Top 10 Women in Tech Groups and Resources in Indianapolis, IN in 2026

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Women & Hi Tech
• TechPoint's Indiana Women IN Tech Week
• Corporate Employee Resource Groups
• Purdue Women in Engineering Program
• Girls Who Code Indianapolis
• Women + Technology Summit
• Ladies in SaaS
• TechPoint Xtern Program
• AnitaB.org Local Community
• Bootcamp Career Transition Support
• Conclusion
• Frequently Asked Questions

Women & Hi Tech

As the foundational node in Indiana's women-in-tech network for over two decades, Women & Hi Tech operates as a member-driven force dedicated to changing the landscape of STEM professions. Its power comes from a strategic blend of high-visibility recognition, direct financial support, and year-round professional development, making it an essential connection point.

The pinnacle of its advocacy is the biennial Leading Light Awards & Scholarship Gala. The 2026 event, themed "Connected Brilliance," is scheduled for October 1 and serves as the community’s premier celebration. As highlighted in community insights, this theme "celebrates the bright minds... illuminating the path for the future of STEM across Indiana." The gala directly fuels opportunity, building on a legacy where the organization awarded over $60,000 in scholarships and grants in 2024.

"Connected Brilliance celebrates the bright minds... illuminating the path for the future of STEM across Indiana" - Official theme for the 2026 Leading Light Awards.

Beyond the marquee event, membership provides access to mentorship circles, executive leadership training, and networking that offers a direct line to Indy’s top tech companies. For anyone building a career here, connecting with this cornerstone organization is a decisive first step. Explore their mission and upcoming events, including the 2026 Gala, on the Women & Hi Tech organizational page.

TechPoint's Indiana Women IN Tech Week

While not a standalone membership group, TechPoint’s orchestration of Indiana Women IN Tech Week is a concentrated, state-recognized initiative no professional should overlook. Running September 14-21, this week is a catalyst for celebration and critical conversation across Indiana's entire tech ecosystem, featuring dozens of events from large summits to intimate networking sessions.

A centerpiece of the 2025 schedule is the Female Techtonic Summit on September 16, tailored specifically for senior IT leaders and women in executive roles. For professionals at all levels, the week’s signature "Speed Mentoring" events are invaluable, offering rapid-fire, one-on-one conversations with seasoned leaders from Indianapolis powerhouses like Salesforce and Cummins.

"[The week] opens the door for meaningful discussions on how we can better support women and girls in Indiana’s tech economy" - Linda Calvin, Chief Impact Officer at Reboot Representation.

This strategic programming creates a dynamic bridge between individual career growth and systemic change. Participation is event-based, so marking your calendar for September and monitoring TechPoint’s event listings for registration is the key to tapping into this statewide surge of energy and opportunity.

Corporate Employee Resource Groups

For women in tech, Indianapolis's corporate giants are more than employers - they are interconnected communities. The internal Employee Resource Groups at companies like Eli Lilly, Salesforce, Cummins, and Elevance Health function as critical internal power grids for mentorship, technical training, and career acceleration.

At Eli Lilly and Company, the Women in STEM initiative provides clear career pathing for female scientists and technologists, deeply tied to the city's life sciences sector. Downtown, the Salesforce Women’s Network champions the company's equal pay initiatives locally. These groups often partner with external organizations, creating a vital bridge between corporate resources and the broader community.

As detailed in a TechPoint feature on internal support systems, these ERGs provide the essential "support system" for navigating and advancing within major tech-centric companies. When interviewing for roles at these top employers for diversity, inquiring about their ERG's scope is a strategic way to gauge the culture of support waiting for you.

Purdue Women in Engineering Program

The 2024 launch of Purdue University in Indianapolis created a powerful new academic node directly in the city’s downtown tech corridor. Its Women in Engineering program acts as both an academic engine and a dedicated talent funnel, actively building pipelines into Indy’s tech and advanced manufacturing sectors through corporate partnerships and co-ops.

For students, the program offers mentoring, tutoring, and cohort-building that demystifies the engineering path. For the professional community and local employers, it represents a direct connection to Purdue’s legendary engineering network and a stream of emerging talent. This academic initiative is deeply woven into the region's fabric, as highlighted in university transition announcements, making it a premier resource for entering tech through a respected pathway.

The program’s industry ties mean local women gain access to a vast alumni base and recruiters from cornerstone companies like Cummins and Rolls-Royce who are invested in the new campus. Professionals can engage by becoming mentors or exploring partnership opportunities, effectively soldering a connection between academia and Indianapolis's thriving industrial core.

Girls Who Code Indianapolis

Building the tech talent pipeline from the ground up, Girls Who Code chapters in Indianapolis offer a profoundly impactful way to engage. These free after-school clubs for students in grades 3-12 are active across the metro area, often hosted in schools and libraries with the Indiana Department of Education serving as a key community partner to facilitate local chapters.

The value is twofold: volunteers help close the gender gap by inspiring young girls with coding fundamentals, while simultaneously immersing themselves in a network of like-minded professional volunteers - educators, developers, and tech leaders committed to community impact. In a city where major employers constantly seek diverse talent, this is strategic investment in the ecosystem's long-term health.

Local chapters are always seeking professionals from any tech background to lead sessions or serve as guest speakers. Visiting the Girls Who Code national website to find a club near you is the direct connection point for anyone wanting to solder a link between today's professionals and tomorrow's innovators.

Women + Technology Summit

Hosted by the Center of Excellence for Women and Technology (CEW&T), the Women + Technology Summit delivers a focused jolt of empowerment and practical skill-building. Scheduled for February 27-28, this event has become a must-attend for women across the Midwest tech scene, offering hands-on workshops, leadership talks, and collaborative networking in a more intimate setting than larger conferences.

The summit is explicitly designed to empower women at all technical levels, providing a supportive environment to gain new competencies and connect with peers facing similar regional challenges. It addresses the specific need for community and confidence-building within the STEM space.

"[The summit provides] amazing sessions, networking opportunities and more that helps women feel empowered in this STEM space" - A local coordinator for the Women + Technology Summit.

Registration for the summit typically opens in the preceding fall. For professionals and students seeking a dedicated space for growth and connection, this event is a powerful node in the annual circuit of Indianapolis tech, complementing the broader ecosystem detailed in resources like TechPoint's coverage of local support systems.

Ladies in SaaS

Indianapolis's growing Software-as-a-Service sector, fueled by startups and established players, is served by the niche network Ladies in SaaS. This community-driven group provides a casual, focused space for professional women to share the unique challenges of building, selling, and marketing SaaS products, offering targeted peer advice and job leads.

"There is still a need to understand people’s experiences and find ways to help women make more advances... it exists to help give women additional perspectives and support" - Angie Altman, Ladies in SaaS member.

For women at local SaaS companies - from established names like Emplify and Scale Computing to ventures in the High Alpha studio portfolio - this group delivers relevant context. The informal dinners and happy hours facilitate connections that are directly applicable to the SaaS business models driving a significant part of Indy's tech growth.

Connecting is straightforward: search for "Ladies in SaaS Indianapolis" on professional networks. As highlighted in community discussions on TechPoint, this group exemplifies how specialized networks provide the precise support needed to advance within key Indianapolis tech verticals.

TechPoint Xtern Program

While not exclusively for women, the TechPoint Xtern program earns its place as a critical resource due to its role as the premier talent pipeline into Indianapolis tech and its history of strong female participation. This highly competitive summer internship program places top-tier college students with the city's best tech companies, from startups to corporate anchors.

For women in college, securing an Xternship is one of the most effective ways to launch a local career. The program provides far more than a job; it includes cohort housing, dedicated professional development, and networking events that integrate interns into the very fabric of Indianapolis's tech community. This comprehensive support system turns academic potential into professional reality.

Many participants receive full-time offers from their host companies, creating a direct on-ramp to roles at firms like Elevance Health, Genesys, and SEP. As a gateway noted for its rigorous selection process, it represents a strategic connection point for emerging talent. College students can apply through the TechPoint website, typically in the fall for the following summer, to begin mapping their circuit into the heart of Indy's tech ecosystem.

AnitaB.org Local Community

Following the 2024 shutdown of the global Women Who Code chapter, many in Indianapolis sought a stable network with both local cohesion and global reach. AnitaB.org, the organization behind the Grace Hopper Celebration, provides this through its virtual Local Communities platform, allowing Indianapolis members to plug into the "North America East" regional hub.

This resource offers access to a vast, international community of women technologists through virtual events, forums, and collaborative projects, all without leaving home. Members can participate in virtual mentorship, watch talks from global leaders, and coordinate with local peers on plans for future in-person meetups. For women in Indy who work remotely or seek perspectives beyond the regional market, this node keeps them connected to worldwide trends while maintaining a local peer group.

Joining is straightforward: become an AnitaB.org member and opt into the Local Communities feature, selecting the North America East region to find other Indianapolis-area professionals. This virtual hub ensures that even as the local landscape evolves, as noted in analyses of Indy's tech support systems, you remain part of a broader, enduring circuit of women in technology.

Bootcamp Career Transition Support

For women seeking a non-traditional entry into tech, Indianapolis's coding bootcamps serve as accelerated pathways that solder new career circuits. Programs like Eleven Fifty Academy are recognized for their role in rapid career transformation and strong commitment to diversity, offering practical, fast-paced training as an alternative to four-year degrees.

The impact is tangible and life-changing. As highlighted by TechPoint, Eleven Fifty founder Scott Jones shared the story of a single mother who increased her annual salary from $25,000 to $90,000 after completing tech training and joining a High Alpha portfolio company. This exemplifies the powerful economic mobility these programs can activate.

Beyond technical skills, bootcamps provide immediate access to a new professional network and direct introductions to local employers actively seeking talent. For career-changers in Indianapolis, they represent a critical node that connects personal ambition with the concrete demands of the regional tech market, offering a direct line into the ecosystem's energy flow.

Conclusion

Building a thriving career in tech is less about checking items off a list and more about soldering the right connections for your unique circuit. The Indianapolis ecosystem is energized, interconnected, and deeply supportive, powered by homegrown institutions and major corporate anchors.

Your personal "backstage pass" to growth is the network you actively build. Begin by engaging with one or two of these vital nodes: attend the Leading Light Gala in October 2026, volunteer with Girls Who Code, or dive into your company’s ERG. Each connection you make strengthens the entire system and illuminates your own path.

The current of opportunity is flowing through initiatives like Indiana Women IN Tech Week and the talent pipelines from Purdue Indianapolis and TechPoint's programs. Your next step - whether seeking mentorship, skill-building, or community - completes a critical part of the circuit. The brilliance of the network awaits your connection.

Frequently Asked Questions