The fifth season of Women Go Tech is aimed at helping women deal with the challenges inside the employment market caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the destructive impact of which is most felt amongst female employees.
“This year we are launching the fifth season of Women Go Tech mentorship programme, which initially emerged out of the idea to encourage women to enter the IT and engineering sector. Today the programme takes on additional functions to support women in handling the challenges of the employment market affected by COVID-19. The rapidly-expanding technology sector is amongst the most resilient areas when facing economic shocks, even something as big as the COVID-19 crisis. Therefore, becoming more actively engaged in the tech sector could provide an opportunity for women to strengthen their positions in the employment market and discover entirely new possibilities for self-realisation,” says Žydrūnė Vitaitė, co-founder of Women Go Tech, a mentorship and content session programme.
The five-fold increase in scale
During the fifth season of the Women Go Tech mentorship programme the aim is to select as many as 250 candidates. “We are proud that over five years Women Go Tech has seen a five-fold growth – from 45 to 250 trainees to be selected this year. Furthermore, the mentorship programme has become an international organisation – we launched in Latvia this summer and intend to continue expanding and cooperating with partners in other neighbouring European countries,” explains Ž. Vitaitė.
This year the Women Go Tech programme will be conducted in English. It will include foreign mentors and open opportunities for participants from other countries to join Women Go Tech.
The trainees will be able to expand their knowledge and skills necessary for professional development and establishing themselves in the tech sector within the many growing areas such as data analytics, IT operations, production engineering and others.
Engineering - a top priority
Women, wishing to discover new opportunities and accelerate their careers in the tech sector, are invited to fill out the form on https://www.womengotech.lt/ by 21 December 2020. The subsequent selection process will be carried out remotely.
“The mentorship programme is open to all women, regardless of their age and education. The most important criteria for selection are the candidates’ clear motivation, determination and perseverance in pursuing a career in tech. This year's top priority will be women applying to join the production engineering sector, eager to delve into the design and management of engineering processes,” says Jarūnė Preikšaitė, board member of Women Go Tech.
The mentorship programme will last six months, during which the participants will not only individually cooperate with their appointed personal mentors, but will also attend practical sessions and various events organised by tech companies.
Renewed team of mentors
This year the team of Women Go Tech mentors is expected to feature over 200 representatives from various IT, engineering and other tech companies who will assist each participant of the programme in building their competencies and establishing a career in technology.
The team of mentors will be joined by the experts from Vinted – the largest online international C2C marketplace in Europe. "Vinted would have never reached the success it has without the vital input from women in leadership and technology development roles. And we know we cannot continue to grow without the unique perspectives women bring - we cannot be as innovative, successful in problem-solving, or deliver financial results without the diversity. We are delighted to join WomenGoTech as we see a huge need to celebrate women leaders in tech and encourage more women to pursue their interests in this field", says Sigita Žvirblytė, Vinted Sustainability Manager.
Tobias Pohlschmidt, the executive director of HELLA Lithuania, an engineering company which has been actively involved in Women Go Tech activities for the last three years emphasises that participation in the programme creates value not only for its participants but also for the tech sector companies themselves. “It allows us to take a new look at our surrounding environment and identify areas which still require improvement in order to attract more talent. We wish to encourage Lithuanian women to contribute in creating the technologies of the future. Only by working together, we can change attitudes to the long-standing stereotypes and direct attention to the overall nurture of talent in the tech industry,” says T. Pohlschmidt.
The Women Go Tech programme also features the participation of Danske Bank, Axioma Metering, TransUnion, Wix, Telia, Genius Sports and other tech leaders.
Last year around 800 women applied to join the Women Go Tech mentorship programme. It is the first mentorship and technology content session programme in Lithuania aimed at women pursuing a career in the tech sector.
