October brought the beginning DCFemTech’s annual Tour de Code.
For the uninitiated, Tour de Code is a month-long whirlwind of events for women in tech. Each event is hosted by a member organization of the coalition DCFemTech, which includes Women Who Code, Hear Me Code, and 15 others. The series focuses on advancing women in tech by facilitating everything from coding lessons to job interview practice.
"Be that role model. Don't underestimate a woman who knows how to code." –@kodeh @urbaninstitute pic.twitter.com/VnDyeE5bbU
— DCFemTech (@DCFemTech) September 30, 2016
Now returning for its fourth year, Tour de Code has upheld its tradition of a jam-packed calendar, as we’ve covered in years past. DCFemTech cofounder Shana Glenzer told us she is “excited about a few events this year who are run by new participants in the DCFemTech community. Specifically a session on Getting Started with Open Source Software Contributions led by Tracy King.”
See the full calendarPreviously Tour de Code was organized by Washington Post developer and #dctech leader Jess Bell. This year, D.C. resident and Groupon software engineer Katherine McClintic is at the organizing helm of Tour de Code.
Two events McClintic recommends attendees check out are the fourth annual Tech Lady Hackathon, and a Ruby on Rails Surrealism workshop.
“I wish I had the time (and ability to be in two places at once) to go to all of them,” she told us.
As for changes this year’s attendees can expect?
“[Women who Code DC] have fewer events per month around the same language groups, but have expanded the spectrum of technologies around which they focus their events,” McClintic said via email. “This means that you’ll see fewer Front End meetups for them (for example), but more events in other areas like algorithms and DevOps.”
And as always, any advice for newcomers?
“Ask lots of questions,” said McClintic. “DCFemTech members are a pretty friendly and welcoming bunch.”
To celebrate the start of Tour de Code, RSVP to the launch party hosted by Crowdskout tonight (Oct. 3) at 6 p.m.
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