Eligibility for participation (students)

Any girl or young woman (ages 10-18) interested in Technovation Girls is eligible to participate. We welcome all transgender people and also those who identify as non-binary or gender nonconforming and want to be part of a female-identified environment, including student participants.

To join our competition, a girl must create or join a team on our online platform, have a parent/guardian sign the consent form and meet the following Student Participation criteria:

• All students must be between the ages of 10 to 18 as of August 1, 2020.
• All students must identify as female, trans, nonbinary or gender nonconforming. Students who are assigned male at birth and self-identify as male cannot enter the competition.
• Teams are composed of 1 to 5 students. Students can only join 1 team.
• Competition Divisions are based on the age of the oldest student on the team.
• Students can participate in Technovation Girls for multiple seasons until they reach the age of 18
• Students can work with the same team members and mentors, but they cannot submit the materials to competition over multiple years.
• Teams can explore the same problem, but the app prototype must be different each year.

Technovation Girls is a self-select program and there is no application/selection process.

For mentor eligibility, please refer to this article. 

Technovation's Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Our mission is to reach and welcome students and mentors who may not otherwise be able to learn and build technology due to racial, economic, social, and cultural barriers and discrimination. Our programs run in over 100 countries with historical and existing biases against women and other underrepresented genders, in particular.  

With increased stressors for women in STEM fields, including sexual harassment and discrimination, research shows that when women participate in gender-reaffirming environments, it can increase their sense of belonging and therefore help keep them in STEM fields. Our Technovation Girls program aims to provide this safe, reaffirming environment, so our eligibility condition remains that students who are assigned male at birth and self-identify as male cannot enter the competition.

Additionally, Technovation Girls is proud to provide girls and students with identity-reaffirming role models so they can see themselves in technology careers.