After having worked in tech for several years, Claudia experienced first-hand the difficulties and discrimination women are facing while working in tech. She also noticed that it didn't stop at work. When attending code-related events, she was more often than not the only woman attending. And the experience itself wasn't always very positive. Every event reminded her of the stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination towards women.
Needless to say that it felt pretty much impossible to connect with fellow women who code. And without having fellow peers to share the daily struggles, Claudia decided to reach out to a broader network and became part of a few international communities for women.
At that time there was no apparent community or network in Belgium for women like Claudia, this inspired her to start building a community for women who code in Belgium.
In November 2017, Claudia teamed up with Eva and Maartje to put the her idea into motion, soon after women.code(be) came to exist.
Initially the focus was to create an online community and occasionally host events where fellow women who code can connect and expand their network. But slowly, Claudia's ambitions grew and she longed for creating a bigger impact. An impact that we believe is much needed to make the Belgian tech industry a better place for women and non-binary people.
It was around this time, that Maartje left our ranks as core member. At the same time Eva and Claudia moved forward to expand the community's initiatives with a community blog, a monthly newsletter, spotlight interviews and more...
The next step was to start building a team of volunteers to support and inspire even more women.
2022
Early 2022, Eva decided to pursue one of her longtime interests in Psychology, by enrolling into a bachelor program. Today, Eva is still a member of this community, but she is no longer taking part in any of the day-to-day operations. At her own pace, Eva is will be taking up a counseling role in extension of her newly started academic pursuit.