At the back of the Terra Nova in Cardiff bay a few tables were sectioned off with pink rope, ready for the Girl Geeks. Bringing women that work in technology together to chat, exchange ideas and get to know other like minded women.
The first Geek Girl Dinner was held in London but the event has spread across the country, worldwide and now has come to Wales.
In Cardiff there were about 30 women and one man at the meeting. Yes men can attend! But only if they are invited by a Geeky Girl. The women were from all walks of life. Employed by a range of companies doing a ‘geeky job’. Web design, digital marketing, animation and software design just some of the professions that make a girl a geek. Some of the women had never met other females that do the same job as them. A unique event.
Chyrelle Rayman-Bacchus was one of the organizers of the evening in Cardiff was pleased with the turnout.
Chyrelle Rayman-Bacchus was one of the organizers of the evening in Cardiff was pleased with the turnout.
She said "they want to be led by people that come to the sessions. If people want a guest speaker, then great, I'll organize one. We just want it to grown organically because I think on that basis it will be quite strong. What ever the girl geeks of Cardiff want."
Chyrelle started the Geek Girl Dinners because she works in a male dominated office and a lot of the work socials she had to attend were mainly men. She wanted more females that work in typically male industries to come forward. There is not set criteria for what makes a girl a geek but I was reassured by Chyrelle that the meetings are for everyone.
Sarah Blower was the founder of Geek Girl Dinners and held the very first one in London. She said, "Back in 2005 I had been working in tech for about a year. I was finding isolating on my own as the rest were all guys on my team. And they were all really nice guys but I wanted to meet girls and I knew they had to be out there."
And they are. You can find geek girls on Twitter, Facebook, and 21 countries all over the world. Women take the initiative to set up their own dinner and bring together geeky girls in their communities. So if you’re a geeky girl and you feel you need to find kindred spirits don’t worry you are not alone. I met lots of interesting ladies at the dinner last night and I’m looking forward to the next one.
And they are. You can find geek girls on Twitter, Facebook, and 21 countries all over the world. Women take the initiative to set up their own dinner and bring together geeky girls in their communities. So if you’re a geeky girl and you feel you need to find kindred spirits don’t worry you are not alone. I met lots of interesting ladies at the dinner last night and I’m looking forward to the next one.
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