Rewriting the Сode: How Women in Tech Are Building the World We All Deserve

How do you stay inspired when the numbers are stacked against you? Despite unfavorable odds, Sue Harnett, founder and CEO of Rewriting the Code (RTC), embarked on a mission to support women in the tech industry.

The timing couldn’t be more critical. In the past year, both Girls Who Code and Women Who Code shut down due to funding shortfalls. Their closures sent a chilling message to women who are still trying to break into a space that remains resistant to change.

Techopedia sat down with Sue Harnett to share the story behind growing a community of women that evolved into something much bigger than a support network. It became a movement, and at its heart lies a quiet revolution.

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. The Power of Being Seen: How RTC Was Born
3. The Women Behind Black Wings
4. After the Closures, RTC Stands Firm
5. Building Belonging, Not Just Resumes
6. Why This Work Matters
7. The Bottom Line
8. FAQs
9. References

Show Full Guide

Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. The Power of Being Seen: How RTC Was Born
3. The Women Behind Black Wings
Show Full Guide
4. After the Closures, RTC Stands Firm
5. Building Belonging, Not Just Resumes
6. Why This Work Matters
7. The Bottom Line
8. FAQs
9. References

The Power of Being Seen: How RTC Was Born

When I asked Sue what sparked RTC, she didn’t begin with stats or boardrooms. She started with belonging. “I could have landed on Mars,” she said, recalling her early days at Duke University. “I just did not feel like I fit in academically. I would go to class and try not to disappear.” It wasn’t until teammates she trusted said, “We felt the same way. You’re going to be great,” that something shifted.

It was that personal moment of being seen and believed in that became the seed for what would grow into RTC, now the largest global network of women in tech, with over 35,000 members.

“If we can help women find each other before they give up, we can change the pipeline. We can stop the dropout before it starts,” Harnett said.

“When you look at the percentage of women in tech, about 20% graduate with degrees, and there are around 25% of women in the technical workforce. For black women, that number is 2%.”

The RTC started building a community in 2017. It quickly grew into a sizable number, allowing them to create communities within the community that didn’t have to explain themselves to each other. This community of women sent a clear message to business leaders.

Harnett explained:

“If you’re going to try as a business to market your products and services to as many people on the planet as you possibly can, you have to have engineers who have similar life experiences. It has been proven time and again. Diverse work teams really are more profitable.”

The Women Behind Black Wings

If tech has a diversity problem, then Black women sit at its most isolated edge. The numbers aren’t improving quickly enough. The Black Wings initiative began with five women who took their own experiences and shaped a space they could be proud to invite friends.

“I’m still in touch with all five of them,” Harnett said. “They helped take that small group and build it into something real.”

Today, Black Wings is home to thousands of engineers around the world. It’s a place to connect, share challenges without explanation, and feel less alone. “It’s not just that they’re underrepresented as women,” Sue said. “There’s a second layer of being underrepresented racially. That’s a different kind of pressure. They shouldn’t have to carry that alone.”

@rewritingthecode

Applications for our 2025-2026 RTC UK&I Ambassadors are still OPEN! This is your chance to level up your leadership skills and empower your community of women in tech. Interested? Learn more and apply through your teamRTC account.

♬ original sound – Rewriting the Code

These are not abstract ideals. The program thrives on personal stories, each one highlighting the range of paths Black women are carving in tech.

Take Adaya, for example, a PlayStation employee building a game in her spare time about an abandoned aquarium to raise awareness about climate change.

Or Jasmine, who balances an MS diagnosis with competing for Miss Delaware and working on healthcare technologies at Accenture.

Then there’s LaToya, a trained dancer who changed careers and now works in quantum tech. She recently won a 2024 Future of Physics prize.

“It’s not too late to get into these fields,” Harnett said. “Our views are needed. Our grit is needed.”

Sue emphasized the importance of these examples: “If you can see it, you can be it.” She said:

“We need to spotlight women. We need to share the incredible work that they’re doing. There’s no reason that a woman couldn’t do anything in technology that a man could do. And oftentimes, it’s just providing inspiration and opportunity.”

After the Closures, RTC Stands Firm

When reflecting on the shutdown of women’s tech networks, Sue Harnett admitted she was heartbroken by the news last year. “Julie Elberfeld, who led Women Who Code, is a friend. Seeing these organizations fold felt like losing vital scaffolding,” she said.

After more than a decade of empowering diverse women to excel in technology careers, we are announcing the difficult decision to close Women Who Code. So much has been accomplished, but our mission is not complete.

Read the full announcement → https://t.co/z6tAeZitrH pic.twitter.com/XXXRSvsdCd

— Women Who Code (@WomenWhoCode) April 18, 2024

The risk of regression is real, especially as some corporations move away from public commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Sue acknowledged that fear is driving some decisions. She said:

“We’ve lost global partners. Companies that do government work feel they can’t be associated with DEI.”

Thankfully, RTC has momentum. Backed by Melinda French Gates’ Pivotal Ventures, the organization has been able to scale its efforts.

“They doubled down on us,” Sue shared. “Their belief in what we’re doing gave us the ability to focus on what matters.”

Building Belonging, Not Just Resumes

While RTC offers the typical suite of professional development tools such as resume reviews, mock interviews, and mentorship, it dares to go further. The goal is to foster genuine belonging, not just career advancement.

“Technology is not a solo sport,” Harnett said. “It’s a team effort. And we want our members to feel that from the start.” This ethos has shaped everything from their Slack channels, segmented by technical interest and location, to summer meetups in major cities like New York, London, and San Francisco.

“In New York alone, we’ll have 300 women interning this summer,” she explained. “We’ll meet up socially, take the Staten Island Ferry together, and visit companies like Duolingo and Netflix. These aren’t just events. They’re opportunities to deepen bonds.”

This isn’t just about job readiness or diversity targets. It’s about rewriting the tech industry itself. “Every company is a tech company now,” Sue said. “Whether you’re passionate about medicine, sports, mobility, or education, there’s a role for you in tech.” And it’s not just the responsibility of women to do the reaching.

Sue Harnett told Techopedia:

“Companies need to come to us. Partner with us. Mentor. Hire. Sponsor. Get in early. Don’t wait until your entire team looks the same to realize something’s missing.”

That message is reaching people. One startup founder recently told Sue, “Our third engineer has to be a woman. If we don’t do that now, we’re going to wake up one day and be thirty white men in a room. And that’s not what we want to build.”

Why This Work Matters

RTC is one of the last large-scale initiatives still standing in a space that is growing more hesitant by the day. With 360,000 members across 145 countries, the closure of Women Who Code left a vacuum. RTC is doing everything it can to fill it, not just for the sake of its community but for the future of tech as a whole.

The Bottom Line

At the end of our conversation, Sue Harnett left listeners with a parting thought: “Angela Duckworth wrote a book called Grit, and I reference it all the time. It’s about perseverance. Whatever your dream is, whether it’s becoming a game developer, a physicist, or a CEO, just put in the time. You really can do this.”

The numbers may not have shifted enough yet. But with communities like RTC and Black Wings, the needle is moving. And if you ask the women building that change what’s driving them forward, you won’t hear complaints about obstacles. You’ll hear many real-life stories of women sharing why their views and grit are needed and why it’s good for business.

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