WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH
Awesome Women-Led Apps
Here’s a look at a few apps that uplift us all—and the remarkable creators who made them possible.
Shine
By setting up touch points that encourage you to reflect on topics that really matter, this well-being app re-creates the experience of talking to a wise and caring friend. Shine is there for you every step of the way, starting with the Daily Shine—a morning meditation to help you prepare for the day ahead—and ending with quirky sleep stories to help you doze off.
Transformative power: Rather than approaching mental health in a vacuum—separate from work, relationships, and world events—Shine takes into account how life experiences, your identity, and even geopolitics might be affecting you. And the app responds to the moment: It was a pioneer in the field with its meditations for Black well-being.
Meet the creators: When founders Marah Lidey and Naomi Hirabayashi met, they were the only senior-level women of color at their workplace. Their regular check-ins with each other over coffee or lunch helped them work through their concerns. “A lot of people we talked to said, ‘I wish I had that—a person who was checking in on me and how I was feeling,’” says Lidey. They launched Shine in 2017.
Hopscotch
Hopscotch helps kids program their own games and stories, share them with friends, and play what others have created—all while learning the fundamentals of coding.
Transformative power: Hopscotch is teaching the next generation that coding doesn’t have to be a solitary pursuit—it can also be a way to flex your creativity and connect with others. “I hope that spreading the culture of coding as a way to express yourself will lead to a future where different types of people will be making the software we use every day,” says creator Samantha John.
Meet the creator: John wasn’t interested in tech as a kid. “Computers were a boy thing,” she recalls. But in her last year of college, she took a class that explored coding through creating a massive photo mosaic. “It was so creative and so meaningful. I was like, ‘Why didn’t anyone tell me that this was what programming was about?’” In 2013, she launched Hopscotch—an app that does just that.
Kitchen Stories
You can find recipes everywhere these days, but Kitchen Stories’ mix of inspiration and know-how will actually get you cooking. With engaging instructional videos and step-by-step photos, its thousands of recipes are especially easy to put into action.
Transformative power: Kitchen Stories is all about encouraging home cooks to broaden their culinary horizons—and maybe even publish their own recipes to the app, contributing to a catalog of dinner inspiration from around the globe. “By combining everyday recipes, intuitive technology, and a truly international food community, we want to inspire and help users to try new dishes on a regular basis,” says cofounder Mengting Gao.
Meet the creators: Gao and Verena Hubertz met while pursuing their master’s degrees in business administration. Gao found cooking videos inspiring but lacking in specifics; Hubertz was often thrown by the technical terms she came across in recipes. “We decided that, with the iPad, there must be a better way,” says Gao. They launched Kitchen Stories in 2014.
Ground News
This news aggregator keeps you up to date on breaking headlines and helps you see how media outlets around the world and the political spectrum are covering—or ignoring—a topic.
Transformative power: Helping us understand how each news story fits into the bigger picture. “We created Ground News to empower consumers who may not have the media training or media literacy to understand the bias and misinformation in the news they are reading,” says cofounder and CEO Harleen Kaur. “It’s hard to think critically when we only have one opinion.”
Meet the creator: Kaur began her career at NASA, engineering Earth observation satellites, when she got her inspiration for Ground News: a tool that also lets you easily see what’s transpiring anywhere in the world from wherever you are. She launched Ground News in 2017.
Marigold
Preparing for a job interview? Going through a breakup? Toddler having a meltdown? We can all use a pep talk from time to time. Marigold is full of quick, confidence-boosting audio coaching sessions that encourage you to tap into the power of your own self-worth.
Transformative power: Helping women conquer impostor syndrome and overcome the fears that are holding them back. “If we can help women have the confidence to ask for that raise, go on that first date, or pursue a passion, then we’ve done our part,” says cofounder Jennifer Greenberg. “As you change your mindset and in turn accomplish your goals, big or small, you’ll trust yourself and build the confidence to do even more.”
Meet the creators: While working in TV production, Greenberg and Sarah Stefanski noticed how self-doubt could hold women back in their careers and personal lives; they teamed up in 2019 to create Marigold.