LVIV, Ukraine - Ukraine's tech industry is no exception when it comes to gender gap.
Yet the popularity of the Rails Girls software coding seminar held on April 18 in Lviv proved it’s not from a lack of trying to bridge that gap. The global network of non-profit workshops teaches women the Rails code for the Ruby programming language. It was held in Lviv for the first time, and three similar seminars have been organized elsewhere in Ukraine in recent years.
Only 20 participants could attend out of 400 applicants from all over Ukraine, including such major technology hubs as Kyiv and Odesa. Among its five organizers, Oksana Kunikevych, 22, organized the workshop after benefitting from DjangoGirls, another seminar that teaches code, which she attended last fall in Lviv.
“I am a beginner at programming myself,” says Kunikevych, who studies applied linguistics at Lviv Polytechnic National Institute and works as a copywriter. “I am learning JavaScript coding language now, but my interest in coding was mostly spurred after DjangoGirls workshop. I was so excited that I decided to organize something similar so that other girls would get inspired.”
Women make up only 25 percent of the tech industry’s global workforce, though comprising 57 percent of the overall workforce, according to WhoIsHostingThis market research.
The Finland-based Rails Girls requires organizers to complete an event registration form on its website and to list sponsors, as their seminars must be free for both participants and mentors.
Although Lviv is known as a hub for outsourcing firms, companies were reluctant to sponsor. Finally, U.S.-based DataArt, a custom-software development firm, agreed to be general sponsor and provide the venue.
Participants were selected based exclusively on their cover letters and readiness to promote the event within their local communities and among their colleagues and social networks. They needed no experience in coding and there were no age or professional restrictions.
All 10 mentors volunteered after requests were placed on social networks. They were tech professionals with extensive expertise in different programming languages.
“In (information technology), there is such a philosophy as ‘giving back to the community’,” Kunikevych says.
Another Lviv event – uniting several coding workshops – is planned for late summer, Kunikevych says.
Rails Girls was first organized in Helsinki in 2010. Now the event network covers more than 50 cities worldwide.
Information about future events can be found on the Rails Girls official website www.railsgirls.com.
Kyiv Post staff writer Bozhena Sheremeta can be reached at [email protected]. The Kyiv Post’s IT coverage is sponsored by AVentures Capital, Ciklum, FISON and SoftServe.
