How Google's Women Techmakers program is using maps to tell their stories
Women Techmakers (WTM) is a Google program that provides visibility, community, and resources for women in technology. One of its goals is also to showcase the extraordinary achievements and compelling journeys of WTM members across the globe. Today, WTM is launching a new interactive storytelling hub that highlights the voices of women developers and technologists from its community. Maps offers a unique way to connect personal experiences with real-world locations. Each ambassador pinpoints meaningful locations in their cities — resources and places of inspiration that shaped their journey.
The Women Techmaker Story Map uses the latest capabilities from Google Maps Platform including Photorealistic 3D Tiles, Places API and Street View to bring ambassadors’ own stories to the map, allowing you to “travel” across the globe and learn more about them. As new women join WTM, their stories can be added to expand the Story Map of inspiration and empowerment.
Below are a few of the women whose stories you’ll find on the Women Techmakers map.
Ludymila Lobo de Aguiar Gomes lives in Manaus, Brazil. She is a Women Techmakers Ambassador who believes in the power of women’s voices in her community. For the past couple of years, she has been working hard to cultivate spaces for women in tech to further their careers. “We need to have more women speakers and more women participating in and winning competitions and hackathons,” Ludymila says. “If you don't have role models, then when women are deciding their careers they'll have less of a chance to look at inspiring stories and say, ‘Hey, I can do this too.’"
Maryam Alhuthayfi is a WTM ambassador from Saudi Arabia. Maryam is the first female Google Developer Expert in Android in the entire Middle East and North Africa region. Her love for tech inspired her to move away from home to pursue her career. “As much as the news [of being the first female Google Developer Expert in Android in MENA] made me happy, it also made me sad because we have so many talented Android engineers who don’t have the visibility they deserve,” she says.
You’ll also meet Bukola Johnson, a WTM Ambassador from Berlin. “I realized there was a need for gender parity in tech when I started my career in IT,” she explains. “It was always only me on the team of male colleagues.” She says that one way she’s found support is through the WTM community.
These are just a few of the trailblazing women who are changing the face of tech. Explore the Women Techmakers Story Map for more inspiring stories or check out the blog post to learn how this was built. Become a WTM member today and join the empowering community.
