The Women in Tech initiative started as a simple idea but turned into a powerful global movement, empowering women in the WordPress community to step into leadership roles. As part of the Make WordPress Community Team’s global initiative, this event aimed to celebrate and uplift women in tech through inspiring talks, engaging activities, and community bonding.

The Idea Behind the Initiative

The idea for this unique format was inspired by a conversation I had with Aditya Kane,  a friend & WordPress community team representative. Aditya shared a wonderful idea that was suggested by his sister, Arundhati Kane, to organize a local all-women’s meetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. in Mumbai on International Women’s Day. While discussing this, Aditya suggested, What if we expand this idea to a global scale, where WordPress communities worldwide could host women-led events?
This concept took shape during our conversation, and with the support of the WordPress community team, I proposed this idea through a blog post on the community website. Soon, the WordPress Community officially supported this initiative. You can learn more about this inspiring movement at Hosting WordPress Events for Women on International Women’s Day.

Making the Vision a Reality

Turning this vision into reality required dedication, collaboration, and persistence. The journey involved inspiring conversations, countless messages, and building trust within communities. I personally reached out to 30-40 WordPress communities worldwide, encouraging them to participate. It wasn’t easy—many communities had never organized a women-led event before, and some faced difficulties finding female speakers or volunteers.

Despite these obstacles, the response was overwhelming. Through continuous follow-ups, guidance, and support, we saw over 25+ events take place globally. This was a powerful testament to the strength and unity of the WordPress community and the determination of organizers to make this initiative successful.

Special thanks to Juan Hernado for his tremendous support in vetting events, creating the website, approving budgets, and ensuring the smooth processing of this initiative. His dedication played a crucial role in making this happen. Also, I would like to thank my amazing team for their support over the past two months to make sure everything ran smoothly!

The Impact

The Women in Tech initiative created a powerful and lasting impact on the WordPress community worldwide:

• Women felt welcomed, valued, and encouraged to participate in future WordPress events.
• Attendees expressed feeling special and thoroughly enjoyed the events.
• The initiative provided a comfortable platform where women spoke openly and confidently without hesitation.
• This initiative has paved the way for greater female representation in WordPress leadership roles, ensuring more women feel empowered to contribute, lead, and shine in the tech industry.

This incredible journey wouldn’t have been possible without the WordPress community’s collaborative spirit. Here’s to breaking barriers and empowering more women to shine in tech! 🚀✨

Some glimpse of the celebration worldwide 

Building momentum for the future

Organizing Women’s Day events across the WordPress ecosystem presented its challenges, but even more powerful were the stories of growth, connection, and transformation that emerged. Many events were led by women organizers for the first time. In WP LATAM, “four of the organizers were new, and during the planning process, we trained them so they can now organize events in their local communities.” The experience was marked by “transparency in every step and freedom to collaborate,” and the team praised the process for being “well-structured” and for giving everyone “a task and the autonomy to carry it out.”

This empowerment was echoed across continents. WP Nicaragua shared how the event “was entirely led and organized by women, most of whom had never led a community event before.” What made it so impactful was seeing “what’s possible when women are given space to step up, take the lead, and create something meaningful for their local tech community.”

From WP Bhopal came a celebration of diversity and inclusion, with sessions held in both Hindi and English “for better accessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility).” The audience ranged from “students, entrepreneurs, journalists, homemakers, designers, freelancers, social activists, and more,” and even included “our youngest attendee, a 5th-grade schoolgirl!”

In WP Pune, the message was one of ongoing inspiration: “Our hope is that this event will inspire even more women to step into the spotlight, whether by organizing sessions, speaking at conferences, or leading teams in the tech industry.” Similarly, WP Dhaka acknowledged the long-standing imbalance: “The lack of female participation has always been a concern. Events like Dhaka Women WordPress Day 2025 aim to bridge this gap by inspiring more women to explore the WordPress ecosystem.”

Each of these events proved that when we create space for women to lead, collaborate, and contribute, we don’t just run events, we reshape communities. As more organizers reflect on these experiences, one thing becomes clear: this isn’t a one-time celebration. It’s the beginning of a stronger, more inclusive future for the WordPress project.

Thanks to @adityakane, @anandau14, and @unintended8 for helping with the review and the updates!