According to the World Economic Forum report, women represent 22% of AI professionals in the industry. Even more alarming, only 12 % of machine learning researchers are women. In a field supposedly reshaping society, gender diversity within teams is key toward the elimination of cultural biases and prejudices, especially in the area of gender.
The good news is that there are an increasing number of communities out there encouraging women and girls to embrace STEM careers, highlighting role models in the field, providing mentorship, acceleration programs, collaborations, job boards and workshops. The Good AI have selected for you 12 of the most active communities that will push you to the front of the AI global community!
1. Women in Data
Founded in: 2015
Target: Working women with the purpose of career advancement and opportunity to uplift one another
Programs: Awareness, education, and opportunity within ecosystems of members, companies and universities
Global presence: 41 chapters
Community: 13,500+ members
2. Women in AI
Founded in: 2017
Founders: Dr. Hanan Salam, Caroline Lair, Moojan Asghari
Target: Students, working women
Programs: Education, research, events, accelerators programs, hackathon and bloggingGlobal presence: 40 chapters
Community: 6000+ members
3. Women in Data Science
Founded in: 2015
Founder: Stanford University
Target: Students, working women
Programs: Conferences, datathon, podcasts, education outreach, workshops
Global Presence: 60 chapters
Community: 100 000+ members
4. Women in Machine Learning & Data Science
Founded in: 2013
Target: Students, working women
Programs: Talks by women and gender minority individuals working in data science or machine learning, technical workshops, networking events and hackathons
Global Presence: 100+ chapters
Community: 50 000+ members
5. Black Girls CODE
Founded in: 2011
Founder: Kimberly Bryant
Target: Young girls of color, ages 6-17
Programs: Introduction to computer programming, electrical engineering, mobile app development, robotics and other STEM fields
Global Presence: 10 chapters
Community: Reach 3000 students
6. Women Who Code
Founded in: 2011
Founder: Alaina Perciva
Target: Working women
Programs: Advance women in their careers, build global leaders in tech, low to no barrier-to-entry programs, events, scholarships
Global Presence: 122 chapters
Community: 230 000 members
7. Girls in Tech
Founded in: 2007
Founder: Adriana Gascoigne
Target: Working women
Programs: Personal development, mentorship, digital events, conferences, jobs board, workshops, local events, bootcamps
Global Presence: 60 chapters
Community: 100 000 members
8. Ada’s List
Founded in: 2013
Founder: Anjali Ramachandran, Rosa Birch and Nicki SprinzTarget: Working women in a field related to the internet
Programs: Access to a big community, mentorship, digital events, conferences, jobs board, patron program, emailing
Community: 7500 members
9. Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology
Founded in: 1997
Founded by: Anita Borg
Target: Women in technical fields + their organizations that employ + the academic institutions training the next generation
Programs: Access to big communities, events, mentors, resources, recruiting techniques, awards, grants
Global Presence: 20+ chapters
Community: Several thousands members
10. Girl Develop It
Founded in: 2010
Founder: Vanessa Hurst and Sara Chipps
Target: Women in technical fields, the organizations that employ them and the academic institutions training the next generation
Programs: Affordable programs for adult women and non-binary individuals to learn web and software developing in a judgement free environment
Global Presence: 60 chapters
Community: 100,000 students
11. Women in Tech
Founded in: 2018
Founder: Ayumi Moore Aoki
Target: Women
Programs: Education, entrepreneurialism, social inclusion, science & innovation
Global Presence: 18 chapters
Community: Members in over 100 countries
12. Women in Technology International (WITI)
Founded in: 1989
Founder: Carolyn Leighton
Target: Working women
Programs: Events, resources, coaching, career center and partnerships
Global Presence: 300 partners worldwide
Community: 3 million professionals, 60 network.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Victoria Martane is a former Community and Content Manager at The Good AI. Victoria holds graduate degrees in International Relations from Sciences Po Aix and International Business from SKEMA Business School.
