I remember when I started to discover the power of WordPress. I had a football blog (American brand) and needed more help.
Working at a bookstore, I had access to books, lots of books. As employees, we can check out books and read them or we could buy books for a nice discount.
We had some perks. And I took advantage of those perks.
For example, I checked out the latest books about college football and wrote reviews. Writing reviews lead to a few authors sending me copies of their book to review.
Another thing I took advantage of was buying a copy of Lisa Sabin Wilson monster book WordPress for Dummies, the 8 books in one version.
I learned so much and it opened up a world of opportunities to me and what I could actually do with my website.
One might wonder, aside from someone like Lisa Sabin Wilson who is a major player in WordPress, where can you find rockstar ladies in WordPress?
So, if you run a WordCamp, a WordPress meetup, a podcast or anything else that merits the need for fantastic guests and you are looking to up your women guest list, I am here to help. Here are three places you can begin looking to find women to speak at your WordPress event.
Women who WP
I met the ladies from Women who WP last year. We talked about them in an article about Women participation in WordPress. Their mission is,
“Women Who WP inspires, connects, challenges, and educates women throughout the WordPress community, through referrals, networking, workshops and mentorship focused on professional development and WordPress.”
The Women Who WP have a number of Meetup groups and have reached as far as India.
Learn the Ins and Outs of Privacy and Why it Matters to You and Your #WordPress Business with #Cybersecurity Specialist Yvonne Conway-Williams @MistressPrime Join Us for Food, Friends, Facts, and Fun Wednesday https://t.co/cCFYUngyt8
— WomenWhoWP (@WomenWhoWP) January 15, 2019
Women in WP
Women in WordPress is one of the newest podcasts available. They only have two episodes and featured Tara Claeys as a guest in the second episode.
The all-women hosts include Amy Masson co-owner of Sumy Designs, Tracy Apps a UX designer, developer and creative in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and and the AskWPGirl herself Angela Bowman.
Bowman posted an article on her personal website that includes Women in WordPress to Follow. You may recognize some of the names. Bowman also includes three other articles at the end of her article that may help you find other women in WordPress to follow
Episode 2: Talking Leadership with Tara Claeys https://t.co/OBs6CYlFPZ pic.twitter.com/MXqeoRScXG
— Women In WP (@WomenInWP) March 4, 2019
Outspoken Women
If you are looking to add some flair and diversity to your speaking schedule, you might want to touch base with Outspoken Women. Tessa Kriesel has created a hub to help women and non-binary individuals find a place at the speaking table in the open source tech industry.
Kriesel has created a community to bring together event organizers and the Outspoken Women speakers to connect and create speaking opportunities.
Anyone can join Outspoken Women.
Are you a speaker? Are you an event organizer? Or are you a supporter that encourages our efforts? Show us your involvement by joining our site and being a member of our community.https://t.co/yHazjjLOpC pic.twitter.com/ikeW8p2FZm
— Outspoken Women (@outspoken_women) January 22, 2018
Wrapping it up
Many event organizers are looking to create more diversity with their presenters. With organizations like the three mentioned in this article, it is making it easier to help find women who can fill this void.
I encourage you to reach out to these three organizations to help fill your speaker list to help you find more diversity. I want to add another place to find women rockstars in WordPress.
Dig a little deeper.
It is easy for us to get caught up in our own little echo chamber and miss others. We have opportunities at WordCamps and WordPress meetups to meet and learn about someone who looks different than you are me.
I have found that to be true. Some of the people I have met at WordCamps who were the most welcoming were the ladies who either attended or helped run the event. I watched one of those ladies become a leader in the WordPress space and work for Automattic.
Don’t neglect to meet people different than you. If you do you might miss meeting a future or current leader in our industry.
