Women Who Code Launches in Edinburgh, Scotland

Diversity in Tech Nonprofit Establishes Local Network to Support Engineering Community

Edinburgh – March 7th, 2017 — Women Who Code (WWCode),an international 501c3 dedicated to providing tech professionals with the programs and empowerment they need to achieve career success, announces the establishment of their newest local Network in Edinburgh, Scotland. This group will be tasked with holding training, leadership, and networking events, while providing engineers in the city with opportunities to speak, mentor, and take on leadership roles.

Edinburgh is the first Women Who Code Network to launch in Scotland, and the fifth to be established in the United Kingdom. The group, which already consists of 126 members, will be guided by Directors Maria Gutierrez, VP of Engineering at FreeAgent, Ceri Shaw, Engineering Manager at FreeAgent, and Lea Savage, Computer Scientist at Adobe Systems.

Maria spoke about her reasons for helping to establish this new Women Who Code Network, We want to create a group where women in the tech industry in Edinburgh can share our experiences and learn from each other. I’ve learnt a lot and gained valuable opportunities in my career from people I’ve met at technical events. We want to share our experience, skills and contacts, and encourage other women to connect and get more exposure to the opportunities available today in the city.

Ceri echoed those sentiments saying, “I’m really excited to help start WWCode Edinburgh because connecting with people who share your experiences is so important to our future. Too often we only hear about the bad side of the tech industry and I’d like to create a community where we can share the positive experiences too. I’d love to be part of a network where we can share our ideas and help each other grow in our careers.”

The launch event for Women Who Code Edinburgh is scheduled to take place on March 7th at the offices of FreeAgent. The agenda consists of a welcome chat to be followed by discussions on individual interests, opportunities and roles that are available, as well as future programming and ideas for upcoming events. Current plans are for members to meet on a monthly basis at different tech locations around the city.

Network Director Lea Savage spoke about the importance of Women Who Code saying, “The opportunity to share experiences and provide guidance for females in technical roles is limited in Edinburgh. I hope a brand as prominent as WWCode will provide the right platform to gather such like-minded women together.”

Women Who Code Global Leadership Director Joey Rosenberg spoke about the launch saying, “I believe that the impact of this Network will have a profound effect on both the economy and community of Edinburgh. By empowering a wider range of people to excel in engineering, we are building a talent pool that is more diverse, dynamic, and better able to help businesses succeed in an increasingly tech focused world. We are thrilled to have Maria, Lea and Ceri leading the way as role models for their community. Under their guidance, we believe that this network will thrive and be able to bring together women across the industry.”

About Women Who Code
Women Who Code (WWCode) is an international nonprofit dedicated to inspiring women to excel in technology careers. WWCode is building a world where women are proportionally representative as technical leaders, executives, founders, VCs, board members and software engineers. The organization has executed more than 4,200 free events around the world, garnered a membership exceeding 80,000, and has a presence in 20 countries. Help empower even more women to advance in tech with the training and community they need to succeed by supporting WWCode. Learn more at womenwhocode.com.