9 Organizations That Assist LGBTQ+ Tech Staff & Allies

This Satisfaction Month, we’re taking a second to share some tech organizations which can be doing superior work to help and uplift the LGTBQ+ neighborhood. We all know that coding and studying technical abilities can usually really feel like a solitary exercise, whether or not you’re studying from house or working remotely. The antidote? Having a powerful neighborhood of like-minded folks you can flip to for recommendation, assets, and inspiration.  

Learn on to study LGBTQ+ tech organizations that present workshops, occasions, mentorship packages, and extra. Uncover how one can get entangled, volunteer, or meet up with these vibrant communities throughout Satisfaction Month and all 12 months spherical.  

Whilst you’re at it, don’t neglect to take a look at our Codecademy communities and occasions. We’re at all times internet hosting research periods, workshops, and different digital occasions the place you possibly can meet learners all over the world and get motivated by your programming friends. 

Lesbians Who Tech & Allies 

Lesbians Who Tech & Allies is devoted to attaining pay fairness and illustration for girls, girls of coloration, and nonbinary leaders throughout industries. Their work helps broaden entry to management roles for mid-senior degree professionals. Lesbians Who Tech additionally companions with corporations to create focused expertise pipelines, improve employer branding, and foster enterprise development and innovation. 

Get entangled: There’s a giant digital summit developing for Satisfaction, the place you possibly can hear tech leaders communicate and discover skilled improvement alternatives. You don’t need to be a lesbian to hitch this group — Lesbians Who Tech & Allies has greater than 100,000 members who’re LGBTQ+ girls, nonbinary, trans, and gender nonconforming.  

Out in Tech 

Out in Tech, the world’s largest LGBTQ+ nonprofit for tech professionals, created the Digital Corps program to help grassroots LGBTQ+ actions globally by providing free net providers and improvement. Their purpose is to amplify the voices of LGBTQ+ organizations and activists, significantly in nations the place being homosexual is illegitimate. Up to now, they’ve constructed 250 web sites in a number of languages for LGBTQ+ organizations worldwide. 

Get entangled: Volunteering with Digital Corps is a rewarding alternative to make a big impression whereas gaining invaluable expertise. Past people who know net dev, additionally they want folks to assist with design, writing, and operationalizing duties.  

TransTech Social 

TransTech Social empowers, educates, and employs the LGBTQ+ neighborhood by way of accessible teaching programs, inclusive occasions, and equitable employment alternatives, with a give attention to transgender and gender-nonconforming folks. Based by self-taught dev and actress Angelica Ross in 2014, it presents job coaching and management abilities to scale back discrimination and promote financial empowerment.  

Get entangled: It’s free to be part of TransTech Social, and members get entry to all types of perks, together with month-to-month digital workshops created by and for members, a library of over 100 instructional movies (masking subjects from accessibility design to digital public talking), and a Discord server with a devoted #jobs channel. 

LGBTQ in Expertise Slack 

Whether or not you’re employed remotely or are feeling secluded whereas studying to code by yourself, try the LGBTQ in Expertise Slack. It’s a secure area for chatting with and assembly different queer folks within the trade, and there are over 250 channels you possibly can be part of if you wish to interact with particular subcultures.  

Get entangled: Earlier than you be part of this Slack, make sure to learn its code of conduct and evaluate the overview of LGBTQ in Expertise’s tradition. 

Out & Equal  

Out & Equal is a nonprofit that focuses on making workplaces extra inclusive and supportive for LGBTQ+ folks. They work with Fortune 500 corporations and organizations to supply management improvement, range coaching, and networking alternatives. Their purpose is to create work environments the place all staff can develop and succeed. 

Get entangled: Out & Equal hosts an annual Office Summit with numerous workshops about what it takes to thrive and really feel a way of belonging at work. It’s additionally a good way to listen to from thought leaders, meet like-minded folks, and broaden your skilled community and neighborhood.  

StartOut  

Received an concept for a product or app that you just wish to make a actuality? StartOut supplies assets, help, and mentorship to LGBTQ+ founders and entrepreneurs. A 2023 report from StartOut discovered that LGBTQ+ founders solely raised 0.5% of the trillions of {dollars} in startup funding (although 7.1% of the U.S. inhabitants identifies as LGBTQ+). That’s why their mission is to drive financial empowerment throughout the queer neighborhood and guarantee equal entry to management and success alternatives. 

Get entangled: Members of the LGBTQ+ neighborhood and allies can volunteer with StartOut to have a hand in planning their occasions or present mentorship to budding founders.  

oSTEM  

oSTEM is brief for “Out in Science, Expertise, Engineering, and Arithmetic,” and it’s a nonprofit nationwide technical society for LGBTQ+ college students and professionals.  

Get entangled: There are many volunteer alternatives for college kids and tech execs. oSTEM’s short-term projects-based alternatives require 5 to twenty hours per thirty days for a number of months — you possibly can signal as much as volunteer and get matched with a challenge. You can even launch a neighborhood oSTEM chapter to your faculty or firm (there are over 100 oSTEM chapters all over the world!). 

Diversify Tech 

Diversify Tech connects folks with skilled alternatives — from jobs to internships and academic scholarships. Diversify Tech isn’t an completely LGBTQ+ group, it’s open to people from underrepresented teams in tech at each degree (together with college students).  

Get entangled: Join one of many Diversify Tech newsletters (they’ve completely different choices relying in your degree) to get weekly job board updates in your inbox. You can even make a profile for the Diversify Tech expertise listing, so recruiters and hiring managers can contact you about alternatives. 

Unicorns in Tech 

Primarily based in Berlin, Unicorns in Tech is a global tech neighborhood for LGBTQ+ folks with over 4,000 members.  

Methods to get entangled: Unicorns in Tech hosts an annual hackathon and convention in addition to month-to-month meetups in Berlin. One other method you possibly can contribute is by writing articles and essays for the group’s on-line journal.   

Extra methods to rejoice Satisfaction 

Try all of our Satisfaction protection on the weblog, together with job search ideas from queer profession coaches and Satisfaction-themed coding challenges. We hope these concepts encourage you to make use of your coding abilities to present again to the communities and causes that you just care about.