Women Technologists Take the Lead as Open Source Maintainers

“The open source community is an environment of mutual respect and trust for everyone, with appreciation and value for other people’s opinions. It’s a welcoming and inviting place for people to work together and share goals and ideas. Beyond the technical aspect, it reveals a wonderful side of human beings.”

          — Rocio Montes, Staff Software Engineer, Intuit

In a tech industry where diversity remains a work in progress, the open source movement offers both cause for optimism and a practical way forward. 

With low barriers to entry and a focus on what you can contribute rather than who you are, the community welcomes newcomers, including members of typically underrepresented groups. In fact, diversity isn’t just respected in the open source movement—it’s highly valued. When people from different walks of life are involved in a project, the perspectives they bring to the table will help make the product better for everyone who uses it. Meanwhile, open source participation can be a valuable resume-builder for technologists of all backgrounds, at all stages of their career. 

A group of women technologists who have taken leadership roles in the open source movement came together recently for a panel discussion of their experiences, “Women Open Source Maintainers: Insights from the Front Lines.” In this webinar, they share key insights from their open source journey, explore the challenges women in technology can face, and offer inspiration to companies looking to foster open source engagement by women within their engineering communities. You can view the discussion on-demand here.  

“I hope that efforts like this webinar raise awareness for women starting in their journey of the benefits of joining the open source movement. As part of this community, you will learn from a wide variety of projects, and from the people and processes that drive them.” 

          — Ramya Achutha Rao, Senior Software Engineering Manager, Microsoft