About GWTC

Extensive research indicates that women are the largest source of untapped potential for economic development around the world. Concurrently, innovation is the place where new economic growth occurs, and technology is the largest enabler of innovation today.

Global Women's Technology Collaborative (GWTC) supports the establishment of collaborative organizations among women- and technology-serving organizations interested in addressing issues of access, literacy, employment, entrepreneurship, and leadership to advance economic development through improving education, increasing employment and entrepreneurship, and expanding innovation while embracing the values of leadership, equity, and integrity.

By connecting the many women engineers, teachers, and entrepreneurs with enormous compassion, energy, and interest in improving the quality of life for others, particularly girls and women, we can begin to address the digital divide, or more specifically the gender digital divide, to ensure the best and brightest minds, including women's, are developed and have the access needed to help solve our shared global challenges.

Building a New Model* in Four Targeted Areas

• Secondary and Tertiary Education and Training
• Career Advancement
• Entrepreneurship Development and Support
• Leadership—which is cross cutting among the other areas as well.

Using Four Customized Strategies for Regional Culture and Context

• Policy and implementation of Proven Programs and Practices
• Research and Impact
• Dissemination and Communication
• Resource and Service Development

Six Steps for Development

1. Identify through request for proposals the regional or national organizations that meet the criteria for a Collaborative
2. Provide three days of training to support the establishment of a strategic plan of action.
3. Develop a three year business plan in partnership with the organization.
4. Provide a second, three-day training for the leadership to implement the plan and invite greater participation in the region.
5. Provide mentoring support and evaluation on a quarterly basis and as needed to ensure long term sustainability, continuous improvement and program success.
6. Share successful programs and practices from others around the globe.

Unique Qualities of the Program

The program has several key features compared to other economic and workforce development programs.  The collaborative infrastructure is:

• Developed on top of proven, successful models that are appropriate, sustainable, and equitable to the region.
• Uses proven practices developed at the grassroots to create new alliances, partnerships, strategic networks, and “packaged” programs that can be tailored to the region.
• Is open to both women and men in the region to ensure broader impact.
• Drives outcomes focusing on sustainability and measurability from the first training.
• Increases innovation levels in the region to expand the marketplace through women’s increased engagement.
• Creates a regional point of contact (POC) for the diverse national and regional marketplace for women and technology.
• Establishes a collaborative team to amplify current local and national efforts and develop effective, sustainable, collaborative NGOs to fill gaps.

What It Means For the Knowledge Economy

• Increased access to technology knowledge and resources and connectivity to a broader community;
• Improved technologically literate labor force;
• Full participation in the development, design, and implementation of technology hardware, software, and content;
• Increasing presence and leadership in all aspects of technology design, development, management, and entrepreneurship.

What It Means for the National and Regional Community

• Improved knowledge for girls as well as boys to prepare them for the 21st century knowledge economy.
• Greater workforce diversity leading to a more productive, innovative workplace, which leads to safer, healthier, cleaner, literate, and more efficient communities around the globe.
• Increased numbers of qualified workers at every level—entry, management, and top leadership.
• Increased numbers of high paying technology jobs through business growth and entrepreneurship that produce economic independence and stimulate sustainable economic activity.

The Vision
The Global Women’s Technology Collaborative was founded to accelerate growth in the global knowledge economy.  By combining the largely untapped potential of women worldwide with innovative ideas enabled through technology, all women, their families, and communities prosper.  The vision is realized through the promotion of girl’s interests in STEM and women’s entry into and advancement in technology careers. 

The organization’s leadership consists of a Board of Trustees composed of business professionals, education leaders, and high-tech entrepreneurs with more than 15 years of experience in achieving these goals.

* The partners on this project would like to thank the International Taskforce for Women and ICTs (ITF) who serve the global community supporting women and technology development for their contributions to this model during the time the leader of this effort was chair, 2005-2008.

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