It was in 2011 – twelve years ago – when we first contacted her. Marily Nika. Shortly thereafter, at the age of 26, she received the Anita Borg Fellowship from Google, which promotes the study of women in IT. She was the first Greek woman to succeed. At that time, she was supposed to receive a doctorate from Imperial College London and complete an internship with a legendary company. Google. At that time, all the possibilities were still open: will the cooperation with the company continue? Can she survive in a male-dominated environment?

The rest is history, as Google says. Not only was she offered the position, but within a few years, she rose to the position of manager of Google’s voice recognition and artificial intelligence department, gradually becoming one of the most famous and active women in the diaspora in technological space. He now lives in San Francisco and works for another industry leader, Metaformerly Facebook, again at the forefront of development AI field.

It’s amazing that none of this would have happened if Marily had followed the “principle” we grew up with in Greece at the time that “computers are not for girls”. However, the voice inside her “spoke” in code. She secretly borrowed her brother’s programming books and “burned” some of his old computers. It is characteristic that she became interested in information technology only after receiving her first degree in maritime science. It was shaped by personal experience. She felt she was a link in a chain of women who resisted the establishment and pursued the dream of science. At Imperial College he founded a special group “Women and IT”, also organizing classes in schools to “discover” science for girls, organized a special “hackathon” for women to develop the best health and wellness app and more. Today she is its co-founder Greek women in technologywhich aims to empower Greek women working in technology.

On this occasion, we talked about both the AI ​​revolution and the other, less visible, “invasion” of women in the industry. What is it like for a woman to work in such a competitive environment? “At Google, I would say that it’s more academic – research culture and attaches great importance to the quality of work, while at Meta we focus more on speed and “flexibility” in the development and release of new products”, says “K”. “Of course, it was more difficult before, because there were fewer women in the field and the mentality was different. However, I’m starting to notice significant changes in my work environment. There are already many female role models who have not only proven their worth, but in turn have inspired other women as well as the next generation to enter the field, and their number is growing. Accordingly, most men now have no prejudice against women in the industry. That is, I constantly see how colleagues, regardless of gender, work and create a productive work environment where it is important what you can offer the team, and not whether you are a man or a woman.

Our society is constantly changing and evolving. In 10-15 years, when the women students of today excel, the difference will be visible.

She was sure it would happen. “Our society is constantly changing and evolving. In 10-15 years, when the women students of today excel, the difference will be visible. Women in tech won’t be an exception, their numbers won’t be a talking point, they’ll just be normal.”

With Greek Women Do Tech, they wanted to give the Greek public a realistic picture of what a career in STEM would mean. “I believe that Greece is a growing force in this area. We are seeing more and more startups from Greeks, young people with internationally recognized ambitions and successes such as Blueground, Accusonus, Instashop, Pollfish, Workable, Spotawheel. Therefore, we decided to contribute to this growth by allowing even more people to learn about these industries first hand. We have brought in as experts the Greeks who have distinguished themselves in America, who work in large companies such as Meta, Google, Microsoft, Amazonto teach them specific technical skills, but also to explain to them what it is like to work in such a company, what is everyday life like and other necessary information.” The answer was much more than they could have imagined. They received over 400 entries.

Goal first

“I would advise girls not to be shy, there is no reason for that. Have them start by setting a goal, and if that goal changes a bit along the way, don’t be discouraged. As long as they try, success is given, even if there are obstacles in the way.”