Zehra Öney, Founding President of the Woman in Technology Association, visited Google’s New York Office and the Turkish Consulate General in New York. Meeting with Consul General Reyhan Özgür, Öney talked about the current endeavors carried out by the Woman in Technology Association in the disaster area and the projects planned for a brighter Türkiye.
The event was moderated by Dr. Gül Bahtiyar, the Board Member of the Bridge to Türkiye Fund, and attended by Dilek Livaneli, who has received the International Women’s Leadership Award from the European Parliament. Commenting on the disaster relief activities of the Woman in Technology Association, Zehra Öney said: “To help the people in the disaster area, we collaborated with the Life Without Cancer Foundation. We were a team of 16 people who went to Hatay, spent a week there, and provided heating, shelter, food, clothes, and hygiene materials as well as setting up 150 tents, which was extremely important at the time. In total, we have provided supplies for 300 families and more than 2.000 individuals. BTF was one of our most significant supporters. I would personally like to thank them in front of you.”
After drawing attention to the disaster in Türkiye, which has affected us all, Öney talked about the current efforts of the association and the current era we live in. “This era is called the Anthropocene. It is when we need to reset – to think, to create, and to produce in new ways as individuals. We need singularity – people who can use technology as individuals and create change.” She continued her speech.
Öney stated that according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2022 published by the World Economic Forum, the gender gap had narrowed by 68% in 2022, but even at that rate, it would take 132 years to reach gender parity. She added that the gender gap was especially prevalent in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Mentioning that artificial intelligence entered our lives swiftly with applications, such as the newly invented ChatGPT, Öney referenced McKinsey’s “The Future of Women at Work” Report, published in 2019, which stated that new technologies threaten the jobs of 160 million women working in the service sector. Therefore, she underlined that women should get the necessary training to close the gender gap within the technology sector.
While talking about the value women add to the workforce, Öney shared the striking data revealed by McKinsey’s “State of AI in 2022” Report. According to the report, organizations with at least 25% female employees perform 3.2 times higher. “Men and women think differently since they have different perspectives, and this diversity enables us to create better systems. To put it simply, women need to join this sector for a powerful and sustainable future,” Öney added.
During the event, Öney thanked Bridge to Türkiye Fund for their contribution to the post-disaster recovery efforts, which the Woman in Technology Association and the Life Without Cancer Foundation organized. Öney said the association had more comprehensive, impactful, and focused plans for the upcoming period. Öney shared that the mobile trucks of the Woman in Technology Association will travel around the disaster area for the next three years, providing education and social support to children, youth, and women. To support the women entrepreneurs in the region, Öney distributed products made of “peace silk of Hatay,” which Emel Duman, owner of Defne Apollon Silk Farm in Hatay, and her team produced with ethical fashion and sustainable textile principles without harming the butterfly.
Öney stated that the Woman in Technology Association aims to increase the number of women in the technology sector, especially in the field of sustainable development. The association aims to raise global role models by reaching beyond Türkiye in cooperation with other NGOs, and will continue to work with determination for that end. Talking about her vision for the future, Öney said, “We envision a world, where we show solidarity and compassion in our everyday lives – in a society of technology beyond gender. We are hoping to do so by empowering women through technology education so that they can have the knowledge and the financial means to transform their lives.”
Öney ended her speech with the words of the great leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk: “A society’s power is cut in half if we think that it is sufficient for only one gender to obtain what our century requires. The reason for our failures as a society is nothing but neglecting and mistreating our women.”
