PyLadies is an international
mentorship
Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...
group which focuses on helping more women become active participants in the
Python open-source community.
It is part of the
Python Software Foundation
The Python Software Foundation (PSF) is an American nonprofit organization devoted to the Python programming language, launched on March 6, 2001. The mission of the foundation is to foster development of the Python community and is responsible fo ...
. It was started in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
in 2011. The mission of the group is to create a diverse Python community through
outreach
Outreach is the activity of providing services to any population that might not otherwise have access to those services. A key component of outreach is that the group providing it is not stationary, but mobile; in other words, it involves meetin ...
, education, conferences and social gatherings. PyLadies also provides funding for women to attend open source conferences. The aim of PyLadies is increasing the participation of women in computing. PyLadies became a multi-chapter organization with the founding of the
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, chapter in August 2011.
History
The organization was created in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
in April 2011 by seven women:
Audrey Roy Greenfeld,
Christine Cheung,
Esther Nam,
Jessica Venticinque (Stanton at the time),
Katharine Jarmul,
Sandy Strong, and
Sophia Viklund. Around 2012, the organization filed for nonprofit status.
As of March 2024, PyLadies has 129 chapters.
Organization
PyLadies has conducted outreach events for both beginners and experienced users.
PyLadies has conducted hackathons, social nights and workshops for Python enthusiasts.
Each chapter is free to run themselves as they wish as long as they are focused on the goal of empowering women and other marginalized genders in tech. Women make up the majority of the group, but membership is not limited to women and the group is open to helping people who identify as other
gender identities
Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent and consistent with the i ...
as well.
In the past, PyLadies has also collaborated with other organizations, for instance
R-Ladies.
References
External links
PyLadies Website
{{Authority control
Mentorships
Women in computing
Free and open-source software organizations
Organizations for women in science and technology
Software developer communities
Python (programming language)