The first ever Women Who Code (WWCode) branch in Ireland is set to launch tonight (12 November) in Dublin, with the non-profit now in 10 European locations, and 18 worldwide.
WWCode’s Dublin branch was originally announced at Inspirefest, with UK expansion director Sheree Atcheson saying an Irish base was only natural.
WWCode has already got 30,000 members around the world, with tonight’s event – hosted in Zendesk’s offices in Ranelagh between 6.30pm and 8.30pm – tailored as a meet-up, with coding put on the back burners for now.
Called ‘Hacknight’, organisers have been quick to allay fears that it may be too much, too soon.
“You might be wondering about what Hacknight is but don’t worry,” say the organisers. “We won’t be coding from the beginning, let’s meet each other first and have fun. Then we will decide what we want to learn, share and build at WWCode Dublin.”
The event has already proved popular enough to book out, with a waiting list already in place.
The Dublin branch has been spearheaded by Laura Uzcátegui, a local software engineer, project manager and business analyst who wants to empower “smart, brilliant, creative women”.
Driven to help
“I am driven to help women succeed in technology careers because I believe that when we share our skills, knowledge and experience, we leverage our ability to make dreams come true, in all aspects of life,” she says.
“There is a lot happening in the local tech industry, and we need to support women so that they can acquire the education and confidence that they need to become leaders in this field.”
Uzcátegui, Vicky Twomey-Lee and Christina Lynch are directors of the Dublin branch, which has already accepted over 180 registrations.
“Dublin is a major hub of technology in Europe, and throughout the world,” said WWCode CEO Alaina Percival.
“The launch of this new network will help us to empower women in the area to take advantage of this burgeoning field, and become part of the foundation of this industry as it grows and evolves.
“We’re lucky to have a talented and charismatic woman like Laura at the fore of that process.”
Women Invent is Silicon Republic’s campaign to champion the role of women in science, technology, engineering and maths. It has been running since March 2013, and is kindly supported by Intel, Open Eir (formerly Eircom Wholesale), Fidelity Investments, Accenture and CoderDojo.
Inspirefest is Silicon Republic’s international event connecting sci-tech professionals passionate about the future of STEM. Join us again from 30 June to 2 July 2016 for fresh perspectives on leadership, innovation and diversity. Get your Super Early Bird tickets now.
