Women have been transforming the tech sector immensely both on a global and local scale. Employers in the industry are constantly looking to diversify and bring in often-overlooked talent and Ladies of Code, an international community of professionals and geeks alike, is a place “where people learn how to incorporate inclusivity within the tech industry as well as share computer programming tips and tricks”. By holding monthly meetups, Ladies of Code encourages women-identifying and non-binary people to network, socialise and develop coding skills.
Carole Logan, the leader of the Glasgow chapter of Ladies of Code, says the group offers something others often lack: “When you go to regular tech meetups in Glasgow there’s not as many women as there are in here. We’ve got students, we’ve got tech developers from other countries and everyone in between.
“I think the fact we have so many people in the group and they come along regularly kind of shows that there’s a need for these meetups and that people are out there,” Carole adds. Ladies of Code Glasgow currently has over 600 members.
Irene Macbain, who got into coding through a different route than most, never thought she would become a software developer: “There are times in life where you might find yourself facing a major blocker. For me, in 2001, my doctor said you’ll never work again.
“For a long time, I was on disability benefits and I was doing volunteering,” says Irene. She adds that coding and technology nowadays enable a lot of people to “work from home” and “feel part of the society”. Irene has recently gained her Masters degree in Smart Networks and landed a job at a well-known company.
However, coding can be rigorous and isolating, which makes Ladies of Code a great place to meet like-minded people within the industry and develop your skills: “I think you learn quicker when you’re collaborating. Whether you’re at uni in a group learning or whether you’re in a company learning on the job, I think the bottom line is you learn quicker when you’re bouncing off each other,” says Irene.
She also stresses that “this is a saturated market” and that “good developers are few and far between”. Software development is not an easy job and new developers often realise that “the job is the same day in and day out”, which can pose a challenge because people move on to other projects “just to do something different,” adds Irene. By seeking out a community, developers can also break free of “bad habits” in their coding by seeing how other people approach the same problem. In any case, Irene is positive that success in the field is not dependent on “how young or old you are, as long as you’re willing to learn.”
Fiona Heath, who gave her first talk at the June meetup, says Ladies of Code is a place that encourages celebration of achievements as well as discussion on shortcomings: “It’s about making it okay that you don’t know, because nobody knows all the answers. Talking about your failures is actually really important.” Fiona adds: “Don’t get comfortable because things are always changing.”
