Empowering communities through tech: supporting women who code with Le Wagon

At Delivery Hero, we like to set ambitious goals. Whether it’s providing the fastest delivery time or offering our employees the best workplaces, we always aim higher.

At the Le Wagon workshop, 30 women learnt to code and design their own landing page using HTML and CSS

We have a commitment to represent the customers that we serve, and be as diverse as the world we operate in. One of the areas where we can really make a difference is to strive for equal gender representation across the board, regardless of level, role or department.

A safe space for learning

Together with management, we’ve set ourselves ambitious goals and introduced frameworks for driving change, whether that’s by adjusting our hiring processes, raising awareness, hosting inclusive events, encouraging meetups or organizing workshops.

“We want to represent the customers that we serve, and be as diverse as the world we operate in.”

Recently, we hosted a Women’s Coding Day as part of a number of coding classes in collaboration with Le Wagon at our Berlin HQ. Le Wagon runs intensive coding bootcamps, where people with little or no prior technical background can learn to create tech products. The main goal is to teach technical skills and help people kick-start their career in tech.

Le Wagon launched its Women’s Coding Days to offer a safe space for learning, after female students expressed that their first experience in the tech sector was often intimidating and male-dominated. At our HQ coding event, 30 women learnt to code and design their own landing page using HTML and CSS.

Not only welcome, but needed

One of the participants at the workshop was Monika Rudecka, Associate Recruiter at Delivery Hero, who welcomed the idea of an entry-level coding workshop: “I love technology and once I heard about the coding workshop at Delivery Hero for non-tech employees I decided to sign up right away,” Monika says. “It was a great and precious experience, especially because I could take my daughter with me. She created her own website on a piece of paper!”

l-r: Monika Rudecka and Barbara Souza

According to Barbara Souza, who works as an Agile Coach at Delivery Hero, the workshop offered a valuable insight into the life and work of developers: “Besides being fun, I work closely with developers and this knowledge helps me empathize with their day to day lives and challenges.”

It was a great and precious experience, especially because I could take my daughter with me. She created her own website on a piece of paper!

Monika Rudecka

As a tech recruiter, Laura Rolland took part in the coding workshop to keep learning and be part of the community. “It’s important to make these events accessible to everyone, and send a clear message that women are not only welcome but needed in the tech sphere,” Laura says.

“The talent acquisition team has a big role to play in attracting and retaining the best talent. We want to show that we promote inclusive spaces, both inside and out, and that people know they can thrive at our company regardless of background, gender, age, or any other non-professional metric.”

A diverse environment is a more creative one

It’s important to promote gender parity at every opportunity, says Nimkit Lepcha, Marketing and Events Manager at Le Wagon: “It is well known that women as a demographic are still underrepresented in the tech industry. Unfortunately, even today women hold less than 25% of the jobs in this field.”

The Women Coding Days offer welcoming spaces for women to learn new tech skills

“We believe that a more diverse environment is a more creative and effective one,” Nimkit says. “A wide range of point of views and personal experiences shared in a team puts any person in a better position to find new and creative solutions.”

Diverse perspectives mean better outcomes. Our diversity & inclusion team is a major driver of a range of initiatives to make our workplaces representative spaces, and get our Heroes on the same page.

One example of a current program is rolling out unconscious bias training to all people managers at our Berlin office, and ultimately to all our offices around the world. This training ensures that the people responsible for hiring and supporting our employees are aware of the biases they may have and are able to interrupt them — which enables our teams to expand our diversity, including getting more women in tech.

We know this won’t happen overnight. But with the right people and support at all levels, from management to new starters, we will keep improving our culture and maintain momentum to make a real change.

Loved this article? Read about the women making waves in our tech teams.

Find out more about Le Wagon and their coding workshops.

Interested in joining Delivery Hero? We’re hiring!