Today, International Women’s Day, we at Women in Cloud are launching the 21 Days of Action campaign to create $1 billion in economic access for women-led technology companies.

The campaign runs from March 8-28, and aims to improve access to procurement vehicles for women in the technology sector through collaborative action with public officer holders, global corporations, women tech entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship organizations and
accelerators in Canada and the U.S.

Together, we can share the importance of fair and equitable access to economic opportunities for all, to amplify the success of women-led technology companies, and the important organizations and initiatives they support.

We’ve put together social media content for you to easily copy, paste and post on your profile. You may use the complete promo kit to share the campaign message and the links in the action calendar below to take your own actions each week of the campaign!

Use the hashtag #empowHERaccess with your posts to join the conversation online.

Each week in our social media we will feature spotlights by industry leaders, inspirational quotes, and calls-to-action for the community to take as a collective.

Download the Promo Kit Here

Download Creatives & GIFs Here

Download the Action Calendar Here

Download the Press Release Here

Week 1 Plan

Week 2 Plan

Week 3 Plan

Women in Cloud is an ever growing community and a contributing network accelerating societal impact through female tech entrepreneurs with the colossal goal of generating over $1B in global economic access by 2030. 

Since initiation Women in Cloud has been recognised and lauded by various national and international organizations for our effort to bridge the gender gap in the tech industry. A month ago we wrapped up our third annual summit on a spectacular note and response from our attendees and viewers. Our message was clear and our efforts were appreciated. On this note, we are very proud to announce that the Washington State Senate is going to introduce a new bill, S-8697 to recognize the Women in Cloud initiative led by Senator Patty Kuderer of the 48th Legislative District

There already exists a bill in the state senate, bill SR 8602 which recognizes the effort made by the Women in Cloud community and celebrates 25 January as the “Women in Cloud” day. However, the new bill recognizes the community and the international effort we are putting in to ensure and create $1B in economic access for women entrepreneurs by 2030. The bill also highlights our Global Expansion Program, focusing on various regions across the USA, United Kingdom, India, France, Canada, Germany, Greece, Africa and UAE. 

The new proclamation will help build and recognize the Women in Cloud Summit 2021 as an international event to empower the women in tech across the world and generate economic opportunities for women. The bill will empower Women in Cloud to open and seal opportunities for female tech entrepreneurs and provide them with access and help them accelerate in their mission. 

We are very proud to share this news with you. The recognition by the Washington State Senate is a sign that our mission is important, we are now stronger than before and our work matters. Our team and community is thankful to the State Senate and Senator Kuderer for this opportunity. 

The hearing took place on February 27 at 9:30am PST – right in time for International Women’s Day.

If you would like to show your commitment to creating economic access for women entrepreneurs in tech, we invite you to take the pledge with us to unlock economic access through procurement and investment vehicles.

Did you know, Wendy Garcia Chief Diversity Officer at NY Comptroller’s office presented a proclamation on Jan25th, 2020 to support Women In Cloud as a strategic program for advancing women tech entrepreneurs in New York. To advance the women tech entrepreneurs, WIC is launching cloud accelerator, 6-month program to assist women-led tech companies to strategically partner with Microsoft and their channel partners to get you ready to win enterprise opportunities in the private and public sector.  

What is WIC: Microsoft Cloud Accelerator? :

Women In Cloud Microsoft Cloud Accelerator is designed an immersive 6-month program to assist women-led tech companies to co-build, co-market and co-sell with Microsoft and their distribution channels. This program is designed to help you win enterprise opportunities, get access to Azure credits, an advisor community and a global stage to showcase your business.

What is included in the program (valued at $25,000)

  • Immersive co-selling education with Microsoft (live + online)
  • Downloadable workbooks
  • Invitation to speak at industry stages
  • Hands-on assistance to the development of the Cloud business model, GTM & co-selling Support
  • Exclusive invitation to IdeaGEN UN Delegation participation
  • Year-round discounted travel benefits
  • Azure credits up to $15,000 upon approval
  • Business development advisory (up to 4 hrs) for winning potential customers
  • Two (2) complimentary tickets to Women in Cloud events
  • Access to Partner Benefits (includes leadership readiness, technology solutions, marketing resources)
  • Case study development for PR activities
  • Access to WiC Network for deal acceleration

What is in the course curriculum:

  • Kickoff: Introduction to the Cloud Accelerator,  Executive Dinner, and #CloudInnovateHER Pitch Challenge
  • Stage 1: Cloud-Ready Assessment, Building & Licensing Solutions, Introduction to Microsoft Partner Program
  • Stage 2: Creating / Executing GTM Plan, Pitch Preparation, Partner Business Plan
  • Stage 3: Prepping to Win 5 Customers, Co Selling with Microsoft, Access to Azure Credits
  • Stage 4: Cloud Selling to B2B Businesses, Lead Generation
  • Stage 5: Listing your solution to Microsoft Commercial Marketplaces
  • Stage 6: POS / Pilot Customers, Co-Selling, Managing Success
  • WIC Summit: Graduation Ceremony, Case Study Development

Who can apply to this program: 

  • With at least one woman in the C-level role with decision making power in the company
  • Targeting enterprise opportunities in any industry sector with a potential to scale
  • Must be in business for one year with one pilot customer and developed a cloud solution
  • Looking to scale business through Microsoft and their distribution channels

When is the Cloud Accelerator for NY starting:

The kickoff will happen on March 19, 2020.

Are you ready to take your business to the next level?

Sign up for the Women in Cloud Cloud accelerator program here and be a part of our mission-driven organization!

As we wind down 2019, we can’t help but think of all the things we have to be thankful for this past year. Although we still have a lot of work to do in order to see gender equality in the tech industry, we’ve also accomplished a lot of things this past year. 

  • We’ve grown our WIC active network to over 1500 members, more than double where we were one year ago and, as a result, we’ve tripled our audience during this time. 
  • We launched the online WIC Network community to give members an exclusive space to communicate, network, share ideas and help each other through mutual generosity. 
  • We build an Advisor Network comprised of industry executives and subject matter experts.
  • Our Accelerator impact generated $50M in pipeline opportunities and $6M in investments.
  • We’ve expanded the Cloud Accelerator into 8 countries: Canada, UK, France, Germany, India, Kenya, the US and Dubai.
  • We now have 60+ major companies directly participating in the community. 
  • And we’ve garnered major media coverage for WIC on Microsoft, GeekWire, TechNative and more. 

And as we move into 2020, we know we can accomplish amazing things. We’re going to continue launching our community in new countries and territories, add new programs like Executive Dinners and Innovation Hacks, continue to evolve our community into a true Generosity Network, and much more.

We kick off the year with our annual summit, and this year’s promises to be extra special. We’ve added a number of amazing new experiences that not only accelerate growth for women-led technology businesses, but also inspire, connect and harness the amazing power of the community to help solve other major problems we’re facing across the globe. 

Here are our top 5 reasons why you can’t miss out on the 2020 summit:

  1. Learn from relevant industry leaders: there are so many amazing speakers at the summit this year including critically acclaimed performer and author Patti Dobrowolski, and corporate vice president for Microsoft’s One Commercial Partner business, Gavriella Schuster, and many others. You’ll wish you could listen to all of them!
  2. Change the world and yourself in the process#AISolutions2030 Innovation Hub: Women In Cloud and IdeaGen have partnered together with industry leaders and policy makers to further the 2030 UN global goals through AI-based solutions by launching the #AISolutions2030 Innovation Hub. Leveraging the UN Knowledge Repository, WIC will be bringing some of the sharpest tech and business minds together in one place for a greater purpose, and promises to produce strategic AI solutions directed at solving the UN’s SDG goals.
  3. See up-and-coming women entrepreneurs and women-led business emerging into the spotlight first hand through the #CloudInnovateHER Pitch Challenge: women-led companies developing an enterprise-ready cloud solution that’s earned less than $10M in the past 12 months qualify to enter the pitch challenge. Four finalists will have an opportunity to deliver their pitch during WIC Summit 2020. The winner will be selected at the pitch competition and will receive a prize.
  4. Join in on scintillating conversation with industry leaders at the #CloudExecConnect Executive Roundtables: an intimate group eating together and inspiring through meaningful dialogue around one topic. Each table conversation is facilitated by an industry executive, and you can pick the topic that interests you most. 
  5. Multiple opportunities to network: in addition to the #CloudExecConnect Executive Roundtables, there’s also Collective Action Lounge, as well as the #CloudCommunityConnect: Community Roundtables that are community lead roundtables similar to the executive roundtables. With over 1500 attendees, there are bound to be a number of influencers you can get connected to. 

There are several more reasons to attend, so be sure to register today!

Also, there are other ways to get involved if you’re interested:

In 2015, the UN adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, proposing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This agenda is built to create a global blueprint for dignity, peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and in the future, and is challenging the world as a whole to band together to leave no one behind. 

As humans, our well-being is linked. Poverty, gender inequality, and lack of access to education, nutrition, clean water, and sanitation is detrimental to economic growth and undermines social cohesion, increasing political and social tensions that can lead to conflict. The converse–no poverty, sustainability, equality, and access to basic human needs–benefits the entire population and promotes personal and social well-being, economic growth, and development. It’s key to building our future together and ensuring prosperous societies and a planet we can all enjoy together for years to come. 

That’s why Women in Cloud (WiC) and IdeaGen have partnered together and with industry leaders and policy makers to further the 2030 UN global goals through AI-based solutions with the #AISolutions2030 Innovation Hub at WiC’s 2020 Summit in January. Leveraging the UN Knowledge Repository, WiC is looking to bring some of the sharpest tech and business minds together in one place for a greater purpose and promises to produce great AI solutions directed at solving the UN’s SDG goals.

Advancing gender equality is one of the first five goals, and the UN is emphatic that realizing global gender equality is “critical to all areas of a healthy society, from reducing poverty to promoting the health, education, protection and the well-being of girls and boys,” and will go a long way to help solve the other goals. They stress that “investing in education programs for girls and increasing the age at which they marry can return $5 for every dollar spent. Investing in programs improving income-generating activities for women can return $7 dollars for every dollar spent.”

It’s no secret that advancing gender equality is at the nucleus of WiC, but all 17 goals are on the table for the #AISolutions2030 Innovation Hub.  “We not only want to be at the forefront of gender equality, but the other UN goals as well,” says president of Women in Cloud Chaitra Vedullapalli. “We believe this world is worth saving, and we know that we have one of the brightest communities out there–a community that is no stranger to gathering together to solve big problems and overcome adversity.” 

More than just an opportunity to show off their great skills, the #AISolutions2030 Innovation Hub gives up and coming women tech entrepreneurs and the entire community the chance at winning awards for their innovative thinking as well as bringing something better to the world. 

Prizes include swag, plus with the industry recognition and visibility the #AISolutions2030 Innovation Hub generates, the best and brightest ideas are sure to get noticed by community leaders, corporate sponsors, and outside investors alike. It will be a prime opportunity to be recognized as a leader in the tech space. 

Join us and gain valuable experience through collaborative design thinking, problem solving, executive pitch development and more. 

The Details

  • Signup:
    • #AISolutions2030 Innovation Hub is inclusive, so anyone can participate. This includes literally anyone at the Summit, even Speakers and Judges. The more people we have to solve the problem, the better. 
    • When you register, tell us which SDG goal you want to contribute to. We will group people based on their selected goals. 
    • Be sure to recruit your own team members and invite the community to join. 
  • Readiness:
    • Women In Cloud team will put together the Groups on Online Community and host an online call to explain the process. 
    • George Sifakis and other UN representatives will be part of the call.
  • Team Engagement: Summit
    • The teams will use the SDG knowledge base to identify their “target” and “outcome” to do research, and begin preparing their ideas. 
    • The teams will join the Design Hacking Workshop to develop their AI solution.
  • AI Solution Selection for Advancement 
    • The judges from IDEAGEN and WIC community will pick the compelling ideas to win awards at the IDEAGEN Global Awards Ceremony.
  • All other ideas will be recognized and nurture throughout the year.
  • Read the full terms and conditions for more details. 

Join us for this amazing opportunity to roll up your sleeves, have fun, and help solve the world’s big problems through innovative tech solutions. Sign up today