Women Who Code Launches in Birmingham, Alabama
SAN FRANCISCO, May 21, 2015 — Women Who Code (WWCode), a US based 501c3 non-profit dedicated to inspiring women to excel in technology careers, today announced the launch of its Birmingham, Alabama Network. This marks the twenty-fourth US city for the organization, where domestically the group boasts nearly 19,000 of its members. The newest Network launched this week holding the inaugural event at Red Mountain Makers, a local technical cooperative.
The tech scene is on the rise in Birmingham. With the opening of the new WWCode chapter in Birmingham, the organization is hoping to capitalize on a share of the marketplace by having a presence and connecting local women to technology and each other. Local interest in the new Network is strong, as indicated by ABC News Birmingham's coverage of the launch.
Shirley Hicks and Lynette Pope are leading efforts in Birmingham and have already galvanized a following of 54 members. Hicks initially began corresponding with WWCode in the fall of 2014 and after several months of waiting, due to an overwhelming amount of expansion requests, Birmingham is now officially a part of the Women Who Code Network. “Currently in the region, women are underrepresented in the technical and computing professions,” Hicks said. “We envision this group as a place for women to get together to learn new languages, work on programming projects and to create some of the solutions that are needed in the community. Along the way, members will also learn about career options within the tech field, help each other work through roadblocks and learn the finer nuances of coding.”
“We are excited to gain additional momentum in the South East and launch in our first city in the state of Alabama,” said Alaina Percival, CEO of WWCode. “We have long focused on expanding our reach globally, but lately placing more attention on more US areas like Birmingham. We are fortunate to have two very inspiring women who are perfectly suited for the challenge and who are ready to empower other women to excel in their technology careers.”