Programmer girls in Taiwan, where’re you at? 台灣女程式設計師，妳們在嗎？

I attended a Google event in Taipei last week, and there were only a handful (quite literally) of girls in attendance, and even much less girl programmers. A guy I met mentioned that he doesn’t meet girl programmers that often, and I replied, “Me too”. And that makes me sad.

I attended another Apple event a couple of months ago in Shanghai. The lunch setup of the event was that there’s a buffet setup, and very few standing tables. So I obviously don’t want to eat holding my plate, so I went towards one of the tables, where a few guys were already at. I asked them if I could stand next to them, and they said okay. And it was sort of awkward, because no one was talking to each other (maybe it’s just because Chinese tech guys are shy). And when they were done eating, they just left. And then I saw another girl with a plate, and I offered the now empty table, and then we started talking (maybe Chinese girls are friendlier), and then another girl, seeing us, joined us, and then another. And one of the girls even remarked, so this is the girls table. And that was kind of fun, and made me feel less alone.

I know I should attend more developer meetups or join more physical game jams, but I don’t, it’s not because I don’t want to be more active, but because the male-to-female ratio throws me off. I would feel intimidated to be one of the very few girls in a predominantly male environment.

But that’s not the way to go, is it? The more us girls don’t attend the events, the less people would know about our existence. The less our voices are heard. And I believe we have voices too.

My point is, I want to know if there are any events or organizations in Taiwan similar to GirlsWhoCode, TechGirlsMovement, GirlGeekCoffees or GeekGirlMeetup? Can I join? Or if not, can I start one? And will people join me?

台灣女程式設計師，妳們在嗎？