Top 10 Women in Tech Groups and Resources in Berkeley, CA in 2026
By Irene Holden
Last Updated: February 23rd 2026
Too Long; Didn't Read
The top women in tech groups in Berkeley, CA for 2026 are anchored in UC Berkeley's resilient ecosystem, with The Association of Women in EE&CS (AWE) leading as the most impactful for direct mentorship and recruitment access to high-paying roles at companies like Google and Apple, where senior engineering salaries exceed $250,000. Key resources like FEMTech and Berkeley SkyDeck's female founder support also thrive by offering practical skills and venture capital opportunities, leveraging Berkeley's proximity to Silicon Valley's tech hubs and world-class research institutions.
The tallest redwoods on Earth don't stand alone. Beneath the forest floor, an invisible mycorrhizal network links them, sharing nutrients and shoring up the entire ecosystem against storms. This mirrors the resilient, interconnected system supporting women in tech in Berkeley, CA - a foundational network that flourished even after the closure of national organizations like Women Who Code in 2024.
This living ecosystem spans world-class institutions like UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, East Bay professional chapters, and a dense startup cluster tracking women-led companies. It provides the essential nutrients of mentorship, capital, and community, which are critical for navigating a Bay Area tech scene where senior roles command salaries exceeding $250,000.
Learning to tap into this entire interconnected system is the most powerful resource. The following map of key nodes - from student clubs to professional accelerators - shows how to plug into this foundational network, turning individual ambition into collective, sustained growth.
Table of Contents
- Berkeleys Women in Tech Network
- ISC2 East Bay Women in Cyber
- Empowering Womxn in STEAM Program
- Bergeron Scholars Program
- UC Berkeley Women in Technology
- Berkeley SkyDeck Female Founder Support
- Women in Tech Initiative at UC Berkeley
- Berkeley Mentorship Cohort and EmpowerHer
- FEMTech at Berkeley
- AnitaB.org and Grace Hopper Celebration
- Association of Women in EE and CS AWE
- Frequently Asked Questions
For insights into the Berkeley AI job market guide for 2026, check out this post.
ISC2 East Bay Women in Cyber
For women specializing in the critical field of cybersecurity, the ISC2 East Bay chapter provides a targeted professional home beyond general networking. It addresses specific technical and leadership challenges in infosec, a high-demand sector where women remain significantly underrepresented.
Members gain access to specialized events that facilitate direct connections with security leaders at major companies. A prime example is the "Command + Control: Where Women Lead, Systems Follow" gathering, hosted at tech offices in San Francisco. The group also serves as a vital resource for navigating certification paths and staying current on regional threats, a key concern for the many financial and government institutions headquartered nearby.
In one of tech's most stable and well-compensated sectors, this chapter offers a concentrated community for knowledge-sharing and career advancement. It creates a direct line to specialized hiring managers at firms like Google and Salesforce, providing a trusted forum to discuss the unique technical challenges faced in the Bay Area's security landscape.
Empowering Womxn in STEAM Program
Unique to the UC Berkeley campus, the Empowering Womxn in STEAM (WiSE) theme house is a 26-year-old residential program that creates a foundational "root system" for first-year students. It directly tackles the social isolation that can drive women out of STEM majors by providing an immediate, built-in community from day one, as detailed on the UC Berkeley Residential Life page.
Residents participate in bi-weekly workshops, faculty dinners, and peer mentorship within a living-learning environment. For a new student navigating the vastness of Cal, WiSE acts as a critical stabilizing force, often serving as the first node in a broader tech network that extends into graduate programs and Bay Area industries.
The program’s longevity is a testament to its success in building confidence and belonging, directly combating attrition rates in demanding majors. It ensures that students are not isolated saplings but are instead integrated into a supportive network from the very start of their academic journey.
Bergeron Scholars Program
The Bergeron Scholars Program is a premier, application-based initiative offering high-touch mentorship and scholarship support for STEM undergraduates at UC Berkeley, with a strong focus on women and underrepresented groups. Selected scholars are paired with high-level industry mentors from Bay Area tech giants and receive financial awards to alleviate the pressure of Berkeley's high cost of living.
The program isn't just about financial aid; it's about strategic career positioning. Mentors provide guidance on securing internships, navigating graduate school applications, and understanding corporate culture at firms like NVIDIA or Apple. For ambitious students targeting competitive roles in AI or hardware - sectors where Berkeley graduates are heavily recruited - this network provides an unparalleled advantage in building direct pathways to top employers.
As a highly competitive opportunity, applications for cohorts are managed through the Cal NERDS portal. The value is twofold: significant scholarship funds that remove financial barriers and one-on-one mentorship from senior industry professionals who help translate academic excellence into career success.
UC Berkeley Women in Technology
UC WIT is a self-chartered staff organization that fosters a supportive and inclusive environment for women in technical roles across UC Berkeley's vast IT landscape, addressing the specific experience of professionals in university IT - a sector integral to the university's research engine.
The group provides critical visibility and recognition for non-faculty professionals. Its impact is captured in a member's testimonial: "I feel a true sense of belonging in this organization surrounded by amazing womxn... I'm inspired by our collective resilience." This sense of community and cross-departmental networking is vital for career development within the UC system.
A key initiative is the annual "UC Womxn Rock IT" campaign, which celebrates technical contributions system-wide. For staff seeking professional development and acknowledgment within one of the world's leading research institutions, UC WIT serves as an essential resource for connection and growth.
Berkeley SkyDeck Female Founder Support
Berkeley SkyDeck, the university's globally-ranked startup accelerator, has significantly amplified its resources for women founders. This is crucial in the Bay Area ecosystem, where women-led startups historically receive a fraction of available venture capital. SkyDeck transforms academic research or an idea into a viable company with backing from partners like Sequoia Capital and Google.
Its dedicated initiatives include the "Voices of Venture" series, which connects female founders with investors, and over six specialized workshops per year on topics like pitch coaching and advisor matching. For a founder at Cal or within the broader Berkeley startup cluster, this provides a direct pipeline to the funding and seasoned mentorship needed to scale.
Female founders can apply to the competitive accelerator program or attend open workshops, gaining hands-on mentorship and a cohort-based community. Explore these transformative resources at the official Berkeley SkyDeck website.
Women in Tech Initiative at UC Berkeley
Operated by CITRIS and the Banatao Institute, the Women in Tech Initiative (WITI@UC) acts as a central, university-wide hub aiming to bridge academia and industry, functioning as a critical "trunk" connecting many smaller branches of the ecosystem. It provides a macro-view of the landscape for students, faculty, and professionals engaging with corporate partners on substantive projects, from AI ethics to sustainable tech.
WITI’s signature event is the annual Athena Awards, which recognizes leaders advancing women in tech. Beyond ceremony, the initiative facilitates research exchanges, publishes vital data on the state of women in tech, and creates pathways for Berkeley talent into top companies. Engaging with WITI offers high-level networking with both industry and academic leaders.
Those looking to participate can attend events, apply for research fellowships, or explore corporate partnerships through the CITRIS Women in Tech Initiative resources page. This access is key to shaping both individual careers and the broader field through advocacy and research.
Berkeley Mentorship Cohort and EmpowerHer
These two complementary programs provide structured, long-term mentorship designed to bridge the critical gap between UC Berkeley's rigorous coursework and leadership roles in the tech industry. They directly address the "pipeline leak" by pairing students with experienced professionals for personalized career strategy.
- Berkeley Mentorship Cohort (BMC): A year-long program for underrepresented groups in engineering, featuring a dedicated women-in-engineering track that offers consistent guidance and advocacy.
- EmpowerHer: Utilizes a data-driven matching algorithm to pair mentors and mentees based on shared career goals, interests, and identities, ensuring highly relevant connections.
For students aiming for roles at companies like Meta or emerging AI startups, these programs provide indispensable insider insights. Mentors - often successful Berkeley alumni - offer resume reviews, interview preparation, and candid advice on workplace dynamics. Students can apply for these competitive programs through university portals, with details available via the STAR resource page for BMC and the EmpowerHer program page.
FEMTech at Berkeley
As the first campus-wide tech club for women of all majors, FEMTech was founded to solve "social isolation" and remains a powerhouse for building practical skills and an inclusive community. It lowers the barrier to entry into STEM, particularly for students from non-traditional backgrounds who may not have prior coding experience, by demystifying tech and showing its intersection with fields like biology, business, or the humanities.
The club runs hands-on, weekly events that are vital for skill-building. These include "FEMTech Talks" with industry speakers and "FEMTech Make" workshops, creating a low-pressure environment to learn and connect. This focus on practical, peer-to-peer learning provides project experience that directly boosts a resume and builds confidence.
Any UC Berkeley student can join by attending open meetings, gaining access to a wide network across all majors. More information is available on the STAR resource page for FEMTech, with additional background on its founding as Berkeley's first campuswide tech club for women. This club acts as a critical root system, weaving together diverse disciplines into a supportive technical network.
AnitaB.org and Grace Hopper Celebration
While AnitaB.org is a global force, its presence in the Bay Area creates profoundly local opportunities for Berkeley women in tech. The annual Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC) in Anaheim is a career-defining event, but the community thrives year-round through local collaborations, such as the Silicon Valley chapter's partnership with Women Techmakers for events like the "Limitless: Women in Tech Summit" in San Francisco.
For students and professionals, engaging with AnitaB.org means accessing a massive network of peers and recruiters from every major tech company. The organization also provides vital research and advocacy on pay equity and inclusion - key issues in the Bay Area where high average salaries can mask persistent gender gaps.
Students can join communities and apply for scholarships to attend GHC, gaining access to the world's largest gathering of women in tech. This connection provides not just a powerful online community for networking, but also essential resources for navigating a competitive landscape and advancing systemic change within it.
Association of Women in EE and CS AWE
For women pursuing the core technical disciplines that fuel the Bay Area's tech dominance, the Association of Women in EE&CS (AWE) is the most impactful student-led community. Based in the nation's top-ranked EECS department at UC Berkeley, it creates a critical mass and professional network precisely where academic pressure is highest, countering the isolation women can face as a distinct minority in lecture halls.
The program is lauded for providing "advice, encouragement, information, and insight from experienced peers," helping new students find their footing. This includes department-specific mentorship, study groups, and insider access to tech recruiters who specifically target Berkeley's elite EECS talent, creating a direct pathway to firms like Google, Apple, and OpenAI.
Members gain a built-in community that fosters both the technical confidence and the professional connections needed to thrive. UC Berkeley students can explore AWE and other supportive groups through the official EECS student organizations page, tapping into this essential root system within the demanding ecosystem of a world-class engineering program.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should I focus on women in tech groups specifically in Berkeley, CA?
Berkeley's unique ecosystem leverages its proximity to world-class institutions like UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, along with direct access to major tech employers across San Francisco and Silicon Valley. This local network offers tailored mentorship and career opportunities that can be more resilient and impactful than broader national organizations, especially given recent shifts like the 2024 closure of groups such as Women Who Code.
How can joining these groups help me land a high-paying tech job in the Bay Area?
Many groups, like the Association of Women in EE&CS (AWE) at UC Berkeley, provide direct connections to recruiters from top companies where senior engineering roles often command salaries exceeding $250,000. Through structured mentorship and events, you gain insider access to job markets and practical advice for navigating competitive hiring in high-demand fields like AI and cybersecurity.
Are there specialized groups for women in fields like cybersecurity or AI in Berkeley?
Yes, for cybersecurity professionals, the ISC2 East Bay Women in Cyber chapter offers targeted events and certification support, connecting members with leaders at companies like Google and Salesforce. For AI and broader tech, the Women in Tech Initiative (WITI) at UC Berkeley facilitates research exchanges and networking with corporate partners such as NVIDIA and OpenAI, addressing specific industry challenges.
What resources are available for students versus established professionals in Berkeley?
Students can access foundational programs like the Empowering Womxn in STEAM residential program or FEMTech for peer support and hands-on skill-building. Professionals might join groups like UC WIT for university staff or participate in Berkeley SkyDeck's workshops for founders, offering tailored networking and development opportunities based on career stage.
Can people who aren't affiliated with UC Berkeley still benefit from these women in tech groups?
While some groups, such as AWE, are campus-specific, others like ISC2 East Bay Women in Cyber and AnitaB.org's local events are open to all professionals in the Bay Area. Berkeley's dense startup ecosystem also means resources like SkyDeck's accelerator programs welcome external participants, providing access to venture capital and networking across Silicon Valley.
Navigate the 2026 job market with this top 10 list for tech roles in Berkeley.
Read about startups from Berkeley SkyDeck accelerator leading AI in 2026.
Explore Berkeley's AI community events and hackathons in 2026 for hands-on learning opportunities.
Learn about leading tech coworking spots in Berkeley and their unique communities in 2026.
Discover how to access complementary tech training at Berkeley institutions.
Irene Holden
Operations Manager
Former Microsoft Education and Learning Futures Group team member, Irene now oversees instructors at Nucamp while writing about everything tech - from careers to coding bootcamps.