521 Publish blog post "First Year At Women Coding Community"

_posts/2025-07-01-first-year-at-wcc.html

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+---
+layout: post
+title: "When They Said It Was Over, We Said It Was Just Beginning"
+date: 2025-07-01
+author_name: Rajani Rao
+author_role: Principal Technologist, AVEVA
+blurb_img: /assets/images/blog/2025-07-01-first-year-at-wcc.jpg
+blurb_img_source:
+description: "Our first year as WomenCodingCommunity"
+category: Community
+---
+
+<div class="text-justify">
+    <p>
+    Standing on the rooftop of Encode Hub on May 29th, looking out at faces of women who refused to let something meaningful disappear, I felt this overwhelming sense of "we actually did it."
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    I'm Rajani Rao, co-founder and director of the Women Coding Community. That night, as I looked out at everyone gathered for our first anniversary celebration, all I could think about was how absolutely surreal this whole journey has been.
+    </p>
+
+    <h2>When the World Said "No," We Said "Not Today"</h2>
+
+    <p>
+    You remember the moment. We all do. The diversity initiatives getting axed. Funding evaporating overnight. Women Who Code shutting down. It felt like watching something you cared about just... die.
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    But instead of accepting that ending, we chose to begin again.
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    We didn't wait around for some savior organization to emerge. We didn't sit there hoping someone else would fix it. We showed up and said, "Fine. We'll do it ourselves."
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    That's literally how the Women Coding Community was born - out of pure stubborn refusal to let something important disappear. And when we needed support to make it real, partners like SurrealDB stepped up and believed in our vision.
+    </p>
+
+    <h2>Building From Scratch While Juggling Everything</h2>
+
+    <p>
+    The energy that night was... honestly, it was everything I hoped it would be. One woman came up to me afterward and said, "I had such a great time! Really appreciated how welcoming and friendly everyone was, loved the energy!"
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    And I'm thinking, "Yes. THIS. This is exactly what we were trying to create."
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    Workshops, mentorship, study groups, career clubs and more -we've created all this from scratch. And we did it while holding jobs, raising families, learning new tech, and sometimes just surviving.
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    But that's what we do, isn't it? We build. We uplift. We persist. Even when we're running on three hours of sleep and our imposter syndrome is screaming.
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    The growth has been steady and real. Here are some highlights:
+    <ul>
+        <li>Our mentorship program achieved an 85% match success rate</li>
+        <li>Over 500 women joined our ML track</li>
+        <li>Nearly 180 women signed up for our new LeetCode track before we even launched it</li>
+    </ul>
+    But the numbers don't tell the real story. The real story is what one student told me that night: "Being surrounded by so many inspiring women reminded me that I can do this. That we all can. Sometimes, all it takes is seeing people who look like you doing what you dream of and suddenly, it feels possible."
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    And I'm standing there thinking, "Yes. THAT'S why we're here."
+    </p>
+
+    <h2>Voices from Our Community</h2>
+
+    <p>
+    We heard from some incredible community members that night, and I use "incredible" deliberately because they genuinely blew me away.
+    </p> 
+
+    <p>
+    Nonna Shakhova, a Cloud Data Engineer at FDJ, talked about "driving change with empathy, engineering clarity, heart and skill." And you could tell she meant every word.
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    Damola Taiwo, Frontend Engineer at JustEat Takeaway, shared her passion for "empowering women in tech" with this infectious energy that made everyone lean forward.
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    Sonali Goel, Software Development Engineer at Tesco Technology, spoke about "driving innovation through code and collective growth" in a way that made you want to immediately start three new projects.
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    Our guest Pawel Hajdan (Ex-Google, now Founder of Tech Momentum) gave us practical insights on career growth that actually made sense. People walked away saying things like, "I walked away with fresh perspectives on growth, communication, and career ownership."
+    </p>
+
+    <h2>What I Actually Want You to Know</h2>
+
+    <p>
+    As I stood in front of that room, I had to share something that's been eating at me:
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    If you've ever felt like you're not "enough" for this industry - that voice in your head is lying. You have more to offer than you realize, and frankly, this industry needs what you bring.
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    If you're waiting for permission to go after something bigger - this is it. This is me, officially giving you permission. Go get it.
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    If you're playing small because it feels safer - I get it. I really do. But step out anyway. Real growth doesn't happen in your comfort zone, it happens when you're slightly terrified and doing it anyway.
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    You belong in technology. You belong in innovation. You belong in leadership. And you absolutely belong in shaping whatever comes next.
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    I'm not saying this to be encouraging. I'm saying it because it's objectively true.
+    </p>
+
+    <h2>Why Coding Skills Alone Aren't Enough</h2>
+
+    <p>
+    Here's what I shared as we wrapped up the evening, and it's probably the most important thing I'll say:
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    We can't just teach women to code anymore. That's important, but it's not nearly enough.
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    We need to teach women to lead engineering teams. To start companies. To become the ones writing the checks and making the hiring decisions. To be the ones in the room when they're deciding what gets built and who gets to build it.
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    Right now, everyone talks about getting more women into tech. Fine. That's a start. But our goal isn't just representation - it's complete transformation of how this industry works.
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    We don't want to just join existing teams and quietly fit in. We want to build our own teams. We want to shape what technology looks like, how it operates, and who it actually serves.
+    </p>
+
+    <h2>This Is Just Year One</h2>
+
+    <p>
+    One of my co-founders Adriana put it perfectly: "This was our first anniversary, and I know it's only the beginning."
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    The connections that happened that night, the conversations I overheard, the lightbulb moments I watched people have - this is what happens when women stop accepting limitations and start creating alternatives.
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    Another woman captured it: "The atmosphere was filled with energy of women who understand the unique journey of this industry."
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    We get it because we've lived it. The microaggressions, the imposter syndrome, the being-the-only-woman-in-the-room exhaustion. Now we're changing it.
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    One woman told me that night: "WCC is more than just a tech network - it's a safe, empowering space where women in tech support one another, grow together, and lead with purpose."
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    Exactly. That's exactly what we're building.
+    </p>
+
+
+    <h2>What I'm Actually Asking For</h2>
+
+    <p>
+    Wherever you are right now - whether you're thinking about that senior engineer to team lead transition, or you have a dream/idea you're too scared to pursue, or you're just tired of being the only woman in every meeting - this community is for you.
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    We're here to figure this out together. To learn together. To fail together and get back up together. To redefine what leadership in tech actually looks like when it includes more diverse perspectives and approaches.
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    Join us. Build with us. Help us shape what comes next.
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    Because when the world said our communities couldn't survive, we proved them spectacularly wrong. When they said the funding was gone forever, we found another way. When they said it was over, we made it our beginning.
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    More women. Real impact. Genuine community that actually cares!
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    Here's to year two and becoming the leaders we're absolutely capable of being.
+    </p>
+
+    <hr style="margin-top: 40px; margin-bottom: 40px;">
+    <p>
+    Ready to get involved?
+    <ul>
+        <li>Check out our website: womencodingcommunity.com</li>
+        <li>Join our Slack community (link on the website)</li>
+    </ul>
+    </p>
+
+    <p>
+    Massive thanks to Encode Hub for hosting us, to our volunteers who made it all possible, and to every single woman who believes in this vision. The future of tech leadership is diverse, inclusive, and starts with the work we're doing right now.
+    </p>
+    <hr style="margin-top: 40px; margin-bottom: 40px;">
+
+
+    <p>
+    <i>
+    P.S. If you were there that night and I didn't get to talk to you as much as I wanted - find me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajaniraog. Let's continue this conversation…
+    </i>
+    </p>
+</div>