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  • Connecting and empowering women in technology in the Middle East & Africa

Contact

Contact us

Inspired yet? Great! Shoot a mail to gwit4emerging@gmail.com and become a part of the GWIT Family.

Super Inspired? Have a pressing need to share stuff with everyone right away? Hop onto the GWIT Forum. Happy Posting!

GWIT extends its boundaries to the offline world with regular Events hosted in and around the Middle East and Africa region, for women to come forth and experience the technological advances and opportunities available to women across the globe.

Opportunities

Opportunities


Google Women in Technology Ambassadors (GWITA)


Opportunities Professional

Opportunities for professionals: Online Advertising





Google Products

Establish your company online quickly and easily with Google Site

Share the right things with the right customers with Google+

Promote your activity using videos on YouTube

Google AdSense is a fast and easy way to monetize your content by displaying relevant and engaging ads on your website pages: download our AdSense Overview here

Google AdWords is an online advertising program that allows anyone to advertise on Google.com and its network of partner websites. Learn more: download our "Getting Started with Google AdWords" guide

Opportunities Student

Opportunities for students


At Google, we believe students are the future! We are always looking for ways to help further educate students and to interact with bright, young minds. Below you'll find some excellent resources to help you interact with Google.







Anita Borg Scholarship - Africa, Europe, Middle East Deadline for 2012: February 1st.
Google Anita Borg Scholarship recipients will each receive a financial award for the academic year. A group of female undergraduate and graduate students will be chosen from the applicant pool, and scholarships will be awarded based on the strength of each candidate’s academic background and demonstrated leadership. In addition, all scholarship recipients and finalists will be invited to attend a retreat at Google.

Check out the profiles of the girls awarded with the Anita Borg Scholarship
Check out the Scholarship Opportunities Page




Job opportunities for students - visit the site
Search our opportunities in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.




Conference & Travel Grants - visit the site
Google supports a variety of external engineering and computer science-related initiatives associated with universities, including summer schools, workshops and programming contests.




Student Ambassador Program - visit the site
The Deadline for students in Sub-Saharan Africa in March 1st, 2012 - click here to apply
The Google Student Ambassador Program is an opportunity for students to act as liaisons between Google and their universities.




Google Online Marketing Challenge - visit the site
Professors register for the Challenge from November 15, 2011 to May 1, 2012; Students can register from January 31, 2012 to May 11, 2012.
The Google Online Marketing Challenge is a global online marketing student competition open to any higher education institution from anywhere in the world.




CodeJam - Google annual programming competition - visit the site
Registration opens on Tuesday, March 13th, 2012.
Google Code Jam is an annual programming competition in which professional and student programmers are asked to solve complex algorithmic challenges in a limited amount of time.




Google Summer of Code - visit the site
Program announced on February 4th, 2012.
Google Summer of Code is a global program that offers students stipends to write code for open source projects.

Resources

Google Maps


Inspiration:

Google Maps and the New York Times


Read more...

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Lean In: Just for Women?

by Amy Ostrowski

Alright, I’ll admit it: I was hesitant to write this post. As COO of Facebook, Sandberg does work within the technology field, but she does not write about tech. On a selfish note, I was flat-out scared of being labeled a man hater for even bringing up this book, let alone suggesting any sort of praise for Sandberg’s words (for the record—and all cited scientific studies aside—I have studied with, and worked alongside and under, extraordinarily talented women and men who have supported my career growth and personal development).

But as I wrapped up Lean In, I knew that not writing this post wasn’t an option. Yes, this book has been the subject of widespread criticism, and there are parts that simply are not immediately relevant to me given my age, experience, marital status, etc. But what I believe have been glossed over (and please note that I’m not claiming to have read every review of this book—there are simply too many) are the thoughtful truisms and mantras for both sexes that Sandberg presents. Her manifesto is largely about the dynamic between women and men in the workplace and in the home, as well as her own experiences of gender discrimination, but it does not have to read as a book that is solely about women, for women, and by a woman. Sandberg offers invaluable advice for anyone—female or male, in tech- or non-tech-based fields.

A simple blog post isn’t sufficient for covering every point I bookmarked, but it’s a good place to start. And with that, I present to you three key, non-gender-specific takeaways from Lean In:

1. “Leadership roles are not the only way to have a profound impact” (27). Being junior in an organization can be scary, but regardless of your age and experience, you can make an impact. As Sandberg suggests, get good at receiving, and eventually delivering, feedback early on (a skill which will help you immensely in progressing your career). Raise your hand to help your manager; how can you make his or her life easier and more productive? Tout the work of your peers; everyone loves a team advocate, and others might be too shy to speak to their own their own achievements. Lead from within.

2. “Every job will demand some sacrifice. The key is to avoid unnecessary sacrifice. This is especially hard since our work culture values complete dedication. We worry that even mentioning other priorities makes us less valuable employees” (164). This is a toughie, but I’m glad Sandberg brought this up. Throughout my life, I’ve been told (or warned, rather, by my parents, peers, professors, etc.) that I’m a workaholic in the making; for example, for years I chose being in the office or near my computer versus stepping away to hit the gym. I literally didn’t work out for a year and half, even though I’d been an avid runner since high school. I felt lazy, sure, but all was right because I was available to my team and my clients at a moment’s notice—right? WRONG! The truth of the matter, I finally learned, was that not only is there no formula, but the two don’t have to be entirely separate entities, if I don’t want them to be (I also learned that it can be pretty concerning, and even annoying, to others when I’m responding to client emails at midnight). Does it make me more comfortable and productive to know that if I leave work every day by a certain hour, I might need to log in later but I’ll also get my daily workout in? Yes, yes it does. Does anyone hold it against me? Not that I know of, no; in fact, I’ve received very positive feedback from others who have noticed that I’m actively working to make my personal life more fulfilling, and I’ve even found that my productivity and output have positively increased with this change. In fact, I think everyone has breathed a sigh of relief.

I’m in no way suggesting that it’s my way or the highway for everyone—you need to find the best mixture of work and life for you—but I promise you, as does Sandberg, that actively aligning the interplay of the two according to your needs is a step in the right direction.

3. “Finding a mentor is not a magic solution; the mentor does not do the work for you, nor do they solve all your problems. That is not their job (as much as you might wish that it was—how much easier would life be?) (75).” Have you ever been to a presentation where the speaker has attributed much of their success to having great mentors, and you’ve immediately thought “(expletive), I don’t have a mentor—MUST. ACT. IMMEDIATELY=FIND. MENTOR!”? Well, I have. But that is not how it works: not only do you not just “find” a mentor at will, but also you cannot expect that said mentor will immediately be your personal advocate and sponsor, and boost you up your career ladder/across your jungle gym/etc. “Mentors” aren’t just floating around the office, waiting for you to come find them; this I know from attending one of the largest public universities in the U.S., and also having worked at a company with tens of thousands of employees. What has served me best is building relationships, networking, and maintaining genuine contact with those folks—male and female—who I “know” are compatible with me. Have I asked my manager for recommendations for whom to meet when I’m visiting other offices (and felt extremely awkward through the first few conversations)? Of course! Have some relationships lasted longer than others? Sure thing. And that’s okay; not everyone you meet will be your mentor, and you have to work to make this an effective, two-way relationship. Quality over quantity isn’t Sandberg’s key takeaway, but it’s been a good lesson for me, and one that might be applicable to you.

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The above is not an exhaustive list; I firmly believe that Sandberg offers many more nuggets of advice for both men and women (gender dynamics aside) regardless of the stages of one’s career and personal life. But the above truly struck a chord with me, and I would encourage anyone—whether you’re a female in technology or not—to consider Sandberg’s words. She’s certainly a force to be reckoned with, but she’s had her missteps along the way, as we each have had, and will continue to have. And just as Sandberg challenges others to reflect, I encourage you, reader, to do the same—and make the changes you feel are needed to make your path in the “real-world” the best it can be.

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For more information, check out leanin.org

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