<
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/10/23/tech/google-diversity-programs-women-techmakers>
"The email that said the career resource program for women would no longer be
part of Google was terse and followed months of eroding support. But the
deletion of years of Women Techmakers’ work came as a significant shock to its
members.
“Everything that I ever hosted and facilitated for Women Techmakers is gone.
And there are just as many ambassadors who were in the community that put in so
much effort to be part of this, (and) their history just erased,” Sherry Yang,
an engineering manager in Canada and an ambassador for the group, told
CNN.
Google earlier this month offloaded the key career resource program for
supporting women in tech and severed its integration within the company. The
decision was communicated to members in a short email with little explanation
earlier this month. It left members feeling surprised, upset and sidelined as
the company removed years’ worth of content and videos they created.
The end of Women Techmakers served as another sign the search giant is
unwinding its diversity programs as such initiatives face increasing political
pressure.
Google announced an external organization called Technovation will take over
the group, but members of Women Techmakers told
CNN they feel they have lost
an important direct association and pipeline with one of the world’s most
influential technology companies.
“The message it sends to women in tech, and really women in general, is that we
cannot count on unwavering support from big corporations,” Vassiliki Dalakiari,
a former Women Techmakers ambassador and AI research and development manager in
Greece, told
CNN. “We need to keep speaking up until we are heard. Google
helped to do that, and they decided to quietly turn their back on us.”"
Via Esther Schindler, who wrote "The end of Women Techmakers served as another
sign the search giant is unwinding its diversity programs."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
