As we’ve highlighted before, Austin has an extremely active tech culture with new groups popping up every couple of months. From cocoa developers to RoR experts to the Social Media Club, there’s a fit for almost anyone’s interest.
To my surprise, same applies to women in technology groups in the area. After raising awareness and throwing a handful of Girls in Tech events, the group caught the eye of several other women’s organizations around town.
In early June, we had the opportunity to participate in an all-hands women in technology meeting featuring leaders from groups such as Women In Technology (Austin), IEEE- Women in Engineering, Women in Engineering Program, Women’s Group at 3M, Association for Women in Computing, etc.
The goal was to introduce leaders to each other and to understand what each has to offer for women in technology. The topics ranged from general group introductions to resources to individual group goals. Some catered solely to the purely technical while others focused on internal corporate initiatives to foster interest in technology.
Throughout the evening, each organization discussed best practices along side mistakes. All voiced the same concerns of maintaining membership levels and offering valuable programs.
I was by far the youngest in attendance, but found this to be a valuable differentiator. GiT was also the only program that offered a robust entrepreneurial resource for its members.
In the end, we all walked away with excellent connections and a new list of resources. Despite each group’s individual mission, we are all afterall here to provide a forum for those women interested in technology. The groups plan on uniting every quarter or so and to make a concerted effort to combine events when possible.
