U.S. Department of State 2023 TechWomen Mentorship Program Engages Global Women Leaders in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) in Washington, D.C., Chicago, and San Francisco

Working worldwide to expand access to education, economic equity and societal inclusion, the U.S. Department of State recently hosted the annual TechWomen mentorship program and cultural exchange of global emerging leaders in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), in Washington D.C., Chicago, and San Francisco. Through mentorships with U.S. women leaders in STEM, the TechWomen participants strengthened business ties and built stronger professional networks to advance their work and benefit their communities, with an aim to encourage more women and girls to pursue STEM careers.

TechWomen participants for the 2023 mentorship program were from seven countries in the Middle East and North Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia, as well as the Palestinian Territories; six countries in Central and South Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan; and seven countries in Sub-Saharan Africa: Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

U.S.-based tech executives who volunteered as mentors to support TechWomen 2023 included 23andMe, Adobe, Apple, Atkins North America, Autodesk, AWS, BigCommerce, Booz Allen, Cahill, Chime, CITRIS, Foundry, Databook Labs, Fairrer Samani Group LLC, GHX, Gigpro, GoDaddy, Google, Highwater Farm, Illinois Institute of Technology, Intel, Jacobs, Juniper Networks, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, LGConsulting, LinkedIn, Lyra Health, Marvell Technology, McDonald’s, Microchip Tech, Microsoft, Mission Bio, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Institutes of Health, Nextdoor, Northgate Environmental Management, Oracle, PG&E, Salesforce, Sol Ecology, SpotHero, SS&C Advent, Strata Decision Technology, Synopsys, Thermo Fisher Scientific, ThinkSmark, TotalEnergies, Ultragenyx, Unity, Veritas, VMware, Weston Solutions, and Zurich Insurance. U.S.-based organizations that hosted workshops, networking opportunities and interactive panel discussions included Airbnb, Amazon, Autodesk, Chicago Community Trust, Chime, CITRIS, Fulton Labs, Illinois Institute of Technology, IMSA, JARC/Freedman Seating Company, Juniper Networks, Nexus, Nvisia, PG&E, Robust Intelligence, Waymo, and World Bank Group.

TechWomen, the Department’s premier exchange program for women in STEM, was an answer to former President Barack Obama’s 2009 speech that called for a ‘New Beginning’ between the U.S. and the Muslim world, with a focus on increased engagement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Since its inception in 2012, across three presidential administrations and five Secretaries of State, TechWomen has expanded beyond the Middle East and North African region to include Southeast Asian and Sub-Saharan African nations.

For more information on TechWomen, contact [email protected].