History

The establishment process of our association has been led by Zehra Öney, who has been working as a professional manager and entrepreneur in the technology sector since the early 2000s, in areas such as production, R&D, digital and mobile marketing, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, virtual reality, big data, and machine learning. In 2017, Öney initiated the process to unite brands within her network as well as local and multinational companies in Türkiye, under a single umbrella to promote gender equality in technology.

Under the founding leadership of Zehra Öney, our association began its activities on January 31, 2019, with 75 like-minded founding members who share the same goal. In May 2019, the first General Assembly was convened, governing bodies were determined, and projects commenced shortly after then.

In December 2019, the “Wtech Academy” was launched, and the first training program of the association, “SQL Database Analysis,” was introduced.

In 2020, in collaboration with the Turkish Confederation of Employer Associations (TISK), the Young Transformation Academy started its education programs, providing employment support to over 2,000 students, and reaching an employment rate of 93%.

In 2021, in collaboration with Udacity, the Woman in Technology Association facilitated a 4-month training in Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning for 30 female executives and 32 university graduates. This marked the first implementation of an artificial intelligence education program in Türkiye.

After its establishment, our association quickly attracted over 160 members and distinguished itself from many startup-level associations by its swift, focused, and disciplined approach. We have successfully initiated powerful educational projects with Udacity, UNDP, TISK, SabancıDx, Ford Otosan, Santa Farma İlaç, Hopi, Limak Holding, Egebimtes, SUN Tekstil, Ekoten, SAP, TürkTraktör.

The sustainability committee of our association selects one of the Sustainable Development Goals each year to support the development of projects aligned with that goal. Consequently, the “Technological and Innovative Solutions in Agriculture” competition was launched to encourage new ideas, projects, products, and services contributing to sustainability in agriculture, in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal of “Zero Hunger.” Four teams in the competition were awarded a total prize of 150,000 TL.

The association’s 2nd Ordinary General Assembly took place on June 28, 2022, at Swissotel The Bosphorus. Zehra Öney, the Founding President of the Woman in Technology Association, was re-elected as the Chairwoman of the Board of Directors for her second term, and the second-term governing bodies were determined.

As part of the association’s activities, Türkiye’s first Technology and Human Index was completed in collaboration with IPSOS and Bahçeşehir University. The index, considering the level of knowledge, behavior, and attitudes towards technology in Türkiye, determined Türkiye’s index score as 47 out of 100.

What Are We Doing These Days?

Following the earthquake disaster, which occurred on February 6th, we are working towards enabling the recovery of the earthquake-stricken region and the emergence of talent in this area.  Through our Tech Talent Academy, our association will provide education in Hatay physically and online in 11 provinces in the earthquake region for our children, youth, and women. The academy we will establish in Antakya will be a versatile, multifunctional, easily accessible technological living and interaction space that encompasses education, arts, sports, social activities, and will be the heart of R&D in the earthquake region.

Under the leadership of Banu Arıduru, a member of our Board of Directors, we are launching the “100 Female Leaders in the Centennial of the Republic” project. This project, which we will implement in collaboration with our corporate members, will contribute to the creation of a competent workforce by training 100 women and 25 male students who have received STEM education in different technical fields, aiming to create lasting benefits for the technology industry in Türkiye.

In collaboration with the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB) and the Eticaret Merkezi (E-Commerce Center), we continue to host the Türkiye Technology Meetings. As part of the Technology Meetings, we raise awareness about digitization,  e-commerce, e-export, and transformative technologies such as artificial intelligence, metaverse, and blockchain through sessions held all around Türkiye with expert speakers.

Continuing our efforts, we are developing projects to encourage new ideas, products, and services in the field of Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6) and Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7),  determined by our Sustainability Committee.

We are continuing to work on the second phase of our Technology and Human Index study in collaboration with FutureBright.