On February 13th, dozens of potential TechWomen Mentors gathered in San Francisco and Mountain View to explore opportunities to mentor emerging women leaders from the Middle East and North Africa. Alumni Mentors brought colleagues and friends to hear from a diverse panel of 2011 Mentors about the rewards and challenges of mentoring an incredible group of TechWomen Mentees. Representatives from the U.S. Department of State, the Institute of International Education, and the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology gave remarks at the events.
Through a special video message, Secretary Clinton encouraged the attendees to consider becoming TechWomen Mentors. Secretary Clinton spoke highly of the program, which “helps women – in the United States and throughout the world – to create connections that inspire ideas and innovation.”
In her blog post on the Yahoo Developers Network, Jessica Roland spoke about some of broader benefits of TechWomen. “On a larger scale,” Jesssica writes, “our country benefits from the people-to-people relationships created by the program, which helps inspire the mentees to be professional pioneers in their home countries and trailblaze a brighter future for women everywhere.”
The 2012 TechWomen Mentor application will open on Thursday, March 1st. If you are interested in becoming a Professional or Cultural Mentor, please visit the TechWomen website to learn more.
How can other non-US citizen women participate or become a member of TechWomen? For instance, international students (women) in the U.S. or other foreign women in other countries?
As of now, women from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestinian Territories, Morocco, Tunisia, and Yemen are eligible to apply. The program may expand in future years. Women in the Bay Area can apply to serve as a Mentor (the application is now open: http://www.techwomen.org).