MIT Solve

Solution Overview & Team Lead Details

Solution name.

Bullet Woman

Provide a one-line summary of your solution.

An innovative platform to empower and support women and reduce gender inequality in every field.

What specific problem are you trying to solve?

Unfortunately, gender inequality has been occurring in Turkey for a long time and has not been solved in any way. I think that gender ‘rights’ equalization has more accessible and easy solutions. This equality in question may try to be achieved in marriage, business life, social life, and similar fields. In this case, I am going to explain gender inequality in business.

As a female student looking to pursue a career in STEM, I realize how difficult it can be. The opportunities given to us are more limited and the mentalities that look at us are narrower. Sometimes there were times when I realized that I was the only girl who wanted to do 'boys work' in the school or environment I was in, sometimes all I needed was to see another woman have the same dream as me. Seeing that there are others like you is one of the most encouraging things. Apart from that, our work and startups are seen as less reliable than men, we are not given the opportunity to offer our talents adequately, and it is difficult for us to find each other due to our small numbers.

You can consider the following examples to have a clearer idea of how broad this subject can be: unequal pay, unfavorable recruitment strategy, different opportunities, redundancies, and bias.

About 50 years have gone by since the first equal pay laws were passed, a large number of women entered the corporate workforce, and 20 years have passed since businesses formed the first gender diversity plans, yet women are still disproportionately underrepresented in all levels of the workforce globally.

This gender gap is staggering in certain regions, with men nearly three times as likely to have full-time jobs as women. In Latin America and the Caribbean, women are less likely to be promoted, and are more likely to have jobs with minimal barriers to obtain; such as personal care aides, nursing assistants, and home health aides.

In addition, women are less likely to work in stereotypically demanding jobs including engineering, mathematics, and technology. According to research by the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR), just 4.6% of women and 10.3% of men, respectively, are employed in STEM fields as of 2015.

Gender-based salary disparities are a common problem as well, with women in paid labor often earning between 10% and 30% less than males, according to an analysis by the International Labor Organization (ILO).

In the present-day labor force, women make up almost half of the population and in more than 40% of families, women are often equal or the main breadwinners compared to their male counterparts. While it is established that women typically acquire more formal educational qualifications than men, they continue to earn considerably less.

Elevator pitch

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What is your solution?

The platform I designed is to support women in every way, from bringing together successful role models with starters to making women feel like they belong to a community. It includes various features that will empower women socially and mentally.

The "Find" button is an option to help them find successful role models and funds to support their small businesses.

The "Create" button is an option to create your own business and profile.

The "Network" button is a platform that will help women find others like themselves, meet and talk with the right people, and improve their environment.

The "Awareness" button will educate people about inequalities, offer accurate numerical data, and simultaneously create social media movements and trends.

The "Forum" button is an option that allows women to move forward by giving them information in every sense; they can exchange ideas and share with each other under the framework of respect.

The "Purchases" section is for extra purchases. In this section, options such as resume preparation, certificate programs, internships, research, presentations, time-management, and mental health can be purchased. (with a scholarship option).

With the help of this platform, women will be given the possibility to present their ideas freely to the right people. They will be able to meet with people who have succeeded in this field and get mentoring support from them. They can find funding by promoting their ideas. Successful women can support small businesses by becoming members of this platform. Women will be able to exchange ideas and gain new perspectives in a friendly environment while being treated with respect. On this platform, women will be able to create their own profiles, introduce themselves and their talents, and gain skills, such as those described in the purchases area, that will carry them forward in their business lives.

Who does your solution serve? In what ways will the solution impact their lives?

All my life, I have been preparing to study at a university in Turkey. Your placement in a good university here was just based on a test score, and I was preparing for that test. Therefore, I had no idea how to write essays, prepare a resume, write motivational letters, or write in English. This year, as a high school senior, I had to stop preparing for this exam due to some health problems. Because of that issue, a new door opened for me: studying abroad. I started to prepare for university abroad two months ago. Of course, I was too late compared to others, and it seemed very difficult to prepare everything in this short amount of time. But I did not let that stop me. I spent my days and nights getting ready for this option. I improved my English, took IELTS and SAT exams, received scholarships from certificate programs and added them to my resume, and tried to get everything I needed for university applications done in 2-3 months.

Of course, it wasn't easy but I think I managed because I already got 2 acceptance letters from Netherlands’ best universities. Although, I realized there were no resources that truly helped me along the way. Everyone said that I needed to do internships or research to improve my resume. But no one answered how? They said to participate in competitions. But could not tell me where I could find these competitions and challenges.

Told me to volunteer. How? What are the options? Where can I apply? Is there anywhere I could find these resources?

I could not find the answers to these questions. No one shared their experiences or knowledge with me. Because of this, I really struggled. I could not reach successful people. I did not have any peers that had similar goals to me. I felt alone and did not know where to start. I tried to reach experienced ones in my area but no one answered.

In Turkey, rural-to-urban migration has increased tremendously, and now even those living in rural areas have access to the internet. Even for a girl like me who has been holding a technological device in her hand since the age of 2, it was hard to reach all this information through the Internet. Therefore I know that this information is extremely difficult to reach for those who have just started to learn how to use the Internet which makes up the majority of the population in Turkey.

Therefore my solution is for students in Turkey who are passionate about improving themselves, willing to do their best for their future, and for those who never let any barrier stand in front of their dreams. Every student who lives in rural areas or just moved to urban areas and who tries to chase opportunities but doesn't know how to find them.

On the other hand, I have mentioned gender inequality and its effects in the problem statement part. On this platform, women will be given the possibility to present their ideas freely to the right people. They will be able to meet with people who have succeeded in this field and get mentoring support from them. They can find funding by promoting their ideas. Successful women can support small businesses by becoming members of this platform.

So any women in Turkey who wants to share their ideas, be in a supportive community, and get help in almost every way are encouraged and welcome on this platform.

How are you and your team well-positioned to deliver this solution?

As I began to ponder what future career I should pursue, I realized that I dream of running my own company to be beneficial to society. Over my high school years, I had the chance to be introduced to many occupations and fields of study via career fairs and webinars, which expanded my vision toward science and technology. Being in a science and technology school has many advantages, such as taking robotics, artificial intelligence, programming, and web design classes. I also got the chance to take advanced math classes and improve my computational thinking, which led me to decide that computer science is the ultimate discipline that I can focus on while being able to combine it with the areas of business, management, and economics.

To build a strong theoretical background, I realized that I had to master 21st-century skills. Through an online program designed by IBM, I developed my problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities. Then I got the chance to implement what I know in real life by taking three leadership training courses that took me months to finish. In addition to this, I aimed to expand my understanding of entrepreneurship and took an online course titled "Bootstrapping for Entrepreneurs" by MIT, which helped me learn how to harness innovation communities for entrepreneurial problem discovery and problem-solving. I had the opportunity to practice how to apply innovation toolkits in product innovation and development and examine case studies. I analyzed the problems that we see in the world and evaluated their potential for entrepreneurial innovation. To enhance my math knowledge, I took advanced extra mathematics classes in school that prepared students for the Turkish Mathematics Olympics. These classes lasted 2 years and included university-level subjects like calculus, statistics, linear algebra, analysis, functions, and modeling.

After that, I attended the online course program titled Harvard CS50, which is an introduction to the intellectual enterprises of computer science and the art of programming. I learned how to think algorithmically and solve programming problems efficiently and became familiar with several languages, including C, Python, SQL, and JavaScript, plus CSS and HTML. In the course, we focused on concepts like abstraction, algorithms, data structures, encapsulation, resource management, security, software engineering, and web development. To reinforce this knowledge, I also took Stanford’s Computer Science 101 course, which helped me code in Javascript, and I completed all the assignments successfully. After gaining enough knowledge on how to create a product, I knew I had to learn the market. How to analyze the situation, how to do market research, and how to define the marketplace—therefore, I completed the Fundamentals of Digital Marketing Course by Google successfully. I was lucky enough to receive verified certificates for all of them. As I was introduced to a broad and robust understanding of computer science and programming, I knew I could apply this knowledge to the real world and use it to create solutions for global challenges.

To turn theory into practice, I started my internship at Geo Bilgi to gain knowledge about developing sustainable and quality software projects. As well as learning about topics like reporting, performance monitoring, and platform and technology selection, I also got to see how software development projects are carried out in practice. Along with that, I had the chance to learn more about the operation of the artificial intelligence-based system that determines whether the collected photos satisfy the required criteria. I observed the web-based public transportation data management portal developed to store the public transportation stop, line, route, time, departure time, and driver master data of the municipalities.

I decided to go one step further by doing an internship in Bilisim Vadisi (Technology Development Zone). I had the opportunity to witness how science is transformed into technology, which is then transformed into products and commercialized. I learned about the businesses that offer services in the areas of connectivity, mobility, cyber security, design, smart cities, and gaming technologies, and this knowledge helped me decide on my own career path. In order to see how technological solutions are used, I then completed an internship at UBIT. I gained knowledge about corporate software for different sectors, especially the education sector. I found that this company's software includes measurement and evaluation frameworks that are applied at my own school. As a result of my successful completion of the tasks given by all companies, it became clear to me that this was the right career for me to pursue.

Furthermore, the more I learned and did volunteer work in different organizations to help the unfortunate, the more I realized that not everyone has the opportunity to achieve their dreams, especially when a global issue such as gender inequality still exists. After tasting the feeling of helping someone and solving a global issue, I decided to design and build something else. I focused on gender inequality since that is the most bothersome global challenge for me. I am most proud of STEM GIRLS which is an online platform that aims to reduce gender inequality in STEM fields by introducing STEM professions and collecting education materials for underprivileged students. Gender inequality is one of the most important challenges that society faces, and it is the issue that bothers me the most. Ever since I wanted to be an engineer, I felt like the whole world had turned its back on me. No one encouraged me, not even my parents. It seemed extremely difficult to achieve my goals under the circumstances I was in. However, I decided that instead of being affected by these unfortunate conditions, I would rather change the conditions. I started within my own community, gathered the right people, and influenced numerous young girls. We worked with UN Turkey and WGSS ESOGU organizations; provided donations to more than 100 refugee students from Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq. We brought together young students with successful role models and allowed them to share their ideas.

I am confident that, with the help of this program, I will be able to apply my knowledge to the real world, reach more women and enhance my community. With these skills and experiences, I am certain that I can carry out my responsibilities and spread this solution to everyone, especially the unfortunate. With the excellent resources given and the help of inspiring mentors, I could benefit society and share my ideas where they would be valued and appreciated. I believe I could make significant information more reachable to every woman especially since we are underestimated. I hope I will be given a chance to stand by what I said.

What steps have you taken to understand the needs of the population you want to serve?

I learned and did volunteer work in different organizations to help the unfortunate which made me realize that not everyone has the opportunity to achieve their dreams, especially when a global issue such as gender inequality still exists. After tasting the feeling of helping someone and solving a global issue, I decided to design and build something else. I focused on gender inequality since that is the most bothersome global challenge for me. I am most proud of STEM GIRLS which is an online platform that aims to reduce gender inequality in STEM fields by introducing STEM professions and collecting education materials for underprivileged students. Gender inequality is one of the most important challenges that society faces, and it is the issue that bothers me the most. Ever since I wanted to be an engineer, I felt like the whole world had turned its back on me. No one encouraged me, not even my parents. It seemed extremely difficult to achieve my goals under the circumstances I was in. However, I decided that instead of being affected by these unfortunate conditions, I would rather change the conditions. I started within my own community, gathered the right people, and influenced numerous young girls. We worked with UN Turkey and WGSS ESOGU organizations; provided donations to more than 100 refugee students from Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq. We brought together young students with successful role models and allowed them to share their ideas.

After talking with a lot of young girls and successful women, I once again realized how important and needed this solution was. I did not stop there, in one of the programs I attended due to my outstanding achievement I got the chance to present my idea to the founders of Gradoo and the Turkish Entrepreneurship Foundation. Before presenting it, an assignment was given to us about sharing and reporting our idea. I did a case study and prepared a business model for my idea which was Bullet Woman. Therefore, after conducting research and preparing my study, I presented my idea with a design of the website's interface. After sharing my idea, I received feedback about also adding a mobile application option. So I designed what it would look like if it also had a mobile app version. They were amazed by the idea which made me more confident about it.

Which aspects of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?

Improving learning opportunities and outcomes for learners across their lifetimes, from early childhood on (Learning)

What is your solution’s stage of development?

Prototype: A venture or organization building and testing its product, service, or business model

In what city, town, or region is your solution team located?

İstanbul, Türkiye

Who is the Team Lead for your solution?

Azra Sude Karabağ