Google Women Techmakers moves to Technovation, but not everyone is cheering

For over a decade, Women Techmakers has stood as one of Google’s proudest initiatives. This program provided women and girls around the world with visibility, community, and resources to thrive in the tech industry. From International Women’s Day events to mentorship programs, WTM became a trusted space where women could connect, grow, and lead in an industry that often sidelines them.

But last week, something quietly monumental happened. Google officially handed over Women Techmakers to Technovation, a nonprofit that has spent nearly 20 years empowering young innovators to solve real-world problems through technology and entrepreneurship.

On the surface, it’s a move that makes sense. Both organizations share the same mission: closing the gender gap in STEM and equipping women with the skills to lead in tech. In fact, Tara Chklovski, Technovation’s founder and CEO, called the merger “an exciting new chapter”, assuring Women Techmakers members that everything they love about WTM will continue under Technovation, but now with more opportunities, including access to an AI leadership certificate from Oxford’s Saïd Business School and a global network of 80,000 mentors, educators, and alumni.

So far, so inspiring.

But as the news began trickling out, not through a grand announcement or an official Google blog, but via a short note on the Women Techmakers website (“The Women Techmakers program is now with Technovation…”) and a Google Form inviting members to apply for a Transition Advisory Council, the reception has been… complicated.

The writing was on the wall

For many long-time ambassadors, this “transition” feels less like a celebration and more like closure for something that had already been quietly fading. Several members say the signs were there as early as late 2024, with dwindling support, fewer sponsored events, and an overall sense that Google’s enthusiasm for the program was waning.

First came the cuts to webinars and ambassador events. Then came tighter funding rules (reimbursements instead of upfront support) and even denials for community travel that used to be covered. When Women Techmakers ambassadors were excluded from a major Google community mixer earlier this year (while other groups like GDGs attended in full force), it felt like the final blow. What had once been a vibrant, Google-backed sisterhood of technologists began to feel like an afterthought.

So when the emails dropped last week, it wasn’t exactly a shock. But it did sting. “7 years of being an ambassador, curated and organized more than 40 events, including huge IT conferences (400+ attendees), a team of 13 women… everything now in shambles and dismoralized because Big G decided that the community that was promoting and supporting women in STEM is too DEI for their brand,” one former ambassador lamented on Reddit.

“DEI is out of fashion” — and it shows

The frustration isn’t just about the handover. It’s also about what it represents.

Across Reddit and other tech circles, some see this move as part of a broader corporate pullback from DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs especially in the wake of U.S. political backlash and cost-cutting measures in big tech.

“I guess the call for more ‘masculine energy’ isn’t just at Meta,” Nelyahin, who works at a Fortune 500 company, wrote on Reddit, reflecting a growing cynicism about the future of corporate diversity programs. Another noted how their own company quietly rebranded its “Women in Tech” group into a gender-neutral “Technology Together” collective, a trend that seems to be spreading across industries.

Others connected the dots to layoffs that disproportionately affected women and people of color, saying the writing has been on the wall for DEI initiatives for some time. In that sense, Google’s decision feels symbolic. It’s not that the Women Techmakers community is disappearing (Technovation is a capable and respected organization), but for some, this transition feels like Google stepping away from a promise it once championed loudly.

For now, Technovation seems genuinely committed to keeping the flame alive and perhaps even taking it further than Google ever did. If the promised opportunities (like AI leadership training and mentorship programs) materialize, the future for Women Techmakers alumni could be bright. But the handover marks the end of an era and a reminder that corporate-backed diversity programs are only as enduring as the companies’ priorities.

In short, Google’s Women Techmakers isn’t shutting down. It’s moving on. But for many in the community who poured years of volunteer work, heart, and mentorship into it, the move feels bittersweet. What’s next under Technovation could be exciting, but the way it happened tells a bigger story about how Big Tech is rethinking its relationship with DEI.