Sisterhood of Native American Coders (SONAC)

Location: USA

SONAC is a non-profit that aims to inspire girls into tech, by running computer science and coding programmes for Native American girls. They have over 81 girls currently registered in their summer course, from 24 states, representing 59 tribal affiliations. They have a guest speaker series, which features indigenous women in STEM, and hold weekly meetings on Zoom for mentoring and coding.

You can follow their work here:

Twitter: @SONAC_Official
YouTube: Sisterhood of Native American Coders
Website: sisterhoodofnativeamericancoders.org

Further reading

• Elisabeth Holm ’21 and the Sisterhood of Native American Coders, The Bishop’s School, 27 September 2020
• ‘It completely exploded’: La Jolla teen sees rapid growth in her Sisterhood of Native American Coders, Elisabeth Frausto, La Jolla Light, 9 Oct 2020

Dr Vidita Vaidya

Location: India

Vidita is a professor of neuroscience at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. She was featured in the Indian Academy of Sciences’ book Lilavati’s Daughters, which is a collection of biographical essays on Indian female scientists. In 2015, she won the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in medical sciences, and in 2019, the Nature Mentoring in Science Award for her philosophy of putting people above productivity and nurturing students.

You can follow her work here:

Twitter: @ViditaVaidya
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/vidita-vaidya-3346622
Website: tifr.res.in/~dbs/faculty/V_Vaidya.html

Further reading:

• Vidita Vaidya, Wikipedia
• How our brain changes with experience (video), TEDx Talks, 28 May 2015
• Vidita Vaidya Gets Into Your Head, Nandita Jayaraj, The Life of Science, 30 May 2016
• What the best mentors do, Amber Dance, Nature, 6 February 2020

Chicago Women in STEM Initiative

Location: USA

Chicago Women in STEM Initiative is a community of  women dedicated to increasing diversity in STEM through events and mentoring. They run a STEM Circuits Program which provide career and development opportunities, and hold an annual symposium. They also have a blog sharing their stories to inspire girls and women, and to demonstrate that women in STEM are a collective.

You can follow their work here:

Twitter: @chiSTEMwomen
Facebook: facebook.com/chiSTEMwomen
Instagram: @chistemwomen
YouTube: Chicago Women in STEM Initiative
LinkedIn: Chicago Women in STEM Initiative
Website: chicagowomenstem.org

Further reading

• Chicago Women in STEM and Academia Initiative, The POSTDOCket, July 2018

Devi Maharani Kosa

Location: Indonesia

Devi is a field engineer at Baker Hughes. She co-founded STEM for Women, a community for women pursuing STEM subjects. She is also a finalist in Puteri Indonesia Riau 2020 and wants to use her profile to show women they can get involved in STEM.

You can follow her work here:

Instagram: @stemforwomen
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/devimkosa96

Further reading

• Video Profil Devi Maharani Kosa (video), Official Puteri Indonesia, 17 February 2020

Society for Canadian Women in Science & Technology (SCWIST)

Location: Canada

SCWIST is a not-for-profit association, founded in 1981, to help encourage girls and women into STEM. They are involved in advocacy and engage directly with the government and other organisations to influence public policy. Over the years they have run workshops for girls, seminars for parents and teachers, created videos, a database of women working in STEM, as well as networking events and conferences.

You can follow their work here:

Twitter: @SCWIST
Facebook: facebook.com/SCWIST
Instagram: @scwist.canada
YouTube: scwist
LinkedIn: Society of Canadian Women in Science and Technology
Medium: medium.com/scwist-storybook
Website: scwist.ca

Further reading

• Society for Canadian Women in Science & Technology, Wikipedia