Taking the Mission Global

2018 was the year WomenHack proved that our model works across borders. We expanded into Europe, established presence in multiple Canadian cities, and deepened our reach across the United States. The year demonstrated that the gender gap in technology is a global challenge—and that our approach can help address it everywhere.

Key Events and Milestones

London, UK: Checkout.com sponsored our event at the iconic BBC Broadcasting House, bringing FinTech leadership to diversity recruiting. The London event marked our major entry into the European market and demonstrated appetite for WomenHack’s format among UK companies.

Toronto, Canada: Guestlogix shared that WomenHack “introduced them to a number of great applicants,” validating our expansion into Canada’s largest tech market. The Toronto tech scene’s enthusiasm for our events set the stage for continued Canadian growth.

Multiple US Cities: We continued expanding across American cities, bringing events to new markets while strengthening presence in established ones. Each city brought unique characteristics while proving the model’s transferability.

Company Testimonials

2018 brought powerful testimonials from participating companies:

Guestlogix emphasized the value of face-to-face connections: “We love events like WomenHack because it gives us a chance to really get to know people in the tech industry, face-to-face.” In an era of increasing digital recruiting, this human element proved consistently valuable.

Format Refinements

Based on 2017 learnings, we refined several aspects of our events:

• Venue selection: We prioritized host companies willing to showcase their workplaces, giving candidates authentic glimpses of potential employers
• Company mix: We curated participating companies to ensure variety and quality, balancing well-known brands with promising startups
• Candidate preparation: We improved pre-event communication to help attendees maximize their time
• Follow-up facilitation: We developed better mechanisms for connecting interested parties after events

Growing Community

Our community grew substantially in 2018. Beyond event attendance, we built ongoing relationships with candidates who returned for multiple events, recommended us to colleagues, and shared their experiences publicly. This word-of-mouth growth became a powerful driver.

Companies also began viewing WomenHack as more than isolated events—they started building WomenHack into their annual recruiting calendars, participating regularly rather than sporadically.

Challenges and Learnings

International expansion brought challenges: understanding local contexts, navigating different regulatory environments, and building partnerships in new markets. We learned that while our core format translates globally, success requires local knowledge and relationships.

Looking to 2019

As we enter 2019, our pipeline includes events across multiple continents. The demand continues to outpace our capacity to deliver. Our challenge now is scaling while maintaining the quality and personal touch that makes WomenHack effective.

Thank you to our 2018 partners, sponsors, and participants. Together, we’re changing how companies find diverse talent.