Features

Expanding Networks and Creating Friendships

“This group of women—hands down, all of the women I came into close contact with —know who they are as women,” Maryann explains in describing her impression of the TechWomen 2011 Mentees. “They know who they are as Muslim women. They know who they are professionally. And there’s no conflict.” She found this both admirable and eye-opening. Maryann knew she wanted to be a TechWomen Cultural Mentor when she first saw the notice pop up on her Google alerts. “I knew it was perfect” she says, because she loves getting to know people from different cultures and has a lot of experience playing tour guide in the many different places she has lived around the world.

Life After TechWomen: “Those five weeks were just the beginning.”

“I had always thought about doing something for underserved girls in the world,” Thekra explains. She had an idea to start an NGO, Edugirl. “Most NGOs focus on university-aged students,” Thekra says, “I want to focus on girls in neglected areas who get married early, who are isolated and who don’t have anyone who is fighting for them.” Thekra had this idea, this dream, but she had never shared it with anyone until she attended Barbara Fittapaldi’s workshop on Breakthrough Leadership in the first week of her TechWomen mentorship.

Using the Power of Comics to Encourage Girls’ Involvement in STEM

If someone had asked Rayane Hazimeh a few years ago why she had become an engineer, she probably would have said that it was by mistake. “I was always the black sheep,” Rayane explains, “and often that meant walking away from the norm.” Rayane has always had a taste for adventure and challenges, and the fact that no other girls around her were choosing to pursue engineering degrees because “it was not for girls and was too hard” was enough of an incentive. “I didn’t need more than that to make it my goal” she says. “I wanted to prove to the world that women are as competent as men in this field.”

Transforming Internet Shopping in Algeria

On October, 24th 2011, TechWomen Mentee Loubna Lahmici launched the first coupon website in Algeria. Ms. Lahmici’s new site, Dzreduc.com, provides limited, high-value printable and mobile coupons for significant discounts to local consumers. By taking the first steps toward online commerce, Ms. Lahmici’s venture is transforming Internet shopping in Algeria. In a country with over 8 million Internet users and more than 30 million mobile users, Dzreduc.com is changing Algerian consumer practices by introducing the Internet as a tool to save time and money.