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Community Growth: The Culmination of a Year in the UK & Ireland

Since our founding in 2017, Rewriting the Code has fostered a 32,000-member-strong community of women in tech who inspire and support each other. While we support members worldwide, our largest community lies in the United States, where 76% of our audience resides and where our events were previously held (though many were virtual). 

In 2023, we recognized a need for deeper support for our members and partners beyond the US. Our on-the-ground expansion in the UK was the result.

2024 was our first full year of building and growing our community in the UK. We accomplished so much in such a short amount of time. RTC started the year with 563 members. By year’s end, that number had surged to over 2,000, showcasing our remarkable community growth and a clear indicator of the demand for a holistic tech community for women.

Our partners and members alike highlighted the lack of an all-encompassing community for students and early-career women in tech. “The UK has some really strong single-issue communities teaching women to code but nothing that provided the all-around support for women in tech that RTC does,” explains Jess Furness, RTC’s COO. 

Our efforts have been met with enthusiastic participation. “Members have been truly excited about this community, as reflected in the strong attendance at our events,” notes Blessing Adogame, RTC’s Manager of UK&I Programs. “From events in smaller cities across the UK to a variety of social and professional gatherings, this community has benefited from an organization that genuinely cares about their personal and professional journeys as women in tech.”

How We’ve Set About Making an Impact

We recognize that our UK community has unique needs and challenges compared to their US counterparts. The tech industry in the UK brought about different challenges, needs, and aspirations from our members, and we worked hard to ensure those were addressed. 

Some of the key needs and challenges include:

  • Fewer tech hubs and opportunities outside major cities
  • Networking and mentorship gaps
  • Access to virtual and in-person networking opportunities

In response, we built relationships with 12 university societies across the UK and Ireland, launched our Blackwings UK community, and hosted dozens of socials, connecting women from all over the UK together in ways they’d never been able to before.

We knew, however, that we couldn’t do it alone. 

Through corporate collaboration with our partners, supporters of RTC, and mission-aligned UK organizations, we’ve offered over 30 events in 2024 and hosted the first annual UK Career Summit, which connected UK partners directly with UK members to build relationships that will extend into 2025 and beyond. 

UKCS: How One Event Showcases a Year of Growth

RTC has hosted the Virtual Career Summit every year since 2020, but this year, we decided to expand and offer our UKI members an opportunity for community engagement. We wanted our members to be able to meet, connect, and grow. Recognizing the UK’s smaller geographical size compared to the US, we saw a unique chance to bridge the gap between our partners, corporate collaborators, and members in a more personal way.

The first-ever UK Career Summit (UKCS) brought together members from over 31 universities and six corporate partners and collaborators. The UKCS demonstrated the power of corporate collaboration in creating opportunities for members. It was the culmination of a year of hard work by our team, showcasing the vibrant community we’ve built.

One of our corporate attendees from Visa shared their thoughts: “There was a really great atmosphere at the event. I felt like there was a lot of support for the students, and the RTC team created a fantastic environment that made everyone feel welcome.”

Looking Forward

In 2024, we took massive steps forward in bridging the gap between women in tech and the organizations they can work for, but we’re just getting started. In 2025, we plan to build on our community engagement through targeted events and programs. 

“More” is our motto for 2025.

Here’s what’s already on the horizon for Q1 alone:

  • Co-launching the first annual Unite & Ignite Summit, an event designed to directly support early-career women in tech.
  • Expanding the UK branch of Black Wings and strengthening its connection with our US branch.
  • Partnering with Huddlehive to host a hackathon exclusively for women in tech.
  • Collaborating with organizations to host targeted events, giving them opportunities to connect directly with our members.
  • Visiting at least 10 University campuses.
  • Attending 2 conferences.
  • Launching the 2nd cohort of our UK Ambassadors.

We have so much more planned for the rest of the year, and we can’t wait to bring our community together in more spaces across the UK and Ireland.

If you’re a UK woman in tech who wants to become a member:

If you’re an organization who’d like to partner or collaborate with RTC:

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