Women in Localization’s international community continues to grow. In 2024, we added five new chapters — Türkiye, Madrid, Portugal, Switzerland, and Brazil. We caught up with the Chapter Managers from Madrid, Brazil and Türkiye to hear about their first year and how their local communities are coming together.
Looking back at your first year, what are some of the most meaningful milestones or highlights your chapter has achieved?
Paola Manca, Chapter Manager, Madrid Chapter
Building a new chapter from scratch was both demanding and rewarding. I’m proud to say that our leadership team rose to the challenge. From the very beginning, we succeeded in creating a collaborative and supportive environment—a remarkable achievement considering we were eight women who had never worked together before, each with different backgrounds and perspectives.
Launching the Madrid Chapter had been a long-standing dream, and the enthusiasm surrounding it helped us form a cohesive, empowering group. Our launch event was a resounding success, warmly welcomed by the localization community in Madrid. Throughout the year, we organized diverse events tailored to the interests of our members: a panel on emerging roles in the language industry at UCM, a session on literary translation to mark International Book Day, and a panel dedicated to video game localization.
Andrea Gonçalves Pinto, Chapter Manager, Brazil Chapter
Since the Brazil Chapter launched in March 2024, we’ve seen an incredible level of engagement from the Brazilian localization community. In just over a year, we organized six events — three in person and three online — and took part in several local conferences, which helped raise awareness of Women in Localization and strengthen the presence of our Chapter. We were also delighted to reach nearly 500 registrations in less than a year and to launch our own bimonthly newsletter to keep members connected and informed.
Olga Hergül, Chapter Manager, Türkiye Chapter
First and foremost, we have built a wonderful team of female professionals, representing a wide age range and diverse professional backgrounds. This diversity has allowed us to capitalize on each member’s experience while embracing fresh perspectives. Over the course of the year, we successfully managed two team transitions, and today we are even stronger and more determined to expand our impact in Türkiye.
During our first year, we organized a launch event with broad industry participation, hosted an online coaching session, and either organized or supported three university events. Our membership has grown to more than 300 registered members in Türkiye, and our LinkedIn community has expanded to nearly 1,300 followers.
Can you share an example of an event or initiative—whether networking, mentoring, or professional development—that had a noticeable impact on your members or local community?
Paola: One standout moment was our June event, where Almira Zainutdinova delivered an engaging presentation on the role of the human trainer in AI development. Addressing a full audience, she delivered a dynamic, hands-on session that offered practical insights into this emerging professional role. Her talk not only helped attendees understand how to navigate change but also highlighted new ways to thrive in the language industry in the era of AI.
Andrea: Most of the Brazilian language services industry is concentrated in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, so this year it was particularly meaningful for us to hold an event in João Pessoa, at the Federal University of Paraíba, in the country’s Northeast. It was inspiring to exchange ideas with students and faculty members and to share our perspective on the market with a new audience. This initiative showed the importance of bringing Women in Localization to regions beyond the main business hubs, while also helping to build bridges between academia and the industry.
Olga: Through our university events, we reached more than 150 students and witnessed strong engagement and genuine curiosity. We also saw growing interest from academic institutions, which have shown increased willingness to collaborate with Women in Localization.
The localization and language services industry is evolving—and at a pace faster than universities can keep up with. For students, this speed of transformation can feel overwhelming, especially as they step into a complex job market with limited experience or clarity about the future. This is why we have chosen to prioritize collaboration with universities. Our aim is to organize at least one university-focused event every half year to help bridge the gap between academia and the industry.
How have you seen your community come together and grow since the chapter launched? What challenges have you faced?
Paola: Our community has grown quickly, with consistently high attendance at both online and in-person events. On LinkedIn, our page is approaching 1,500 followers, and membership has already reached 600.
The biggest challenge has been securing sponsorships and ensuring that our programming continues to address relevant, timely topics. Fortunately, several companies have already stepped forward to support our initiatives, and our Membership Managers have played a key role in keeping us aligned with our audience’s interests through regular surveys.
Andrea: The Brazil Chapter grew quickly because it had been long anticipated, and the enthusiasm at the start was overwhelming. Since then, growth has stabilized, but our commitment to expanding the community hasn’t slowed down. We continue to create spaces —both online and in person —for people to connect, learn, and collaborate. One of our biggest challenges has been attracting consistent attendance at in-person events, as free initiatives are sometimes viewed with scepticism in Brazil. Despite these challenges, we’ve seen how valuable it is to bring people together, and that motivates us to keep expanding our reach and impact in the future.
Olga: As a young chapter, we are still identifying the expectations of our community and target audience so we can design events and initiatives that best meet their needs. We continue to experiment, learn, and adapt—discovering what resonates and what doesn’t.
Recently, we conducted a LinkedIn questionnaire, which provided us with valuable insights into our community’s priorities. This feedback is helping us refine our approach and strengthen the bond within our growing network.
Women in Localization has always grown through connection — one conversation, one event, one new chapter at a time. As these chapters close their first year, they carry forward that same purpose: to create spaces where women in our industry can learn from one another, build confidence, and find their place in a global community that continues to grow and inspire.