There is a lot of talk about diversity in tech nowadays. According to a 2025 report by the Deloitte Center for Technology, Media & Telecommunications, only 26.7% of the tech workforce is female globally. There is an urgent need for inclusion, opportunities, and representation. But the question remains, who is actually building it?
Women in Tech Cyprus, while preparing the official Cyprus Delegation to the Women in Tech Global Summit 2026, has recently been working closely with local partners who turn ideas into action. One of these is inDrive, a global mobility and urban services platform, acting as an official sponsor of the global summit this year.
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Their 36-hour Women Drive Hackathon initiative had over 100 participants and is a powerful example of how companies can go beyond statements of inclusion and create real opportunities for women to build, lead, and innovate.
Gala Grigoreva, Community Leader of Women in Tech Cyprus, an official chapter of Women in Tech Global, recently sat down with the incredible women behind the Women Drive Hackathon initiative, Alina Kuzmina, Laura Esaian, Aytalina Nikolaeva, Gulnara Iarullina, and Vera Solomatina, to talk about the inDrive mission for inclusion and diversity and what comes next.
What inspired inDrive to launch the Women Drive Hackathon, and how does it connect to your broader mission around inclusion and innovation?
Aytalina Nikolaeva, Director of Operations Department:
At inDrive, our mission is to challenge injustice and create equal opportunities for people and communities around the world.
The Women Drive Hackathon is a natural extension of this mission. It was inspired by our internal Women Drive community created by Alina, Laura and me. Our goal was to encourage more women to actively participate in tech and product creation.
We also wanted to involve corporate and business teams in building real solutions themselves. This hands-on approach helps make innovation more inclusive and accessible.
As part of this initiative, the leader of the winning team was awarded participation in the Women in Tech Global Summit as part of the inDrive delegation.
What kind of impact do you hope attending the Women in Tech Global Summit will have on the winners?
Alina Kuzmina, Head of Events & Activities:
We hope this experience will be both inspiring and empowering. It’s an opportunity for the winners to broaden their perspectives, connect with professionals from across the industry, and learn from global leaders in tech.
Most importantly, it can serve as a strong motivation to continue growing, building, and contributing to the tech community.
inDrive is joining the Women in Tech Cyprus delegation with a strong team. What does this collaboration with Women in Tech mean to you?
Gulnara Iarullina, VP of Marketplace Efficiency:
For us, this collaboration represents new opportunities and the ability to go beyond borders. It allows us to share our initiatives, exchange ideas, and contribute to important conversations around women’s empowerment, wellbeing, and the future of the tech industry.
We’re also excited to contribute to the program with an inDrive speaker, Vera Solomatina, Global Chief People Officer, who will join the agenda and lead a dedicated workshop to share her experience and practical insights.
It’s also a chance to showcase our projects and connect with like-minded people who are driving meaningful change.
From your perspective, how do initiatives like Women Drive help shape the future of tech communities globally?
Laura Esaian, Senior Software Engineer:
Initiatives like Women Drive help make the tech ecosystem more inclusive and balanced.
They create opportunities for people from different backgrounds to gain hands-on experience, step into leadership roles, and actively contribute to innovation. Also, it is important to create a safe space where everyone can express themselves freely.
By bringing diverse perspectives together, these initiatives lead to stronger ideas, better products, and more sustainable tech communities globally.
What stood out to you most during the hackathon, in terms of ideas, energy, or collaboration?
Aytalina Nikolaeva:
What stood out the most was the incredible level of engagement and cross-functional collaboration.
We brought together over 100 participants across 26 teams from 10 countries, representing a diverse mix of functions, including engineering, product, operations, business, analytics, communications, legal, and more.
It was also a record level of participation from women, which was a great milestone for us.
Alina Kuzmina:
We intentionally didn’t set strict boundaries. Instead, we created space for participants, especially women, to bring forward their own ideas and initiatives. What we saw in return was a very strong demand, high ownership, and genuine enthusiasm to contribute.
This reinforced an important insight. When given the right environment and support, women are eager to participate, lead, and innovate. Creating a safe space and actively encouraging this participation is key.
The format was highly dynamic. Imagine 1.5 days of intensive work, followed by final pitches and demo presentations. Teams worked on a wide variety of ideas, from user safety solutions and social initiatives to product concepts and AI-powered tools.
It was especially exciting to see not only the energy and collaboration, but also that several ideas have already moved beyond the concept stage and are being implemented.
How do you plan to continue supporting the development of these ideas after the hackathon?
Vera Solomatina, Global Chief People Officer:
We see the hackathon as just the beginning.
Some of the solutions have already been implemented company-wide, while others are currently in progress. We continue to support these initiatives by providing visibility, resources, and opportunities for further development.
Our goal is to ensure that the most promising ideas evolve beyond prototypes into real, impactful solutions.
We are open to partnerships and collaboration.
Take Aways
Gala Grigoreva:
What we see here is simple and powerful. When you create the right environment, people step in. They take ownership. They build.
This is not just a hackathon, but a model for companies, for ecosystems, for the future of tech. Because the truth is, technology is shaping how we live, work, and connect, and yet not everyone is equally represented in building it. And when voices are missing, so are ideas, approaches, and growth opportunities.
We don’t just need more women in tech to “balance the numbers.” We need them because it’s about opening the door wider and seeing what becomes possible when more people are part of the process, often leading to better decisions, more thoughtful products, and a more sustainable industry overall.
And we truly hope to see more initiatives like this because this is how real change actually starts.
