History - Womenize! Action Program

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2014 – The Spark

When attending events in the games and tech industry, our co-founder Ruth Lemmen was often one of the very few women present – and decided that this had to change.
A spontaneous conversation with Michael Liebe, founder of gamesweekberlin, planted the seed for Womenize!.
Why the name? A deliberate counter to “womanize” – transforming male-dominated spaces into inclusive ones.

2015 – The first Event

Launch of the first Womenize! Action Day at gamesweekberlin: inspired by the national “Girls’ Day”, but aimed especially at female professionals in games and tech, offering a space to connect, learn, grow, and to find new opportunities.
Focus on three pillars: conference, workshop and recruitment.
Tried and tested: experiments like Womenize! TV teach us that some ideas need more ressources.

2016 – Establishing a Community

As our second event, the Womenize! Action Day for New Talent in Tech, Digital Business and Media now features a full conference program with talks, panel discussions, workshops, and networking.
Besides meeting new speakers and attendees, we deepen our relationships with our community and partners.

2018 – Growth

Womenize! continues to be a part of gamesweekberlin, now extending the program to two days.
With a stand-alone event in Cologne, Womenize! expands its reach outside Berlin.
Launch of the “Womenize! Wednesday Weekly” interview series (later renamed Womenize! – Inspiring Stories).
Expansion: testing how Womenize! could work in new places and formats.

2019 – Scaling up

The launch of Womenize! LATAM extends our mission to South America.
The special edition Womenize! Games & Film in Cologne connects women from the games and tech with professionals in the filming industry.
We receive the “Women in Games” Advocacy Award at the Women in Games European Conference in London.

2020 & 2021 – Pivot to digital

Due to the cancellation of onsite events during the COVID-19 pandemic, Womenize! takes place as a digital conference in 2020.
We try new formats: live streams on Twitch and video interviews on YouTube.
Smaller online-only events keep us active, but offering true networking oppurtunies is challenging.
Nevertheless, we recognize the pandemic as an important phase and realize: especially in quieter times, representation matters.

2022 – Onsite, but exclusive

With the return of gamesweekberlin as an in-person event, we can finally offer real networking again: at the Womenize! Games & Tech Luncheon, an exclusive invite-only event, around 40 women from the games industry meet to exchange experiences and ideas.
Still, onsite events are rare and do not yet reach the size as in pre-pandemic times.

2023 – A new Chapter

Madeleine Egger returns from her parental leave and becomes Head of Womenize!.
After a short hiatus, our interview series Womenize! – Inspiring Stories gets revived with new energy.
A new vision: we start working on a full onsite event in 2024.

2024 – The Comeback

For the first time since 2019, Womenize! happens as a full-day event in Berlin, welcoming more than 150 attendees.
The event also features a “Gaming Corner” with games made by female developers.
For us, this marks an important milestone and proofs that perseverance, reinvention, and community spirit can keep an initiative alive.

2025 – Time to celebrate

Womenize! marks its 10th anniversary with a full-day event at the Institut Français Berlin, right on the iconic Kurfürstendamm, bringing together 170 participants onsite and reaching hundreds more through our Twitch live stream.
We’re overwhelmed by the positive and encouraging feedback of our attendees and viewers, and are now more than determined to continue and expand what we’ve built in the past 10 years.

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