Melissa Sariffodeen helps ladies learn how to code.
One November weekend in 2011 was a special moment for Toronto’s then nascent developer community. Three different communities held tech events: Hack for a Cause (which I led), Pixel Hack Day by the photo company 500 pixels, and Ladies Learning Code, a women’s workshop.
My daughter, Kaila, at Hack for a Cause.
Out of all three communities, only one survived and continued to thrive.
In the 6 years since, Ladies Learning Code grew from a single-city workshop into a 30-city organization. It has organized 900+ workshops. Almost 50,000 Canadians (and not just women) have learned to code through them. And it accomplished all of this by relying on hundreds of volunteers across Canada.
I wanted to learn how Ladies Learning Code thrived, so I reached out to the CEO, Melissa Sariffodeen. My 14-year old daughter, Bella, who is curious about gender equality came along too.
Below are the highlights from my conversation with Melissa (and Bella), adapted for written text.
Bella, my teen daughter, asking questions about girls learning code.
Kai Sotto: Where do you think your own passion to learn and teach code came from?
Melissa Sariffodeen: My grandmother passed away in 1999. It was a really tough time, but she actually left money for my sister and I to buy our first family computer. I had dabbled at school but it was the first time that we had one at home. I was hooked. From that point, I spent two entire summers on the computer just building websites, coding, playing games.
Bella Sotto: Your grandma is so cool!
KS: It seemed like Ladies Learning Code was borne out of your own desire to learn to code. Is that how it began?
Yeah, how it originally started was really from a hashtag on Twitter. It was June 2011. Heather, founder of Ladies Learning Code, went to a women’s developer workshop called PyLadies in L.A. She returned to Toronto and tweeted “What does it look like in Toronto for ladies learning code?”.
A few women, myself included, responded and then organized the first brainstorm session. We thought we’d meet at Starbucks and maybe 10 people may show up. 80 people, women and men, came out to join us.
“What does it look like in Toronto for ladies learning code?”
KS: 80?! Was that the validation you needed — that there’s demand for this? It’s kind of like you’re at a park, started dancing, and then a bunch of people got up to dance with you.
MS: Yes, definitely. It was, “Oh, we’re onto something.” We committed at that first session to run an event a month later. We wondered, “Are we going to be able to do this?”, “Are people going to come?” and “What is the content going to be like?”.
Bella: Did all of the founders have coding skills?
MS: There was this element of imposter syndrome because we were all largely non-technical. We all had coding backgrounds but still thought — “Who are we to teach people code?” I think that amateurism was part of the magic. Even to this day, a lot on our team are non-technical. I think it’s what helped us build momentum. We authentically want to learn alongside with everyone else.
Even to this day, a lot on our team are non-technical. I think it’s what helped us build momentum. We authentically want to learn alongside with everyone else.
KS: I was part of the early Facebook Growth team. We always said that we did not grow Facebook. Zuckerberg built a product that people needed and wanted. We simply eased the path for people to discover Facebook. Does that sound familiar?
MS: We were fortunate that we had early momentum. I think part of it was timing, part of it was the approach that we took to building the community.
The first workshop happened in August and sold out in just one day. 30 women participated. At that point, in tech events, you weren’t seeing women really. The second workshop sold out in just seven hours. The third sold out in 30 seconds.
We prepared for a year, and started launching chapters the following August.
One of the first workshops outside Toronto.
KS: How how did you choose the first chapter?
MS: We don’t choose the location. The region is dictated by finding the right person to lead the chapter. We launched Vancouver first because Tia reached out to us. She said, “I want to lead this. I’m a founder. I am immersed in the tech community here. I really just want to be in this community and learn to code.”
We didn’t go to cities and we didn’t choose cities to go to, we waited until the right people came to us.
KS: Are there clear traits which signal someone’s potential to become a great chapter lead?
MS: I think for a great chapter lead, they have demonstrated that they can build communities.
We didn’t go to cities and we didn’t choose cities to go to, we waited until the right people came to us.
Our strongest chapter leads have been those that want to be in the tech community, are really strong proponents of tech education and education in general.
In the earliest days, the leads were mostly women wanting to increase representation of diversity in their tech communities, but we now also have male chapter leads. We’ve got chapter leads that are in their 60s and some that are 16.
KS: What is the key to growth?
The very first workshop happened in August and that sold out in just one day. 30 women participated. At that point, in tech events, you weren’t seeing women really. The second workshop sold out in just seven hours. The third sold out in 30 seconds.
MS: What was really important for me from the beginning was to make it super easy for the chapter leaders to operate chapters and workshops. We at headquarters focus on centralizing much of the operations. We manage finance and accounting. We market events. We create email templates. We don’t want them to worry about the day to day of anything.
We want to give them lots of room to just focus on building the community.
KS: My partner, Kevin, talks a ton about building sandboxes for people to come in and be able to play. And within that sandbox you wanna give them 90% of the design, and then there’s this 10% that just flows.
MS: That really resonates with me. Really, really resonates.
We want chapter leads to be able to create tailored experiences. To have them find local partners and mentors. To that point, 90%, is already structured for the bread and butter of what we do, and then there’s so much room for them to localize however they want.
We want to give them lots of room to just focus on building the community.
KS: Give them all the operational structure so that the community leaders can focus on what truly matters.
MS: It’s not always easy. As we started to grow and go into smaller and smaller communities, we identified people who make really good chapter leads. When they run workshops, the registration isn’t there. Even if it’s free, awareness for parents, women, even youth in parts of the country isn’t as strong.
That’s because people don’t see themselves in tech roles. One question I ask myself is how do we get people to see themselves as builders?
KS: Sounds like they don’t have role models, so they don’t show up.
Are there other challenges you’ve faced with scaling?
MS: We launched Ladies Learning Code out of a tweet. A year later, we launched “Girls” Learning Code because we realized to really move the needle, we needed younger girls. Then we launched “Kids” about a year after that. Then, “Teens” and “Teachers” Learning Code. This past Fall we launched “Canada” Learning Code. For us, we saw these communities organically popping up that we were able to serve.
Our mission is to reflect the diversity we want to see in the technology industry beyond gender. For people in our community who are so strongly attached to “Ladies” and “Girls”, how do we make room and space for us to do things for men of color, or different demographics? Do we need a different brand?
KS: And the larger challenge is how do you not alienate your early fans that gave you that initial spark?
MS: In the beginning, what drew people to us is the female-designed learning programs. Developing female developers will continue to be in our DNA and a high priority for us.
Today, the larger, newer community seems to accept that we have a broader mission which compels us to launch new programs like Canada Learning Code. The challenge is to accommodate both cohorts.
How do we start making room and focus on growing our community beyond just the gender lens? Do we need a different brand?
KS: That’s interesting because it’s similar to a tech product’s design problem. People who started using Instagram way back hated the change to our new algorithmic feed.
MS: And you did not want to alienate those people, right?
KS: Right. Is there a middle path? Do you think there is a way to keep the core and make sure they feel at home?
MS: I think there is room to expand while preserving program identities. But I think what we are trying to solve or simplify for is the narrative — our story, what it is, and how it is evolving.
Many people don’t know that we do programs for kids, teachers or teens. So if we have this org with a clear narrative that speaks to the broader umbrella, I think we can expand while we still serve and support our original communities in those first programs.
What we are trying to solve or simplify for is the narrative — our story, what it is, and how it is evolving.
KS: From a hashtag on Twitter to almost 50,000 Canadians who’ve learned to code. Crazy six years. What does Ladies Learning Code mean to you personally?
MS: I go to our workshops pretty often and I think, for me, that shift in the participants’ minds from not seeing themselves in the tech space or being able to do code to believing they can is phenomenal. So even if a participant just leaves a workshop knowing what HTML is, that makes my day. That level of empowerment, belonging, and acceptance is amazing.
For me, more than anything it’s about creating opportunities for other people.
I do really believe that coding is a way that you can get people to this sense of empowerment, especially because learning it sounds so daunting.
KS: It’s your Jedi mind trick. People are not just learning code, they’re learning the code to life.
MS: Yeah. Yeah. Well, it’s like this confidence, empowerment. We’re doing that through code.
I do really believe that coding is a way that you can get people to this sense of empowerment, especially because learning it sounds so daunting.
Melissa saw a spark and stoked it into a flame.
Three takeaways from Melissa:
She understands the magic. ⚡
It’s not just about women wanting to learn to code. Melissa understands that what she offers is empowerment; a belief that people can transform, learn, and do anything they set their minds on.Expansion starts with the right people. 👥
She will not expand until she finds the right community leader.Scaling without alienating your OGs is tough. 🚀
It seems like a universal challenge. The balance of growing without pissing off those who were there with you in the beginning. To help resolve that tension, she wants to bring her community on the journey with her by telling the story of where they came from and where they’re headed.
Big thank you to my fellow Canuck, Melissa Sariffodeen for sharing her journey.💥 I am especially grateful for the time she spent with Bella. For more from Melissa and Ladies Learning Code, check out their Instagram, sign up for a workshop, or visit their website (and get involved!).
