women in tech

Did “make-up” just turn into “make-app”?

For years, the tech industry has been a male-dominated field. But as gender norms in professions begin to fade and access to tech education grows, more and more women are entering this space.

 

A career path is influenced by many factors — environment, family, global trends, pop culture. In fact, in a recent minds&marketing piece, we explored how gender stereotypes shape the creative industry. Today, we're shifting the lens: we're looking at how businesses can empower women to join tech, and how creative industries can actively support this goal.

 

talking about #make-app while doing make-up?

Just a few weeks ago, a series of videos began circulating on social media featuring female influencers. In each one, the women talked about TBC Bank’s new Crash Courses — short-term educational programs for teenagers — while doing their makeup.

 

Different faces, different stories, but one thing stood out: all of them were filmed mid-glam.

 

Coincidence? Or written in the brief?

 

Can you really talk about tech while blending foundation?

And more importantly — does reaching girls require makeup in the frame?

 

The campaign prompted these questions. But behind it lies a clear intent.

 

• Client: TBC
• Agency: Playmakers
• Direction: Influencer marketing
• Challenge: Plan and launch a nationwide tech campaign within 10 days, targeting teenage girls and promoting summer crash courses.

Since the program — and the campaign — were both built around empowering girls in tech, let’s zoom out for a moment: what’s happening globally and locally in this space?

 

what’s happening globally?

According to the World Bank, women account for less than a third of the global tech workforce. Data from womentech.net reveals a similar pattern in major companies:

 

• Women make up 45% of Amazon’s workforce, 37% at Facebook, 34% at Apple, 33% at Google, and 33.1% at Microsoft.
• At leadership levels, the numbers drop further — 29%, 34%, 31%, 28%, and 26% respectively.

Women are most represented in entry-level tech roles. As you move up the ladder — mid-level and senior positions — the gender gap widens.

 

Interestingly, more women gravitate toward UX/UI and web design than software engineering, highlighting a clear divide between creative-tech and core engineering paths.

 

what about georgia?

According to Digital Ecosystem Digest, published by the University of Business and Technology and based on Geostat and Statista data:

 

• In 2023, 24% of IT professionals in Georgia were women — up from 16% in 2022.
• Average monthly salaries still show a gap: in Q3 of 2024, men earned 7,471 GEL, women 6,026 GEL, but that gap has been shrinking.
• Since 2019, women’s average IT salaries have increased fourfold (nominally).

Looking at TBC’s internal numbers:

 

• Women make up 36% of their tech team — outperforming global (28%), European (25%), and US (20–30%) averages.
• But TBC is aiming higher, actively working to push those numbers even further.

 

how can we support more women in tech?

Working in tech means more than coding. It’s one of the most dynamic, creative, and globally connected industries out there. It combines:

 

• Continuous learning
• Creative problem solving
• Remote-friendly work
• Flexible hours
• High earning potential

Creating equal access to these benefits is more important than ever.

 

But inclusion begins with interest. When girls are introduced early to tech skills through relevant, accessible programs, their chances of success — and staying power — increase dramatically.

 

That’s why TBC, as a tech-forward company, has spent years building educational initiatives to bring tech learning to every corner of Georgia — and even beyond.

 

TBC education

The goal is simple: prepare the next generation — across all regions — for careers in tech.

Programs include:

 

• Tech School – for 9th to 12th graders
• IT Academy
• Crash Courses for Girls – the focus of this campaign

 

where data inspires strategy

Every TBC program is evaluated during and after implementation. One dataset, in particular, stood out — and inspired this new campaign.

 

Mariam Tevzadze, educational project lead at TBC, explains:

 

Our broader mission is to level the playing field — eliminate demographic or geographic barriers and give all young people, whether from rural regions or abroad, the chance to pursue a tech career. We’re also working to break financial barriers so that access doesn’t depend on income.”

 

planning the campaign

Nuka Shevardnadze, Managing Partner at Playmakers, shares the behind-the-scenes:

 

“We had a ready-to-go product, limited time, and limited budget — the kind of challenge that demands unconventional thinking.

 

Step 1: Where is our audience?
We were targeting high schoolers (grades 9–12). So we asked: where can we reach them quickly and effectively?

 

TikTok came up immediately. We validated the idea with international research and TBC’s own digital marketing data.

 

Step 2: What kind of content do they watch?
The data was clear: influencer content performs best, especially make-up tutorials and GRWM (Get Ready With Me) videos.”

 

the creative twist: #make-app

Launching a women-empowerment campaign always carries a risk: that fighting stereotypes can accidentally reinforce them.

 

But what if we flipped the script?

 

What if we took the most popular video format and redefined it?

 

That’s how make-up tutorials became #make-app tutorials — a smart, playful twist that delivered real substance without losing relevance.

 

Instead of saying “tech isn’t girly,” the campaign said:
“Yes, you're into makeup — but did you know you could also create the platform that powers your favorite influencers?”

 

the power of contrast

The creative strategy hinged on contrast — the visual surprise of hearing a young woman talk about app development while applying eyeliner.

 

Sure, we anticipated questions like:
“Do you really need makeup to get girls’ attention?”

 

But flip the scenario:
What if we saw a man talk about career advice while doing a skincare routine?

 

That’s exactly the kind of disruption that sparks conversation.

 

influencer involvement: authentic voices, real conversations

The influencers were selected with care — chosen for their ability to deliver content that felt organic, not forced. When the campaign concept was shared with them, their reaction was enthusiastic and genuine.

 

It turned out that several of them were already studying or working in the tech industry. They didn’t just agree to participate — they wanted to be part of a message that said:

 

“There’s no such thing as a 'boy's job' or a 'girl's job.' Everyone deserves the opportunity to learn whatever they’re passionate about.”

 

Each influencer received a basic technical brief, but from there, they had full creative freedom — the result was content that was both personal and powerful.

 

from make-up to make-app

In total, 18 influencers took part in the campaign. Each one was given a personalized tracking link so the team could measure exactly how many sign-ups came from their audiences.

 

And here’s where it got interesting.

 

The number of followers did not directly correlate with the number of registrations. Once again, this confirmed a trend we've written about before at mind &marketing’s article:

 

Follower count isn’t the main metric anymore. Real influence lies in engagement — the depth of the connection, not just the size of the audience.

This campaign unfolded in two acts:

 

1. Phase one focused on the influencers — introducing the idea that girls can explore tech through accessible crash courses.
2. Phase two spotlighted real women working in tech at TBC, who shared their experiences and actual projects, bridging inspiration and action.

 

campaign results: big impact in a short time

Thanks to a focused strategy and creative execution, the campaign saw high engagement within a very short communication window.

 

 

what we can learn from this case:

This collaboration between TBC and Playmakers is a clear example of how a social issue — in this case, underrepresentation of women in certain tech fields — can be transformed into a strategic communication challenge and solved with creativity and precision.

 

The campaign’s value wasn’t just in its final numbers. It showed how deeply rooted research, behavioral insight, and cultural awareness can lead to meaningful impact — even with limited time and budget, and even through risky formats.

 

Ultimately, the #make-app tutorial reminds us that fighting stereotypes doesn't mean rejecting them outright.

 

Sometimes, the smarter path is to transform them, reinterpret them, and use familiar formats to deliver unfamiliar — but necessary — narratives.

 

Because real impact happens when you don’t just challenge the system —
You recode it.