Google launches Women Techmakers in Malta

Women Techmakers is an initiative program launched by Google in 2014, with the aim of bringing together the community of women in the technology industry, increasing their visibility and sharing resources. For the past three years the Women Techmakers team has convened over 200 global events across 52 countries to drive visibility, community, and resources for women in technology in honour of International Women’s Day (IWD).

In Malta, the first launch event was held at The Palace Hotel in Sliema on the 13th of November and brought together more than 50 women from the Tech Industry to share experiences, and discuss their ideas and thoughts about the various issues that highlight the roles of women in technology. The scope of the launch was to kickoff a series of events that can showcase the work and passions of women in the technology industry by providing a platform to disseminate their talents and put a spotlight on role models for future generations to look up to.

Azzurra Ragone, Developer Relations Program Manager for Google Developers Group, Italy opened the session by providing some insights about the diversity and inclusion challenges that women in the technology industry may face and the benefits that inclusion brings. Three speakers from Malta were invited to share their experiences in industry. Sheila Kavanagh, CTO from Vodafone Malta delivered a very inspiring speech about the role of women in the tech industry, encouraging more women to be brave and take the plunge into leading jobs and roles in technology. Mei Calleja, and Jade Zammit Stevens, both women with a number of years of experience in software development and iGaming industry, talked about their personal professional development journey into the world of IT.

Women Techmakers Malta, supported by the Google Developers Group Malta, plan to follow up on this event by creating a supportive community in which women can connect, be inspired, and encourage each other to realize their passions.

Google Developers Group Malta is the official Malta group for developers interested in Google technologies. The next event planned by GDG Malta is ‘Augmented Reality in a Box’ and will be held on the 20thNovember 2018, at MITA Gattard House, Blata l-Bajda at 1800. More information about the event can be found via the group Facebook page.