Over 100 women will converge in KC for a weekend of coding and camaraderie
July 19, 2017 | Meghan LeVota
This coming weekend, Kansas City will host over 100 women coders from around the Midwest for an immersive, two-day workshop.
The second annual workshop Django Girls is an international non-profit organization that is organized locally by Kansas City Women in Technology. The workshop will be held July 21 and 22 and attendees will build web applications using HTML, CSS, Python and Django.
Jennifer Wadella, founder of Kansas City Women in Technology, said that the goal of the workshop is to empower women in the technology industry.
“Kansas City Women in Technology is excited to bring Django Girls to Kansas City,” Wadella said in a release. “We want to continue building Kansas City’s thriving technology and startup scene with diverse professionals.”
Following a competitive application process, 113 women were selected to attend the event, which will be held at the Sprint Accelerator in the Crossroads Arts District.
Event sponsors include Think Big Partners, EquipmentShare, RevSYS, Pawn & Pint and more.
“Django Girls is an amazing program because we start with absolute beginners and by the end of the day, they’ve created a website,” said Django Girls KC marketing coordinator Amy Norris, in a release. “It’s also one of the only free workshops offered, which opens doors to web development to women who might not normally be able to try it.”
Founded in 2013, Kansas City Women in Technology is a nonprofit aimed at growing the number of women in technology careers in the metro. The organization offers several programs that encourage people of all ages and genders to learn to code: CoderDojoKC, Django Girls KC, Coding & Cupcakes and Coding & Cocktails
Wadella told Startland News in January that encouraging more women to pursue careers in technology will bring diverse thinking and well-rounded design to more companies, thus creating better products.
In April, Kansas City was ranked at the second best metro for women in technology, according to a study conducted by SmartAsset. This is the second consecutive year that Kansas City has earned the No. 2 title.
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Kansas City seeks leaders for Smart City board
The City of Kansas City, Mo., is now seeking nominations to lead the city’s smart city efforts. City leaders hope to attract citizens with experience in smart city technologies to help advise the City of Fountain’s coming Cisco Smart City project, in addition to its other smart city efforts. The newly authorized “Smart City Advisory…
RECAP: 1 Million Cups focuses on time with Mixtape, Flowh
There was a theme at today’s 1 Million Cups KC, and it was time. Two startups presented their businesses, both at different stages, and both in different industries, but both dealing with time — how we remember it and how we manage it. Mixtape founder Joel Johnson was first to present his firm, which created…
Lean Lab eyes $25K in national pitch contest
The Lean Lab, a Kansas City-based education innovation incubator, is hoping to strike gold in a national pitch competition in California. The organization on Wednesday will be pitching its model in the Teach For America Social Innovation Awards, an annual competition in which the Lean Lab hopes to snag a $25,000 prize. Lean Lab is the…