PokerStars Becomes Women Who Code Community Partner
PokerStars has been trying to be more inclusive of women in the world of poker. They’ve tried numerous initiatives through the years, the most recent being Our Voices earlier this year.
This week, PokerStars took a big step into the mainstream via an official partnership with Women Who Code. The overall goal of this nonprofit is to empower women in technology, though it is also a pointedly inclusive organization. Women Who Code identifies as an anti-racist organization and includes the LGBTQ+ community in its rainbow-colored logo.
PokerStars’ affiliation with Women Who Code is more than just an encouraging step for women but for all who may be overlooked in common poker circles, which tend to be white-male-dominated.
Welcome Announcement
This week’s announcement declared PokerStars a community partner of Women Who Code. PokerStars will be included in the Women Who Code newsletters, social media posts, blog posts, and events. The goal is to “improve female representation and diversity and encourage women to grow their career within the industry.”
PokerStars Associate Director of Group Public Relations Rebecca McAdam Willetts said:
“We are proud to officially become the first gambling partner of Women Who Code and recognize the same values and desire to inspire women to excel in their technology careers. Together, we hold a vision of a world where women are proportionally represented as technical leaders, executives, founders, VCs, board members, and software engineers.
“At PokerStars, we are allies to all the amazing women in the industry. Bet on yourself, join our team, and make your next chapter the best one yet. Remember, all it takes is two words… I’m in.”
The announcement also noted that this is a part of PokerStars’ larger vision of growing poker to engage new players from all walks of life. The company wants to shine a spotlight on women in poker and in the larger gambling industry as a whole via content, promotions, and events.
PokerStars is glad to announce a new partnership with Women Who Code, the largest and most active global community for women in technology. https://t.co/w3FTpUmtFm pic.twitter.com/dyRhnTXuqb
— PokerStars Blog (@PokerStarsBlog) November 3, 2021
More About Women Who Code
Many people have heard about coding programs to teach young people how to code. It is a vital part of this technological age and everything that will follow. Women Who Code is a special nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering women in this field.
Not only do they teach women to code, the organization teaches other skills needed to succeed in business. At the same time, they educate companies on how to better promote, retain, and hire talented women. The group is one of mentorship but also a network of support.
At this point in time, Women Who Code boasts of more than 290K members who are career-aged tech professionals: 50% engineers, 26% other tech roles like architects and consultants, 8% executives, 7% management, 5% data science, and 4% design.
Its inclusion of all women and those who identify as such is front and center of its vision. The home page of the website reads:
“We are committed to ensuring that Women Who Code is an anti-racist organization and recognize the power of our platform to be a force that affects change. Until we all experience justice and equity in our daily lives, none of us can.”
Meet with leaders from @Accenture @VFCorp @PokerStars @Microsoft @UnitedAirlines @Shopify and @MarshMcLennan. Join us from Nov. 18 – 19 for CONNECT Forward 2021. https://t.co/3Nn6ORkdFq
Thank you to one of our scholarship providers @Algorand #CONFwd21#WomenWhoCode#wwcode pic.twitter.com/f1Ni9lCqkr— Women Who Code (@WomenWhoCode) October 26, 2021