Advancing Women in Tech and U.S. Department of State Collaborate on International Women’s Entrepreneurship Support and Skills Training
Feb 27, 2023
AWIT Founder and Board Chair Nancy Wang to keynote Academy for Women Entrepreneurs Summit in Kuala Lumpur and lead skills workshops
SEATTLE — February 27, 2023 — Advancing Women in Technology (AWIT), a global 501(c)(3) non-profit organization advancing women and underrepresented groups into tech leadership roles, announced today a collaboration with the U.S. Department of State to provide skills training workshops and mentorship support across international entrepreneurship events as part of the U.S. Speaker Program. AWIT will participate in the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) Summit in Kuala Lumpur, March 6-8, which will bring together nearly 200 women entrepreneurs and business experts from 10 countries in Asia.
AWIT supports women and underrepresented executives and founders in the tech industry through partnered programs like the AWS Impact Accelerator for Women Founders, skills resources including more than 100 hours of Coursera content and extensive work with leading technology companies like Google, Amazon, and MongoDB.
AWE was launched by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs as an exchange program in 2019 to empower enterprising women with the knowledge, networks, and access they need to launch or scale successful businesses. With a vibrant network of 25,000 women worldwide, AWE promotes women’s economic opportunities and helps equip women with the capabilities and resources needed to participate in the economy as part of the U.S. National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality.
Nancy Wang, Founder and Board Chair of AWIT, and General Manager at Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Kate Watts, Executive Director of AWIT, will join the upcoming AWE summit as part of the U.S. Speaker Program, a State Department program which collaborates with U.S. embassies and consulates to connect professional foreign audiences with U.S. experts. Wang will give the International Women’s Day keynote address, in addition to leading multiple skills training sessions pertinent to entrepreneurship challenges globally. Nancy’s workshops will advise on achieving product-market fit, future proofing, creating a sustainable business model, and the importance of embracing equity. In addition to their work during the summit Wang and Watts will also meet with Malaysian government officials and business schools in Malaysia to discuss policy & women empowerment.
“We believe wholeheartedly in the power of democratizing knowledge and mentorship to bridge the representation gap we see not only in entrepreneurship in the United States, but all around the world,” said Wang. “Economic and educational investment in women and underrepresented groups is one of the greatest drivers of community and national wealth and wellbeing.”
“In the three years that we have run AWE Malaysia, we’ve had the opportunity to meet women entrepreneurs from various industries and stages in business. These ladies faced unprecedented challenges during the pandemic and we’re working together to help them rebuild and contribute back to the community”, said Nuraizah Shamsul Baharin, Managing Director at Madcash, and Program Director of AWE Malaysia. “We have learned that knowledge needs to be supplemented with mentor and peer support, and strengthened with microfunding while building an ecosystem of women supporting women.”
AWIT plans to create new mentorship opportunities and skills training for the U.S. Department of State’s other AWE programs globally, pulling from AWIT’s network of more than 40,000 senior leaders in the technology sector.
About Advancing Women in Tech
Advancing Women in Tech (AWIT) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit curating a community of tech executives who catapult high-potential, diverse talent into leadership roles through upskilling and mentorship. Founded by Nancy Wang, one of Entrepreneur’s 100 Female Founders, AWIT’s mission is to solve the gender gap at all levels of tech leadership by teaching real-world skills, mentoring the next-generation of diverse executives, and advocating for more diverse representation in the management office, C-Suite, and the boardroom. AWIT works with leading technology companies including Google, Amazon and MongoDB, as well as noted venture capital firms such as Emergence Ventures and Redpoint Ventures, to further its mission.
AWIT has accelerated the careers of more than 40,000 women and underrepresented groups through partnerships with AWS and Coursera to teach the real-world skills required of product and engineering leaders by companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. AWIT also partners with top tech companies to mentor senior talent to become executive-ready. To learn more, visit www.advancingwomenintech.org
About The Academy for Women Entrepreneurs
The Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) gives enterprising women the knowledge, networks and access they need to launch and scale successful businesses. A U.S. government exchange program, AWE connects women with experts to advance business acumen and build stronger ties among women entrepreneurs in different markets. At a local level, AWE harnesses the power of public-private sponsors, local partnerships and U.S. Exchange Alumni networks to help women and their businesses grow, driving localized prosperity in communities in more than 100 countries worldwide. For more information about AWE, visit: https://eca.state.gov/awe
About the U.S Speaker Program
The U.S. Speaker Program collaborates with U.S. embassies and consulates around the world to connect professional foreign audiences with American citizen experts on topics of strategic importance to the United States. Programs are conducted in person and through virtual engagement platforms and focus on key foreign policy topics. The U.S. Speaker program offers experts an opportunity to engage with new audiences, expand their networks, and exchange ideas with professionals across the globe.
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