Top 10 Women in Tech Groups and Resources in Chicago, IL in 2026

Table of Contents

• Your Map to Chicago's Women in Tech Network
• ChiWitCon
• AnitaB.org Chicago Community
• Chicago Women in STEM Initiative
• WomenHack Chicago
• Girls Who Code Chicago
• Corporate ERGs
• Chicago WomenTech Circle
• i.c.stars
• TechChicago Week
• Chicago Women in HPC
• Mastering the Transfers
• Frequently Asked Questions

ChiWitCon

When you need a high-voltage infusion of inspiration and strategy, ChiWitCon is the annual anchor. Celebrating its 11th year, this conference at the iconic Old Post Office on October 1 gathers thousands under the theme "Beyond Boundaries, Beyond Expectations." It's Chicago's premier gathering for women technologists, connecting attendees directly to the city's power players from Fortune 500 leaders to successful startup founders.

The value is in its actionable, Chicago-centric focus. Attendees consistently describe it as the "most inspiring event" they've ever attended, praising the high-caliber lineup and practical advice. Following the Chicago Women in Tech Conference (ChiWitCon) on LinkedIn provides year-round content and speaker announcements, transforming abstract career advice into local opportunities.

This is where the city's collaborative spirit shines, offering unparalleled networking with local hiring managers and skill-building in emerging tech like AI - heavily supported by our local Argonne and Fermilab ecosystem. As noted in discussions on Chicago's culture of inclusivity, it’s a key junction for gaining the confidence to push your career forward within the metro's vast and diverse economy.

AnitaB.org Chicago Community

With the dissolution of some national chapters, the global organization AnitaB.org has deepened its local roots in Chicago through a robust, member-driven community. This group is essential for women aiming for technical leadership and navigating corporate ladders at giants like JPMorgan Chase, United Airlines, and Walgreens.

The local chapter's focus on "Quick Connect" networking and intimate mentoring circles moves beyond large gatherings. Their free Career Toolbox provides structured training on negotiating salaries - critical in a competitive market - and building executive presence. Access is through the AnitaB.org member-only event portal, filtering for Chicago-based activities.

The community is particularly active around the Grace Hopper Celebration, coordinating local watch parties and travel groups. The value is a structured path to leadership and a direct line to the world's largest celebration of women in tech, detailed on the Grace Hopper Celebration 2026 site. This local cohort provides vital support, echoing the organization's broader mission to provide actionable resources and support for women in tech.

Chicago Women in STEM Initiative

Bridging the critical gap between academia and industry, the Chicago Women in STEM Initiative serves as a cornerstone for students and early-career professionals. This cross-career mentorship program pairs seasoned experts from Chicago’s vast healthcare, finance, and tech sectors with undergraduates and graduate students from universities like UIC, Northwestern, and the University of Chicago.

Their flagship event is the Annual Symposium, with the 9th edition focusing on "Frontiers of Technology and Innovation." This event provides a unique window into Chicago’s high-performance computing and AI frontier, often featuring research from our national labs. You can learn more about their mission and structure on the Chicago Women in STEM Initiative about page.

The value is early access to Chicago’s professional network and guidance on translating academic work into industry impact. This direct pipeline helps participants navigate the unique challenges women face in STEM fields within our metro’s diverse economy, a dynamic explored in discussions about real change for women in Chicago tech. For students and professionals alike, it’s a vital transfer point connecting foundational education to career propulsion.

WomenHack Chicago

For direct, rapid paths to employment, WomenHack’s Chicago tech job fairs are unmatched. These are high-impact, diversity-focused hiring events where vetted talent meets companies actively looking to hire, serving as efficient transfer stations directly into the workforce.

The results speak for themselves. One past attendee reported "landing a Senior Software Engineer role within two weeks" of attending, noting the event was incredibly well-organized. This efficiency is crucial in a fast-moving hub. The scheduled events for the year, detailed on the Women in Tech Job Fair Chicago 2026 page, are on April 23, June 18, August 25, and October 21.

The value is direct interviews and exposure to a wide spectrum of local companies, from scaling startups to the tech divisions of major employers like Google’s Fulton Market office, Microsoft’s downtown hub, Boeing, and McDonald’s. For those calculating the most efficient route to a new role, WomenHack represents a crucial and well-signaled junction.

Girls Who Code Chicago

Building the pipeline is critical, and Girls Who Code maintains a powerful presence in Chicago through its university-based College Loops and high school clubs. For college students and young professionals, the College Loops at UIC, Loyola, and other schools provide a vital peer community for those early in their CS journeys.

UIC’s club, for instance, runs hybrid programs, while Loyola hosts Saturday classes for grades 6-12. Their free, virtual Summer Pathways program offers a 7-week intensive for high school students, with applications open via the Girls Who Code Pathways page. This early skill-building creates a supportive network that counters isolation.

College students should search for a College Loop at their university or start one, while professionals can volunteer to mentor. The value is a direct connection to a national movement with strong corporate partnerships in Chicago, detailed further through local chapters like the Girls Who Code at UIC Club. This foundational work ensures the next generation is prepared to navigate the city's tech ecosystem.

Corporate ERGs

Chicago’s major tech employers host some of the most active and well-resourced internal communities, serving as powerful hubs within the larger network. Leading the charge is Women @ Enova, an employee-led group that partners extensively with the broader community, including hosting ChiWitCon. Similarly, the Chicago offices of IBM, HERE Technologies, JPMorgan Chase, and Allstate maintain influential ERGs.

These groups offer internal mentorship, executive speaker series, and external volunteering opportunities. Their impact is measurable: HERE Technologies found its sponsorship programs can increase the retention of women in STEM roles by up to 72%. This focus on tangible support moves beyond networking to create real pathways for advancement within Chicago's corporate giants.

"Chicago’s tech scene is still being defined, offering an incredible opportunity to shape the industry." - Thru Shivakumar, CEO, Cohesion

The primary path is employment at these companies, but their events often spill into the public community. Following companies like Enova on social media can reveal public-facing panels or hackathons. As explored in analyses of real change in Chicago tech, these corporate ERGs are where professionals gain direct access to leadership and advocate for advancement from within, shaping the industry's future.

Chicago WomenTech Circle

For ongoing, year-round professional development between major conferences, the Chicago WomenTech Circle provides a dedicated local forum. As part of the global WomenTech Network, this group focuses on deep-dive workshops, leadership training, and peer-led mastermind sessions tailored to mid-to-senior-level challenges.

It fills the essential gap for continuous learning, with discussions often centering on managing hybrid teams, leveraging AI tools, and navigating the specifics of the Chicago venture capital landscape for founders. This consistent, high-quality development happens in a local context, creating a trusted circle of peers for collaboration on Chicago-specific opportunities.

Involvement starts by joining the global WomenTech Network and then locating the Chicago-focused group through their platform, such as the Chicago Women in Tech group page. This connection to a broader forum, like the Women in Tech Global Conference network, ensures members have access to both hyper-local support and global trends, reinforcing Chicago's position within the wider tech ecosystem.

i.c.stars

For women, particularly from underrepresented communities, seeking a transformative entry into tech leadership, i.c.stars stands as a unique and vital Chicago institution. This nonprofit doesn't just teach coding; it provides intensive, project-based leadership training and community building that has created a powerful alumni network woven into the fabric of Chicago tech for over two decades.

The program's philosophy centers on creating resilient, leadership-ready talent. As its President & Co-founder, Sandee Kastrul, emphasizes, the work is about fostering a "stronger together" community through rigorous mentorship and leadership development. This approach directly contributes to the collaborative, impact-focused culture noted in discussions about Chicago's tech inclusivity.

Women with a college degree or equivalent experience can apply for their full-time training cycle, while professionals can volunteer as mentors or host project simulations. The value is a life-changing career pivot with an unparalleled support system and a direct pipeline to employers who trust the i.c.stars model, embodying the "stronger together" ethos championed across Chicago's women-in-tech network. Graduates become leaders who give back, creating a virtuous cycle that strengthens the entire ecosystem.

TechChicago Week

To see the big picture of Chicago's tech ambitions and find your place in it, TechChicago Week is an indispensable junction. This major July event, powered by civic coalition P33, convenes technologists, corporate leaders, and civic innovators to tackle the city's strategic "Grand Challenges."

While not exclusively for women, it is a critical transfer point for understanding where the city is investing and for accessing a cross-sector network rarely found at purely social meetups. The event showcases how Chicago's core strengths in finance, healthcare, and logistics converge with technology, highlighting collaborative projects involving partners from the University of Chicago, Argonne National Lab, and corporations like Walgreens and United Airlines.

The value is macro-level insight into the city's tech direction, the chance to collaborate on meaningful civic-tech projects, and networking with decision-makers. It represents a different kind of hub on your map - one focused on the ecosystem's overall trajectory and your role in shaping it, perfectly aligning with the city's collaborative, impact-driven spirit.

Chicago Women in HPC

For women in niche, high-impact fields like supercomputing and large-scale data analysis, specialized groups provide an irreplaceable technical tribe. Chicago Women in High-Performance Computing (HPC) offers dedicated networking and advocacy for women working with the immense computational resources at places like Argonne National Lab, the University of Illinois system, and related industries.

This group actively works to eliminate unconscious bias in a highly technical field and provides a essential forum for discussing career paths at the intersection of pure research and applied engineering. This focus is critical for advancing within Chicago's identity as a leader in AI and computational research, powered by assets like the Aurora exascale system.

Connecting through the group’s homepage hosted by the Advanced Cyberinfrastructure for Education and Research (ACER) at UIC provides direct access to this community. The value is staying updated on cutting-edge local projects, finding mentorship in a specialized domain, and gaining support within a field that is central to the ambitions of Chicago's corporate and research ecosystems.

Mastering the Transfers

The closure of a once-major line didn't cripple the network; it revealed its true, resilient structure. Chicago's strength in 2026 lies in this decentralized but deeply interconnected web of hubs - the corporate ERG, the university lab, the civic coalition, the grassroots circle. The ecosystem thrives on a "roll-up-your-sleeves" collaborative spirit that values tangible impact.

The challenge, and the opportunity, is to stop looking for a single destination. Mastery comes from becoming adept at the transfers between these powerful nodes. This means actively mapping your route: speaking up in a mentoring circle, volunteering at a high school club, attending a civic-tech summit, and leveraging the unique junctions where finance, healthcare, and research converge with technology.

In doing so, you don't just navigate the ecosystem; you help power its current. By contributing your energy and expertise at these transfer points, you strengthen the entire grid for everyone coming up the line behind you, ensuring the network grows more robust and connected than any single track could ever be.

Frequently Asked Questions