WEST is a mentorship community for women and nonbinary software engineers. Founded by a woman engineer, for women engineers, WEST is an independent platform that connects women with a knowledgeable mentor based on their development goals. Find your mentor today.
championing mentorship for women and nonbinary engineers
Be Part Of A New Future For Women In Tech.
Our society succeeds when women thrive. WEST is an interactive learning community bridging access to mentorship for early to mid-career women and nonbinary technologists. Learn from experienced leaders and connect with peers from across the industry.
We’ve supported hundreds of women engineers, product managers, and designers at:
Making the most of your
first 10 years 🚀
Research shows that women set their career trajectory within their first 10 years of working. While this can be a stressful prospect - this is the best time to seek mentorship! WEST’s mission is to help women engineers stay and THRIVE in tech, and our programs are specifically geared towards helping you navigate this first decade of your career. Our two-pronged approach of career development workshops and 1:1 mentoring can help you save you hours, even months, of time by setting mentees up for success and recognize potential pitfalls before they happen.
obstacles women and nonbinary software engineers may face when advancing in their careers. (Example)
a common career path for software engineers at a large tech company. (Example)
Image from The Pragmatic Engineer newsletter.
Why we care ❤️
WEST was started in 2016 with a simple goal - to help more women engineers stay and build successful careers in tech.
Founded by Heidi Williams, a 20+ year tech veteran and engineering leader, WEST bridges the mentorship gap for early to mid-level women and nonbinary engineers, product managers, and designers.
In addition to 1:1 mentoring, participants benefit from workshops on topics not broadly discussed at work, such as how to gain buy-in across teams, the dangers of non-promotable work, understanding personal brand as more than just social media, and more.
To date, we have connected 450+ women and nonbinary technologists in successful mentoring partnerships. 94% of participants share that they feel more resilient in the face of workplace challenges after the program.
How we help 🙌
Looking for mentorship? You’ve come to the right place!
Here’s how to get started.
Join our mentoring community!
Get exclusive invites to our bi-weekly Leadership talks lead by industry leaders, as well as early access and discounts for our programs, summits and workshops!
1:1 Mentoring
Are you looking for 1:1 support towards your career goals? Get paired with one of WEST’s knowledgeable mentors based on your goals and areas of expertise for one of our six-month partnerships! Recognize pitfalls before they happen, learn new skills, and make tangible progress towards your aspirations.
Career Accelerator Program
Join us in series of six career workshops focused on topics rarely discussed at work. Learn essential skills to grow your influence, deepen your impact, develop your personal brand, find sponsorship, and more.
Meet our mentors 👋
Our community of 400+ mentors are industry leaders passionate about helping women have fulfilling careers in tech. Check out the 25+ development areas our mentors can support you in.
Kesha Williams
Director, Cloud Residency, Slalom
Shayani Roy
Product Management Executive
Alison McHenry
SVP of Engineering, The Daily Beast
David Hwang
Sr. Engineering Manager, ŌURA
Mona Salvi
Sr. Director of Product Security, HubSpot
Clare Holley
Sr. Solutions Architect
Amazon Web Services
Joy Ebertz
Principal Software Engineer, Split
Allison Liemhetcharat, Ph.D.
Sr. Staff Software Engineer
DoorDash
Andrew Coven
VP of Software Engineering, Linqia
Subechya Person
VP of Product and Design, Vacasa
Suja Viswesan
VP Security Software Development, IBM
Julie Riederer
Senior Manager & UXR Lead, Instagram
Interested in becoming a mentor? Sign up here!
““As a software engineer still early in my career, I was looking for guidance on how I wanted to grow as an engineer. My mentor Dhara was fantastic in providing me with outside perspective, which was backed by her expertise and experiences as an engineering manager. Our discussions were always fruitful, and helped me think through many decisions and process feedback. I am grateful for the time she invested in my growth, all while being a new mom and balancing a full workload.””
Frequently Asked Questions 🤔
Who can join the WEST community?
Women and nonbinary technologists are encouraged to join our free mentoring community to get access to exclusive invites to upcoming Leadership Talks, as well as gain early access to our programs and Summits.
What topics are covered through our career workshops?
There is a total of six workshops that occur one a month throughout the Accelerator. Topics discussed are: career planning, personal brand, origin story, sponsorship, goal setting, and navigating non-promotable work.
What 1:1 mentoring topics do you support?
We support over 25 mentoring areas (click here for the full list), with our most common mentoring topics being: career planning, personal brand, communication, influence, tactical to strategic thinking, executive presence, and managing up.
Can I reimburse the cost of this program through my company?
Many of our participants expense the WEST program as a professional development opportunity through their companies, similar to a conference or a workshop. If you need any assistance, please reach out to interest@joinwest.org.
Who can join the Career Accelerator program?
The Career Accelerator is best fit for women and nonbinary engineers, product managers, designers, etc. who have been in the industry for at least 2 years and are looking to take control of their career growth.
What is the time investment?
Think of the Career Accelerator as a bootcamp to ramp up your learning on both your personal goals and essential career tips to fast track you to where you want to be. The time commitment is anywhere between 2-4 hours per month (1 hour 1:1 mentoring session, 1 hour career workshop, and possibly 1-2 hours for your own learning)
Freebies & Resources 📚
Ready to get started right away? Here are some resources to help you get started!
FREE Career Navigation playlist
Binge on our FREE playlist of talks with industry leaders on topics such as building your personal brand, amplifying your impact, how to decide between IC vs people management, and more!
FREE Cheat Sheet
Learn the secret to becoming a mentee mentors LOVE to work with! Our three page starter kit includes how to set measurable goals and expectations, pro-tips and more!
FREE Book List
Looking for a few inspirational books to add to your reading list? Here’s our list of awesome career growth book recommended by WEST mentors.
The best is yet to come. 🥳
Ready for dedicated support towards your career goals? Sign up for one of our mentoring programs!
Register for our next Career Accelerator.
We listen to your mentoring needs and discuss whether the Career Accelerator is the right program for you.
Learn from inspiring leaders in a safe supportive environment.
We connect participants with industry leaders through mentorship on focused topics and 1:1 support.
Accelerate towards
your goals.
Learn tactical tips you can immediately apply at work and make tangible progress towards your aspirations.
Trusted by companies such as:
“I would have never imagined that someone outside of my industry would have so much value to offer in my career.”
- WEST mentee
Hear what women are saying about mentorship through WEST.