Networks & Communities for Women in STEM
Professional networks, nonprofits, and member organizations that support women and girls across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics — from K–12 outreach to senior research, by discipline and by region.
Global & cross-disciplinary networks
OWSD — Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World
Hosted by TWAS (The World Academy of Sciences) in Trieste, Italy. Administers PhD fellowships for women from least-developed countries, runs early-career mentoring programs, and maintains national chapters across more than 60 countries. The most established global network for women scientists in low- and middle-income contexts.
GenderInSITE
An international initiative housed at the InterAcademy Partnership focusing on gender dimensions of S&T policy. Coordinates regional networks across Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia and is a primary venue for international policy convening on women in STEM research.
AWIS — Association for Women in Science
Long-running US-based professional association for women in STEM. Runs leadership development programs, advocacy work, and an extensive chapter network supporting women at every career stage. Membership open internationally.
Computer science & technology
AnitaB.org
Hosts the Grace Hopper Celebration — the largest gathering of women technologists in the world. Administers scholarships, mentorship programs, and the Pass-It-On Awards. Member of the Reboot Representation coalition working specifically on Black, Latina, and Indigenous women in computing.
ACM-W
The women's group of the Association for Computing Machinery. Runs student chapters at universities worldwide, administers the ACM-W Scholarship, and organizes the celebrations of women in computing held regionally.
Girls Who Code
Summer immersion programs, after-school clubs, and college-and-career programming for girls in computer science. Has reached more than half a million girls since founding in 2012. Founded by Reshma Saujani.
Black Girls CODE
Workshops and summer camps introducing Black girls (ages 7–17) to programming, web development, mobile app design, robotics, and AI. Founded by Kimberly Bryant. Chapter network across major US cities and an expanding international presence.
AI4ALL
University-hosted summer programs in artificial intelligence for high school students from groups historically underrepresented in technology. Co-founded by Fei-Fei Li. Now operates programs at Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, Princeton, Boston University, and elsewhere.
Women Who Code
International nonprofit supporting women software engineers and adjacent technical professionals. Operates local chapters and online communities, runs technical workshops, and maintains job-board and mentorship infrastructure.
Engineering
SWE — Society of Women Engineers
The largest professional society for women engineers globally. Operates collegiate sections at hundreds of universities, professional sections in major cities worldwide, scholarships, and the annual WE conference — the largest gathering of women engineers in the world.
IEEE WIE — Women in Engineering
The women's affinity group within the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Affinity groups at hundreds of universities and professional sections in over 100 countries. Major focus on electrical engineering, electronics, computing, and adjacent technical fields.
Mathematics
AWM — Association for Women in Mathematics
Professional society for women in mathematics. Administers the AWM Research Symposium, multiple prizes (Noether, Falconer, Hay, Kovalevsky), and student chapters at universities. Active advocacy on women's representation in mathematics departments.
European Women in Mathematics
Pan-European network for women mathematicians. Holds biennial general meetings, supports early-career researcher development, and coordinates with the European Mathematical Society on gender-related initiatives.
Life sciences & medicine
Women in Medicine Movement
Cross-national network supporting women in medical research, clinical leadership, and global health. Particularly active in convening women medical researchers around tropical disease and infectious disease topics.
Women in Neuroscience International
Professional network for women neuroscientists, with chapters in over 30 countries. Organizes mentorship programs, conferences, and a prominent annual lecture series.
Regional networks worth knowing
WISAT (Korea), WISET (Korea), Femtec (Germany), AMIT (Spain), TUKDER (Turkey), AWiS (Australia), AfroWomenSciTech (Africa-wide), Chicas en Tecnología (Argentina), Meninas Digitais (Brazil), Niñas Pro (Chile), Laboratoria (Latin America)
Country and region-specific networks are listed on the relevant country pages in our directory. Visit the country index to find the active women-in-STEM organizations operating in any specific country.
Funder-side networks
Elsevier Foundation New Scholars
Long-running funder of women-in-research initiatives, including travel grants for women scientists in developing countries, support for OWSD, and partnerships with major science academies on gender programs.
Reboot Representation
A coalition of technology-company philanthropies pooling resources to double the number of Black, Latina, and Indigenous women receiving computing degrees in the US. Members include Cisco, Dell, eBay, Intel, Microsoft, and several others.