How We #ChoosetoChallenge And Celebrate Women in Tech
For International Women’s Day 2021 we wanted to spotlight some of the community organisations that inspire us
For the past eight years, we’ve been helping people to retrain into tech careers, and they often happen to be women. In 2019, we created the UK’s first Women in Software Power List which spotlights some of the industry’s top rising stars. We not only #ChoosetoChallenge but also believe in collaboration over competition so this year we wanted to take the opportunity to platform some of the women within our organisation and the wider tech industry who work tirelessly to support the careers of women in tech every day. Our CEO Claudia Harris says:
“Three extraordinary women run technical and wellbeing coaching at Makers. They are part of a legacy that has consistently trained cohorts of software engineers with 35% women over the last 8 years, gradually changing the complexion of the UK’s tech industry. And today they lead the way at Makers, driving our thinking on how to develop excellent technical skills and deeper emotional intelligence. They change the lives of our Makers and they change the lives of those of us who are lucky enough to work with them. As we celebrate International Women’s Day here’s to Kay Lack — Head of Training, Alice Lieutier — Head of Coaching and Dana Svoboda — Chief Joy Officer #choosetochallenge”
For International Women’s Day 2021, this year’s theme is close to our hearts:
One of this year’s six missions is to celebrate women in tech. So today we wanted to profile some of the coding groups we admire, who are either run by women or are specifically to support women.
Coding Black Females
Coding Black Females was created in 2017. They are a nonprofit organisation, with the primary aim is to provide opportunities for Black female developers to develop themselves, meet familiar faces, network, receive support and build relationships through having regular meetups. This year we launched a scholarship programme in collaboration with CBF to offer six free places onto our course for their members. Applications are open now. Click here to learn more.
codebar
codebar is a non-profit initiative that facilitates the growth of a diverse tech community by running regular programming workshops. Its goal is to enable underrepresented people to learn programming in a safe and collaborative environment and expand their career opportunities. To achieve this, Codebar runs free regular workshops, regular one-off events and try to create opportunities for its students making technology and coding more accessible. Codebar Director Kimberley Cook says “Tech is still not a safe space for everyone. Until it is, organisations like codebar need to exist so that people can gain skills in a safe space to improve their career. If you’re looking to get into tech, join a community. You’ll learn loads through discussions with people, you can find a mentor and meet people who do the thing you want to learn.” We’re excited to also collaborate on our scholarship programme with codebar. Click here for more information.
Women Driven Development
Women Driven Development brings together gender minorities and leaders in tech to connect and share, promoting sponsorship through hackathons, practical sessions and events. It was co-founded by two Makers alumni, Phoebe Greig and Misa Ogura, who we also profiled a few years ago here.
CodeFirst:Girls
Code First Girls is on a mission to help women rewrite their future. They believe that through the power of community, change can and will happen. They are the largest provider of free in-person coding courses for women in the UK. When their CEO Anna Brailsford first stepped into the role, we interviewed her for our blog.
Ada’s List
Ada’s List is the place for professional women and non-binary people who work in the tech sector to connect, conspire, and take a stand. Ada’s List is for all women (trans, intersex and cis) and all non-binary, agender and gender variant people. They are a visibility platform and marketplace designed to help members to collaborate and progress professionally.
Girls in Tech
Founded in 2007 by Adriana Gascoigne, Girls in Tech is a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating the gender gap in tech. They have more than 60,000 members in 50+ chapters around the world. They started with an idea:
“There is a strong, smart and outspoken girl within all of us. We exist to make sure that girl is heard. Because when every voice, every perspective, every personality is honoured and respected, we do better work and live richer lives.”
Through raising other women up, together we’ll build a stronger, more successful and more vibrant tech community.
