Independent Communications and Marketing Consultant, Liaison of San Francisco International Women Entrepreneurs Forum at Madrid

Cristina’s passion is to empower women and girls by promoting access to and leadership in the IT sector. Through Meridian Social Innovation Fellowship, she aligned with like-minded initiatives to intensely study the current role of women in technology, and propose a plan of action to increase employment and entrepreneurship for young women.

Project Summary

Mujeres en la Tecnología aims to build on the existing efforts of organizations and institutions across Spain. Throughout her career in marketing and advertising, Cristina has developed a network of passionate supporters of women in tech, among them representatives of Spain’s tech startups, women’s entrepreneurship groups, major companies, and public institutions. Mujeres en la Tecnología is the product of this alliance among representatives of Spain’s Girls in Tech, Agile Girls, Makers Madrid, Madrid IoT, Betabeers, Tetuan Valley, Tech&Girls, and LesWorking. Mujeres en la Tecnología is invested in understanding the situation of women in Spain’s IT sector, publicizing its findings, and developing a plan of action that will result in a concrete and measurable impact on high school and university students, unemployed young women and emerging entrepreneurs.

Goals

My principal goals are to empower women and young girls, giving them resources and training to improve their self-esteem and motivate them to do great things in the technology sector. Our programs will foment the presence of women in tech companies and the creation of startups by women entrepreneurs. We also have a special interest in filling the void in IT education that currently exists in Spain’s educational system.

Achievements

In fall of 2015, Mujeres en la Tecnología partnered with the U.S. Embassy on programs like GirlsTech Camp which trained 28 girls on skills such as videogame, web and robotics design. Cristina continues to find innovative partnerships and projects to support, including “Time to Hack” (hackathon for girls), Jefa por un Día (Boss for a Day) which introduces young girls to careers in fields such as technology, and more recently a design thinking workshop for 30 female inmates at the jail in Alcalá Meco, outside of Madrid.