically a right or wrong answer, it’s not uncommon to make mistakes or experience failure. And since Jade was often one of the only women in her classes, she was anxious about making these mistakes in front of her classmates, and felt she generally lacked the confidence of her male counterparts. “For me, there was always a doubtful feeling at the back of my head that I didn’t belong there or that I was only fooling myself to continue down this route,” she says.

But when she joined the Women Techmakers Ambassador program last year, two big things started to shift for her. First, she says, she was inspired by the “beautiful community of women around the world pursuing technology.” She saw the power of having women role models and a supportive community in a male-dominated industry, and quickly took the initiative to build this community herself — including hosting events that brought more than 500 female students together to become more involved in STEM and learn about technological careers across industries.

Through sharing experiences and challenges with other women in the field, she felt less alone. She also started to see that being one of the only women could also mean new opportunities: “You are breaking new ground, setting new expectations and changing the industry bit by bit for the better,” she says.

After becoming an Ambassador, she also started to develop a new relationship with failure. Bolstered by the support of her community, she started to feel her confidence grow, which helped her speak up more. And instead of being afraid to get something wrong, she recognized she was actually learning a lot more from her mistakes than her successes. “Those who grow and develop as STEM students are those who embrace those failures, learn from their mistakes and reflect on their experiences,” she says. “Failure gives us an opportunity to learn, be challenged and thrive.”

Jade is excited about her future, and wants to continue pushing towards gender equity in STEM. Her advice to other women looking to break into the industry: “Embrace the challenge, learn from the difficulties and be grateful for the experiences you’ve had.”

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Growing up, mathematics was not one of Jade Lee’s favorite subjects. “I was absolutely terrible at it!” she says. “But when I got older, I recognized there are very few of us who are naturally good at mathematics.” With time and effort her skills improved, so much so that today she is pursuing her undergraduate degree in mathematics and economics at the London School of Economics. There, she also volunteers her time as a Women Techmakers Ambassador and Google Developer Student Club Lead.

While she enjoys math much more than when she was younger, Jade still believes that it is a “ruthless subject.” Since there is typically a right or wrong answer, it’s not uncommon to make mistakes or experience failure. And since Jade was often one of the only women in her classes, she was anxious about making these mistakes in front of her classmates, and felt she generally lacked the confidence of her male counterparts. “For me, there was always a doubtful feeling at the back of my head that I didn’t belong there or that I was only fooling myself to continue down this route,” she says.

But when she joined the Women Techmakers Ambassador program last year, two big things started to shift for her. First, she says, she was inspired by the “beautiful community of women around the world pursuing technology.” She saw the power of having women role models and a supportive community in a male-dominated industry, and quickly took the initiative to build this community herself — including hosting events that brought more than 500 female students together to become more involved in STEM and learn about technological careers across industries.

Through sharing experiences and challenges with other women in the field, she felt less alone. She also started to see that being one of the only women could also mean new opportunities: “You are breaking new ground, setting new expectations and changing the industry bit by bit for the better,” she says.

After becoming an Ambassador, she also started to develop a new relationship with failure. Bolstered by the support of her community, she started to feel her confidence grow, which helped her speak up more. And instead of being afraid to get something wrong, she recognized she was actually learning a lot more from her mistakes than her successes. “Those who grow and develop as STEM students are those who embrace those failures, learn from their mistakes and reflect on their experiences,” she says. “Failure gives us an opportunity to learn, be challenged and thrive.”

Jade is excited about her future, and wants to continue pushing towards gender equity in STEM. Her advice to other women looking to break into the industry: “Embrace the challenge, learn from the difficulties and be grateful for the experiences you’ve had.”

Subscribe to the Women Techmakers YouTube channelso you don’t miss out on future Ambassador Spotlight videos and more

Growing up, mathematics was not one of Jade Lee’s favorite subjects. “I was absolutely terrible at it!” she says. “But when I got older, I recognized there are very few of us who are naturally good at mathematics.” With time and effort her skills improved, so much so that today she is pursuing her undergraduate degree in mathematics and economics at the London School of Economics. There, she also volunteers her time as a Women Techmakers Ambassador and Google Developer Student Club Lead.

While she enjoys math much more than when she was younger, Jade still believes that it is a “ruthless subject.” Since there is typically a right or wrong answer, it’s not uncommon to make mistakes or experience failure. And since Jade was often one of the only women in her classes, she was anxious about making these mistakes in front of her classmates, and felt she generally lacked the confidence of her male counterparts. “For me, there was always a doubtful feeling at the back of my head that I didn’t belong there or that I was only fooling myself to continue down this route,” she says.

But when she joined the Women Techmakers Ambassador program last year, two big things started to shift for her. First, she says, she was inspired by the “beautiful community of women around the world pursuing technology.” She saw the power of having women role models and a supportive community in a male-dominated industry, and quickly took the initiative to build this community herself — including hosting events that brought more than 500 female students together to become more involved in STEM and learn about technological careers across industries.

Through sharing experiences and challenges with other women in the field, she felt less alone. She also started to see that being one of the only women could also mean new opportunities: “You are breaking new ground, setting new expectations and changing the industry bit by bit for the better,” she says.

After becoming an Ambassador, she also started to develop a new relationship with failure. Bolstered by the support of her community, she started to feel her confidence grow, which helped her speak up more. And instead of being afraid to get something wrong, she recognized she was actually learning a lot more from her mistakes than her successes. “Those who grow and develop as STEM students are those who embrace those failures, learn from their mistakes and reflect on their experiences,” she says. “Failure gives us an opportunity to learn, be challenged and thrive.”

Jade is excited about her future, and wants to continue pushing towards gender equity in STEM. Her advice to other women looking to break into the industry: “Embrace the challenge, learn from the difficulties and be grateful for the experiences you’ve had.”

Subscribe to the Women Techmakers YouTube channelso you don’t miss out on future Ambassador Spotlight videos and more

Saskia Bobinska was excited when she came across the application for the Women Developers Academy (WDA) program in Europe. After spending two years in isolation, thanks to the pandemic and having multiple back surgeries, she was looking for a way to advance her career in tech. She thought the WDA — a global program run by Women Techmakers to help technical women become better speakers and bring more diversity to tech stages — would be a great first step towards this goal.

One of the first assignments was to write her own speaker bio. As a self-taught frontend developer who uses JavaScript, NextJS and React, she felt a bit hesitant to share her story. “To be honest, I thought that my story was not important enough,” she tells us. But after a few WDA training sessions and encouragement from her mentors, business strategist Kamila Wosińska, Dart and Flutter Google Developer Expert (GDE) Majid Hajian and Web Technologies GDE Anuradha Kumarii, Saskia’s confidence was boosted. She excitedly set out to write a LinkedIn post about a mobile app on which she had been working.

Not long after the post went live, Saskia was approached by one of the companies she had mentioned. A few meetings lead to interviews and within a few months, Saskia was offered a job on their team. “I never would’ve thought that this was possible when I started coding three years ago,” Saskia says.

Looking back on the experience, Saskia is positively surprised by the speed with which she was able to transition her career from social media to engineering. “I’d have given myself two years before applying to Sanity, but WDA accelerated that,” she says. “I found my voice within the tech industry because of the community and WDA, which gave me a push toward it.”

Going through the WDA also helped Saskia realize that her “soft” skills — communication, leadership and confidence — are just as important as her hard skills for excelling in tech. “Having the ability to go out and speak gave me an approach to finding a more intermediate-level engineering role,” she says. “I have hard skills, but my soft skills are what brought me to this company that shares my priorities, because they knew who I was.”

She also recognized the importance of having a supportive community. During the WDA, she was excited to see women supporting each other so enthusiastically within the male-dominated tech industry. “Emotional support and empathy, especially in a professional environment, help you stay in balance and enable you to do your best,” she says. “Always help and support others, because safe communities are not just found, they are made.”

Learn more about Women Techmakersand become a member to stay up to date on all our initiatives including the Women Developers Academy.

Women Techmakers Ambassador Dhivya Krishna estimates she’s taught about 5,000 students in India about technology. Dhivya has co-organized two WTM chapters, WTM Coimbatore from 2018-2021 and WTM Chennai since 2021. She has also co-led two Google Developer Group (GDG) chapters, GDG Coimbatore from 2017-2021 and GDG Chennai since 2021.

Dhivya, a writer and life skills educator based in Chennai, was planning her Women Techmakers chapter’s International Women’s Day 2022 events. She noted underprivileged children in Chennai were fairly unaware of technology and how tech skills could benefit their lives and future employment prospects. So Dhivya launched a program for girls in several grammar schools and communities in outer Chennai.

“I wanted to bring awareness of technology to these girls–future CEOs, software developers and marketers, and International Women’s Day was the right time to do it,” says Dhivya, who will complete her Master’s in psychology this year.

Shilpa Garg, community manager for Google Developers Group (GDG) and Women Techmakers in India, was excited to hear about Dhivya’s plan, and she immediately secured support from the region and the Google team.

The two-day educational program taught girls ages 11-17 the basics of computers and technology. Topics included basic information like what the internet is, how Google Search and Docs work, and more complicated subjects like cybersecurity. At the end of each session, volunteers spent ten minutes teaching about women’s health.

“Our 17 volunteers, who were half women and half men, put their hearts and souls into creating presentations for young children,” says Dhivya. “I could see the girls getting inspired, watching our female volunteers express the significance of technology in their lives.”

“It takes a lot of effort to organize an initiative like this,” adds Prasad Seth, a community manager for Google Developer Groups in India. “For girls in the villages in India, access to technology and education can open up a world of opportunity. Events like this help with Indian social mobility, improve gender equality, and are the beginning of breaking barriers and making progress for women.”

Since 2013, Women Techmakers Ambassadors (WTM) have brought people around the world together throughout March and April in celebration of International Women's Day (IWD), hosting events to connect and educate their local tech communities. This year’s theme is #ProgressNotPerfection, the idea of letting go of preconceived ideas of perfection and fears of failure, and instead celebrating progress in its many forms.

I recently spoke with three WTM Ambassadors planning these events to hear what they’re most looking forward to.

WTM Ambassador Maryam Alhuthayfi

For IWD this year, Maryam is hosting tech workshops as well as leading a WTM Saudi #IAmRemarkable session to encourage women to explore technology. “There aren’t as many opportunities for women in tech in Saudi Arabia, so we need to push them forward to be visible, for companies to see that they are capable,” she says.

True to the #ProgressNotPerfection theme, Maryam wants women to be unafraid of mistakes. “You can correct them once you know the best way to do things,” she says. “This is how you get better with time. Be kind to each other; support each other; create positive energy in your communities and personal life.”

WTM Ambassador Anna Nemerova

Growing up in Bulgaria, Anna Nemerova remembers making cards and gifts for her mother and grandmother on International Women’s Day, which is widely celebrated in Eastern Bloc countries. When she moved to the U.S., Anna’s first IWD event was in New York City in 2018, where she gave a talk about using Google Analytics for ecommerce. Anna made a point to connect with attendees there, ultimately making lifelong friends.

This year, Anna is hosting the New York City IWD event in person again. “As a woman in tech, I’m very often the only woman in the room, and WTM brings this positivity, where women are inspired and empowered to help each other.”

Anna is also hosting the IWD Northeast virtual event, which will include a hands-on NFT workshop. Participants’ NFTs will be sold, and proceeds will go to the Red Cross to aid the people of Ukraine.

WTM Ambassador Amanda Cavallaro

Amanda Cavallaro has been a co-organizer of the Google Developer Group Cloud chapter in London and a WTM ambassador since 2016.

In the past, she’s hosted an IWD karaoke tutorial (created using Google codelabs) and assisted with virtual events over the past two years. This year, she helped host a GraphQL workshop, roundtable discussions and a hybrid event with six speakers from all over the world. “Most of the speakers were women I mentor, and women who mentor me,” she says. “The WTM truly brings us together.”