"Codess events allow women in technology to identify issues, share stories and learn from each other. As well as being fun, they are practical, positive and a great example of the type of environment I’d like to work in. I cheekily brought my 6 year old daughter to a weekend Codess hackathon so that she could soak up the atmosphere."

Charu, Senior Producer, Lift London

“I learned about Codess in my first week on the job. Even just knowing that such an organism exists in the company made me feel more welcome and reassured that Microsoft were actively engaged in solving the challenges women face in this field of work. I have embraced every opportunity I had to collaborate with Codess because I believe it is very important to the wellbeing of this generation of women in technology and the following. The events I have collaborated and/or participated to were immaculately organized, fun and attendees were amazed by Microsoft’s engagement in Gender Diversity.
I am a software engineer and a woman, my career is one of the most important things in my life and knowing that the company I work for cares deeply about the challenges I might face and what other women and girls might is very important to me.”

Vanessa, Software Engineer, Skype, London

"As a female developer I mostly communicate with men. I was happy to participate in multiple Codess events and meet women like me, who are passionate about technology and interested in software. These events helped me understand that even though we all different, you can always find a commonality. These events inspire me and make me proud to be a woman.

At these events I met and got to know a lot of women from Skype. I didn’t have much opportunity to see them in my day to day work and I am really happy finding out that we have a lot in common. I also met a lot of women from different Microsoft divisions and many women from outside of Microsoft. Most of these women have a completely different area of expertise and I found it very encouraging.

At Codess events, the organisers make sure that the atmosphere is open and welcome anyone that is shy or reserved. I am also glad that Codess is sharing a lot of interesting articles/stories on Facebook and Twitter. I am always looking forward reading them."

Tatiana, Software Engineer, Skype, London

I am so glad to have attended the Codess Event, “You had me at Hello, World: 1:1 Mentoring with the Leaders of Tech.” It was really meaningful to hear about the experiences of someone as successful as Dona Sarkar. Sometimes life as a woman in computer science can seem foreign and a bit lonely, but Dona shed some much needed light on what it takes to be a successful person in this field, and banished all of the stereotypes about successful software engineers that I had previously that were holding me back from feeling like I could reach my potential. I left the event inspired and excited to put all of Dona's suggestions to practice!

Alexandre, Imperial College London MSc, Computing Science Student