2022 has been a year of challenges, both at a global level and for most of us as individuals.
Many have faced returning to the office, economic struggles, and worry about war. Our worldwide battle with gender bias continues, The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2022 revealing that at the current rate of progress it will take 132 years to reach gender parity globally. Closer to home, this can look like subconscious bias in the workplace, penalization for starting a family, and slower career progression.
Set against these challenging times, the wins of Girls in tech around the globe seem all the more impressive and worthy of acknowledgement.
We’re here to highlight some of the key moments for girls in tech in 2022 – both within our organization, and amongst the wider community of women in the industry.
There’s so much to celebrate as we look back on the year!
Girls in Tech, the organization
Our community grew Our Girls in Tech global community grew by 17,000 members in 2022! That brings our member count to 129,000, with 50 local chapters.
If you’re new around here, we’re so happy to have you on this journey with us! The more women we can impact, the more we can positively influence the global tech workforce.
Read more about the spirit of Girls in Tech, and why everyone is welcome here.
We moved to Nashville This year, our leadership team made the big call to move Girls in Tech’s headquarters to Nashville, Tennessee. Away from Silicon Valley, the tech center of the world? Have we lost our minds?!
Actually, there’s good reason for it. Founder Adriana Gascoigne said this about the move to Nashville:
“It feels like the perfect place for us as tech evolves away from the ivory towers of San Francisco and into a more diverse world.”
We’re so excited to move into the future of the organization, focused on diversity and inclusion, and far from the male-dominated industry of the past.
We got together in person again Speaking of Nashville, Girls in Tech was delighted to run our first in-person conference since 2019 this year! The Brooklyn Bowl in Nashville was the perfect place to share stories, hear inspiring talks, and enjoy some live music.
View a recap of the 2022 Girls in Tech Conference.
We learned a thing or two Girls in Tech ran plenty of successful programs and events this year, giving our members the opportunity to build their skillset and put their tech skills to the test.
Some highlights included:
The HPE Hard of Hearing Hackathon – Participants designed tech solutions for hearing-impaired people.
Ukraine Hackathon – Participants were challenged with hacking solutions for the crisis in Ukraine, creating tech to support Ukrainians on the ground.
Design Thinking – This crucial soft skill for tech workers has made its way onto many members’ resumes this year, following our in-person Design Thinking Bootcamp and online course on the Girls in Tech Academy.
We continued to Break the Bias For International Women’s Day this year, Girls in Tech published a comprehensive guide on actionable steps to take to break the gender bias that still exists in society and many workplaces.
We joined the global #BreakTheBias movement to spread awareness about the gender issues still present in the world, and even launched an exclusive collection on the Girls in Tech Shop to help our members get involved.
Girls in tech, the community
The Women in Tech Excellence Awards offered recognition
The UK is setting a great example of how to recognize and celebrate women in tech with its annual Women in Tech Excellence Awards. This year’s list of nominees features hundreds of names, and it’s inspiring to see just how many women are being recognised for their work in the field!
View a breakdown of the award finalists and categories.
The global gender gap closed… a bit While there are still 132 years to go to reach gender parity globally, the gender gap is reported to have been closed by 68.1% in 2022. The pandemic set the timeline back some 30 odd years, but this year we managed to regain some ground and lessen it by 2 years. Hey – it’s something!
Read the Global Gender Gap Report 2022.
Female entrepreneurs represented in business With an influx of female entrepreneurs reaching unicorn status in 2022, and driving some of the fastest-growing tech startups, this year was an exciting one for women in the industry.
We hope to see more female entrepreneurship in future, which is why the Girls in Tech Startup Challenge is encouraging more women to start companies. Our Guide to Starting a Startup offers tips on how to get going.
More women made the Cloud 100 The Cloud 100 lists the world’s top private cloud companies, selected for growth, sales, valuation and culture plus a reputation score derived in consultation with 26 CEO judges and executives from their public-cloud-company peers. Female representation on the list has always been poor, but this year 8 women CEOs made the list. This is up from only 2 last year – so we’ll take it as a win!
Read about the women of 2022’s Cloud 100 list.
Over to you…
We know that our community achieves so much without receiving the recognition and celebration you deserve. So, we’d love for you to share with us what your key moments of 2022 have been – whether it’s gaining a new skill, getting a new job, doing a course or workshop, or completing an amazing project.
Send us a DM on Instagram so we can celebrate it with you!
