10 Women in Tech Share the First Step That Changed Everything
Every big journey starts with one small, brave move. This March, Waffle launched a special series to mark International Women’s Day: #EmpowerNext ── 10 WOMEN. 10 STORIES.
A liberal arts student who became a software engineer. A high schooler who built an app to tackle a problem she lived. A girl from rural Japan now studying AI in Spain. Ten women. Ten different paths. One thing in common: they all chose to try.
We asked each of them to look back and share the moment that set everything in motion — the doubts they pushed through, the communities that held them up, and what they’d say to the next generation. We hope their words reach you.
You can also follow each story on Instagram, where we shared them as visual posts throughout March. See Waffle’s Instagram here (Japanese only).
Table of Contents
- Kurumi Muto (Waffle College, 1st cohort) — “Even if you’re alone right now, take the leap — you’ll find your people.”
- Kayo (Technovation Girls 2025 alumna) — “Do it so your future self can be proud of you.”
- Yuki Nagai (Waffle College, 3rd cohort) — “It’s never too late to start.”
- Anri Kojima (Technovation Girls 2025 alumna) — “Take that dream and make it real.”
- Yoshino Sakka (Waffle College, 2nd cohort) — “When in doubt, just go for it.”
- Ai Tominaga (Waffle College, 1st cohort) — “The moment you think ‘I want to do this’ is when your drive is at its peak.”
- Saeka Ono (Technovation Girls 2022 alumna) — “It’s never, ever too late.”
- Koharu Saeki (Waffle College, 2nd cohort) — “Let’s build a brighter future together!!”
- Yasumi Matoba (Waffle College, 2nd cohort) — “Every challenge you take on expands what’s possible for you.”
- Chieri Oikawa (Technovation Girls 2026, currently participating) — “If something sparks your curiosity even a little — act on it.”
#01｜Kurumi Muto — Waffle College, 1st cohort
“Even if you’re alone right now, take the leap — you’ll find your people.”
Why a humanities student decided to become an engineer
I studied social science at university. For the first two years, I was deep into sociology — engineering felt like a completely different world, not meant for someone like me. But there was always this quiet voice in the back of my mind saying: I want to build things. When I finally got serious about my future, I decided I wasn’t ready to let that dream go. So I took a year off, threw myself into programming and internships, and didn’t look back.
I won’t pretend it was easy. Coming from a humanities background, never having gone to grad school — I felt behind. But I’ve come to see that winding path as something uniquely mine.
The friends I made at Waffle carried me through job hunting
Before Waffle, I didn’t know a single person who wanted to be an engineer. I’d show up to programs and often be the only woman in the room. Waffle changed that. I found people who got it — who were studying late, stressing about internships, cheering each other on. Without them, I honestly don’t think I would have made it to the end of the job search. We still meet up for drinks (laughs). Knowing firsthand how much community matters, I now help run a women’s tech community at my own company.
The dream I’d been carrying for years finally came true
I joined Wolt as a backend engineer straight out of university — working globally, in English, on something real. It’s exactly what I’d always wanted, and it only happened because I chose to try. Talk to people. Ask questions. Explore. Most careers don’t make sense until you’re actually in them — so if something catches your eye, just dive in.
#02｜Kayo — Technovation Girls 2025 alumna
“Do it so your future self can be proud of you.”
Making things with my hands — that was always my starting point
I grew up making things — origami, paper crafts, LEGO. Nothing that needed electricity. I’d dabbled in Scratch and always thought it would be cool to learn programming properly, but for a long time I assumed I was more of a “humanities person.” Then, during high school entrance exam prep, I came across a math problem that asked me to reason through it step by step, almost like solving a puzzle. Something clicked. Maybe I actually like this kind of thinking. That was the moment I started leaning toward science.
Asking myself “Do you have the courage to put this out there?” — over and over
Choosing our app’s theme for Technovation Girls 2025 took real courage. With support from Waffle, I decided to keep going. At the pitch event, I looked at other teams’ work and thought, we can’t compete with this. But we were selected as finalists from entries across Japan — and then we won the Salesforce Award. When I heard the judges had valued “the significance of raising this question,” I felt like the courage had been worth it. None of that would have existed if we hadn’t tried.
Wanting to do everything — architecture, engineering, history, international relations — and refusing to choose
Through STEM programs, I became certain: my pull toward science is real. But I also love history. I want to build things. I want to live and work internationally. A professor once said, “The most interesting ideas live between disciplines” — and those words stuck. I’m aiming for a liberal arts university where I don’t have to choose. My biggest motivation right now? Doing this so my future self can look back and say: good call.
#03｜Yuki Nagai — Waffle College, 3rd cohort
“It’s never too late to start.”
The story I kept telling myself — “Someone like me can’t do tech”
In high school, I struggled with science and switched to humanities. By the time I was job hunting in university, two thoughts ran on a loop: I’m not smart enough for tech and I’m the oldest daughter — I need to find a stable job for the family. I hit a wall and ended up taking a leave of absence.
That’s when I found Waffle. A speaker said something that stopped me cold: “Gender bias shapes the careers we think are available to us. When you don’t feel confident, that might not be entirely on you.” It felt like someone had reached into my chest and rearranged something.
Deciding “this is my last chance” — and going all in
From that day, I tried everything I could think of. Graduate school applications. Waffle College. Engineering job interviews. I’d always loved being on the internet — it was one of my earliest joys — but somewhere along the way I’d convinced myself it wasn’t for me. Waffle gave that back. The shift wasn’t in my resume or my skills — it was in learning to ask what do I want? instead of what should I do?
Seeing a woman in a position of power — and thinking, that could be me
On a Waffle office tour, I visited Kyndryl Japan for the first time. Women in leadership roles, doing meaningful work, looking like they belonged. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Shortly after, I saw a new grad opening through the program. I applied. Now I work there. Going forward, I want to grow into a project leader — and eventually become the kind of role model I wished I’d had.
#04｜Anri Kojima — Technovation Girls 2025 alumna
“Take that dream and make it real.”
I’ve loved programming since elementary school. I just needed a place to build something real.
In elementary school, I made a game in Scratch for my summer holiday project. In middle school, I tracked down a senior who’d won a national app competition and asked her to teach me directly. The interest was always there — but it wasn’t until Technovation Girls that I finally made something that actually worked. Having patient instructors and mentors who showed me what was possible made all the difference. I moved forward one question at a time.
Building an app about something that mattered — even when it felt risky
The app I built with my team for Technovation Girls was SeiNavi — a sexual health education app for middle and high schoolers. It came from real experiences: being groped on public transport, feeling let down by how little schools actually teach, the silence around these topics. We wanted to make sexual health education feel open and forward-looking, not shameful. The judges said they valued “the significance of a high school student — someone directly living this issue — taking action.” That meant everything. This is an experience I’ll carry for the rest of my life.
From Kenya to Brazil to the world — following the thread wherever it leads
Through Technovation Girls, I became friends with Kezia, a classmate from Kenya working on access to menstrual products. We’re still in touch, checking in on each other’s work. I’ve attended a STEM academy in Brazil on scholarship, pitched to BP, interned at the Japan Women’s Fund who advised our app development, and launched a school-wide safety initiative as student council president. My dream is to study politics, education, and development at a university abroad — and to keep turning big feelings into real things.
#05｜Yoshino Sakka — Waffle College, 2nd cohort
“When in doubt, just go for it.”
“Why does this work the way it does?” — that question led me to STEM
I’ve always been the kind of person who wants to understand how things work. When I learned in a math and information class that technology could actually solve real problems, something lit up. I was told more than once that tech “isn’t really a space for girls.” Honestly? That made me more determined. I found Waffle because I was looking for a place where people shared that same stubborn curiosity. Knowing I wasn’t alone — that was the foundation everything else was built on.
What I learned from not stopping just because I wasn’t ready
I was anxious about almost everything at first — joining Waffle, starting research, presenting in public. But I stopped letting “I’m not confident enough yet” be a reason to wait. I kept moving anyway. Eventually, I presented in English for 10 minutes at an online event with students from across Asia. I was genuinely nervous. But connecting with people from completely different backgrounds taught me something I couldn’t have learned any other way: you don’t have to be perfect to belong here.
Basketball data as a research topic — I never saw that coming
Right now I’m researching player movement analysis using basketball tracking data. Sports × data science — my actual hobby becoming my academic focus. I never imagined that was possible. Waffle gave me a “just try it” instinct, and I’ve been using it ever since. I’m hoping to go deeper through graduate school, and to keep finding new ways of thinking in international spaces.
#06｜Ai Tominaga — Waffle College, 1st cohort
“The moment you think ‘I want to do this’ is when your drive is at its peak.”
A business competition showed me exactly where I was stuck
I entered a university business competition with an app-based service idea. But when it came to the technical side — what was actually buildable, what wasn’t — I had nothing. The idea stayed vague. That frustration is what pushed me toward STEM. I started teaching myself to code, hit a wall pretty quickly, and then found Waffle. The idea of a curriculum designed for beginners, with real structure, felt like something I could actually hold onto.
My Waffle friends made me imagine a future I hadn’t considered
At Waffle, I met people who were heading to graduate school abroad to study FinTech and EdTech — combining everything they’d learned in humanities with real technical skills. Watching them made me think: why not me? I had always assumed I’d graduate and get a job. Somehow, I ended up deciding to apply to a graduate school in a completely different field. That option didn’t exist in my head before Waffle.
Being the only woman in the room — and showing up anyway
When I got to graduate school, I was the only woman in my lab. At first I couldn’t even find a way into the conversation. I studied alone. I knocked on professors’ doors when I didn’t understand something. Slowly, my labmates started talking to me. What I took from that experience: being able to say “I don’t get this” out loud, and being willing to ask for help — those are real skills. This April, I start as an infrastructure engineer, working on enterprise DX.
#07｜Saeka Ono — Technovation Girls 2022 alumna
“It’s never, ever too late.”
How a humanities student from rural Japan fell in love with tech
Growing up, I played typing games on the family computer and built things in Minecraft with my brother. In middle school tech class, I made a flashlight from scratch. Every Scratch lesson in high school was the highlight of my week. I wasn’t especially strong in math or science — but I loved the puzzle-solving feeling of it. I was in the “international studies” humanities track in high school, and I wanted to study information science at university. But living in a rural area meant fewer events, fewer connections, fewer on-ramps. I kept wanting to take that step and not quite making it.
Technovation Girls — two things fell into place at exactly the same moment
I stumbled across Technovation Girls and applied immediately. It was there that I first heard the term “impostor syndrome.” I remember thinking, huh, interesting — and then spending the next few years being rescued by that concept more times than I can count (laughs). But the bigger revelation was this: studying abroad and studying computer science as a humanities student were both possible. At the same time. I remember feeling like two doors had opened at once.
Going after all three — abroad, in English, in computer science
Studying CS, in English, at a university outside Japan — it sounded reckless. But I took it one step at a time. English exams. Scholarship applications. University admissions. Now I’m researching AI in Spain and interning at a company building tools to protect children online. When you’re studying something you love, even homework feels different. I genuinely believe: step just slightly outside your comfort zone, and your chances of reaching your dream go up.
#08｜Koharu Saeki — Waffle College, 2nd cohort
“Let’s build a brighter future together!!”
How someone who “never planned to work in tech” ended up wanting exactly that
I’ve loved math since high school and studied science at university — but becoming an engineer? That never crossed my mind. People who knew me said it surprised them too (laughs). What changed everything was Waffle College’s tech career program. At the final hackathon, building something real with a team, under pressure, from scratch — it was the most fun I’d had in a long time. That’s when I thought: I want to do this for real.
Apply anyway — you might actually get in
Even when I thought “there’s no way I’ll get this,” I applied to every internship that interested me. Turns out you get in more often than you’d expect (laughs). Now I’m working as the first engineering intern at my company. Someone who never imagined writing code professionally — and here I am. I still meet up with the teammates from that hackathon. Without that experience, I genuinely don’t think I’d be where I am.
#09｜Yasumi Matoba — Waffle College, 2nd cohort
“Every challenge you take on expands what’s possible for you.”
A biology nerd who discovered that tech could be part of her fandom
I studied biology through graduate school — I’ve loved medical documentaries since I was little and wanted to understand living systems from the ground up. Then I took a computer science elective at university. Writing code turned out to be absurdly fun (laughs). I found Waffle not long after. For one of the assignments, I built a design that showed off everything I love about my favorite artist. Technically, it was fan activity. The satisfaction of finishing something exactly the way I imagined it? Unmatched.
When I realized technology is just a tool for doing what you love — everything opened up
Before Waffle, I thought my career path was basically set: biology background, statistics, healthcare industry. But IT touches everything. Learning app development helped me see what I actually wanted. Technology isn’t a destination — it’s a way to get somewhere. Once I understood that, options I didn’t know existed started showing up. I entered a hackathon and built a game that combined TOEIC prep with social gaming mechanics. I won an award. Seeing something I wanted to make exist in the world — and have people recognize it — that stays with me.
The faces of participants saying “I loved it” are what keeps me going
Now I mentor and teach at Waffle Camp, working with the next wave of participants. I love the moment when someone who came in saying “I don’t know if I can do this” walks out saying “I’m so glad I came.” That feeling — that I want more people to find their way into tech, that I want to grow the number of women engineers — shaped how I chose where to work. I wanted a company with a culture of developing engineers. Keep taking on things you’ve never done before. That’s what builds you. Next up: building my own game, solo. It’s already in motion.
#10｜Chieri Oikawa — Technovation Girls 2026, currently participating
“If something sparks your curiosity even a little — act on it.”
A game I wanted to build in Scratch — that’s where it all started
I wanted to make games in Scratch. That’s really how it began. My parents suggested I try a Waffle Club online event, and I went. Then I went to my first in-person programming event — building a website to introduce something you love. Working side by side with people my own age, with mentors who were so warm and encouraging, and thinking for the first time: I’m not the only one who cares about this. I still remember how happy that felt.
“I’m not strong in science, but I want to go into science” — finally having a place to say that out loud
That tension has followed me for a while: wanting to go into a science field when it doesn’t come naturally to me. I carried that worry mostly alone, not knowing anyone else in the same position. At a Waffle Club career talk, I listened to seniors who’d been exactly where I was. They told me anyone can make it into science if they put in the work. Something loosened. I started believing I could get there in my own way. Right now, I’m deep in Technovation Girls 2026 — writing code, one step at a time.
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