+ 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." +
+ ++ 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. +
+ ++ 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. +
+ ++ But instead of accepting that ending, we chose to begin again. +
+ ++ 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." +
+ ++ 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. +
+ ++ 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!" +
+ ++ And I'm thinking, "Yes. THIS. This is exactly what we were trying to create." +
+ ++ 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. +
+ ++ 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. +
+ ++ The growth has been steady and real. Here are some highlights: +
++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.
+ +
+ And I'm standing there thinking, "Yes. THAT'S why we're here." +
+ ++ We heard from some incredible community members that night, and I use "incredible" deliberately because they genuinely blew me away. +
+ ++ 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. +
+ ++ Damola Taiwo, Frontend Engineer at JustEat Takeaway, shared her passion for "empowering women in tech" with this infectious energy that made everyone lean forward. +
+ ++ 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. +
+ ++ 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." +
+ ++ As I stood in front of that room, I had to share something that's been eating at me: +
+ +++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.
+ +
+ If you're waiting for permission to go after something bigger - this is it. This is me, officially giving you permission. Go get it. +
+ ++ 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. +
+ ++ You belong in technology. You belong in innovation. You belong in leadership. And you absolutely belong in shaping whatever comes next. +
+ ++ I'm not saying this to be encouraging. I'm saying it because it's objectively true. +
+ ++ Here's what I shared as we wrapped up the evening, and it's probably the most important thing I'll say: +
+ ++ We can't just teach women to code anymore. That's important, but it's not nearly enough. +
+ ++ 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. +
+ ++ 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. +
+ ++ 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. +
+ ++ One of my co-founders Adriana put it perfectly: "This was our first anniversary, and I know it's only the beginning." +
+ ++ 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. +
+ ++ Another woman captured it: "The atmosphere was filled with energy of women who understand the unique journey of this industry." +
+ ++ 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. +
+ ++ 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.
+ +
+ Exactly. That's exactly what we're building. +
+ + ++ 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. +
+ ++ 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. +
+ ++ Join us. Build with us. Help us shape what comes next. +
+ ++ 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. +
+ ++ More women. Real impact. Genuine community that actually cares! +
+ ++ Here's to year two and becoming the leaders we're absolutely capable of being. +
+ ++ Ready to get involved? +
+ 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.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. Let's continue this conversation… + +
+There is magic in believing you can become a better version of yourself.
+ +We have all felt this magic on New Year’s Eve — the thrill of a fresh start and the promise of finally becoming the person we aspire to be. But that excitement often gives way to dismay a few weeks later when we realise, once again, that deeply ingrained habits won't change just because the calendar did.
+ +As a pragmatist, I generally avoided New Year’s resolutions. I certainly avoided publicising them. The fear of disappointment felt too great.
+ +But after our recent book club on Atomic Habits by James Clear, I decided to run a four-week habit challenge with the Women Coding Community. The concept was simple: each participant wrote down their name and the habits they wanted to form in a shared spreadsheet. Progress would be tracked daily and weekly.
+ +The timing was perfect. I had recently joined an LLM Engineering course in the community but had struggled to get started. So my first habit was: 15 minutes of LLM Engineering study per day. Following Clear’s advice, I made it as easy as possible — not quite the 2-minute version he recommends, but 15 felt like the sweet spot: long enough to get immersed, short enough to feel easy.
+ +My second habit was more ambitious: waking up at 5:30 a.m. every day except Saturday. I had done this occasionally when work piled up, and I loved the feeling of accomplishing something significant before the world was awake.
+ +And the third: 15 minutes of strength or stretching exercises twice a week. I am a runner, and I know strength training prevents injury and improves speed — but I find these exercises incredibly dull. Still, surely I could manage 15 minutes.
+ +Yes and no. I did not have a 100% success rate. But I did make meaningful changes — some I had not anticipated.
+ +The most impactful shift? I began using a timer — setting it for 15 minutes (or even just 5 or 10 minutes) whenever a task felt overwhelming. This simple trick helped me start, which was often the hardest part. In fact, this article was written with the help of a 10-minute timer.
+ +The exercise habit? I “cheated” — by getting a gym membership at a place with a strict no-cancellation policy for classes within 4 hours. No room for last-minute hesitation. Of course it is not really cheating. But booking 2–3 fitness classes per week was far easier than convincing myself to work out at home. And being in a group setting naturally pushed me harder.
+ +The 5:30 a.m. wake-ups lasted about a week before I revised my goal to 6:30. As much as I loved those early mornings, I was too short on sleep to continue. Still, waking up at 6:30 has become a welcome and sustainable habit.
+ +In the end, it was the LLM study goal that led to the most impactful shift in my morning routine. Instead of taking my latte to go, I brought my laptop and stayed at the café. That small change created a space for focus, and what began as 15-minute study sessions soon turned into 1–2.5 hour stretches of deep, uninterrupted work.
+ +Ironically, the LLM study habit worked too well — I made real progress in the course but began falling behind on other commitments, including my volunteer work for Women Coding Community.
+ +I went from squeezing in an hour of volunteering in the evenings to regularly spending 8 to 17 hours a week at coffee shops — learning, organising events, and steadily working through the most tedious items on my to-do list.
+ +I feel different. I feel capable. I created space in my week to actually follow through on the things I care about — and that has transformed my self-esteem. The cycle of procrastination has started to reverse.
+ +We might not be able to reinvent ourselves overnight. But we can keep experimenting — and the more we try, the more we learn what works for our unique personalities. When we find those tiny shifts that lead to meaningful results… that really does feel like magic.
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