The Women in Tech Summit is offering scholarships to women affected by the government shutdown

To aid women in tech affected by the government shutdown, the Women in Tech Summit (WITS) is offering a limited amount of scholarships to attend its Mid Atlantic conference March 28-29 in Washington, D.C.

Help us spread the word to #womenintech affected by the furlough We are offering a limited number of scholarships to attend WITS MidAtlantic 3/28 & 29 in Washington D.C. Details and application here – https://t.co/KGZCg6E34a pic.twitter.com/r5hd8LYKT5

— Women In Tech Summit (@WomenTechSummit) January 23, 2019

Since the shutdown went into affect in December, WITS Cofounder Gloria Bell told Technical.ly that the summit has experienced a slow down in both ticket sales and sponsorships from D.C. area companies. WITS is in its fourth year in D.C. and its first year as a multi-day summit.

“In comparison to what we have heard and seen about how the shutdown is negatively, and sometimes dramatically, impacting others, we feel fortunate and feel that we need to help in whatever small way we can,” Bell told Technical.ly

The scholarships include access to both days of the conference and the networking reception on March 28. Both days of the summit include speakers, panels and hands-on workshops on a variety of tech and career related topics. Interested women can apply for a scholarship via this form. Applications are due by close of business on Friday, Jan. 25. WITS Cofounder Gloria Bell told Technical.ly that scholarship winners will be chosen randomly and be notified on Monday, Jan. 28.

The summit is giving out five scholarships, but Bell said that number could increase and some women in tech are purchasing tickets to gift to women who have applied for scholarships, as well. For any applicants who are not awarded a scholarship, WITS is giving them a code for 50 percent off a regular priced ticket.

“We have always tried, whenever we reasonably could, to work with women who wanted to attend WITS but had some obstacle, whether it was doing whatever we could to keep ticket prices reasonable, volunteer opportunities, discounts, or in other ways,” Bell told Technical.ly. “These scholarships just seemed to be a natural extension of those efforts, especially for women in the D.C. area tech community who are going through an exceptionally stressful time.”