Top 10 Women in Tech Groups and Resources in Sioux Falls, SD in 2026

Table of Contents

• The Female Tech Ecosystem in Sioux Falls
• Local University Tech Groups & Alumni Networks
• CybHER
• Girls Who Code Clubs & Pathways Program
• iNSPIRE by Omnitech
• The WICT Network Midwest Chapter
• Build Dakota Scholarship Program
• SD CEO East Women’s Business Center
• AnitaB.org and Grace Hopper Celebration
• Startup Sioux Falls
• Women In Science Sioux Falls Conference
• How to Connect Your Roots for Career Growth
• Frequently Asked Questions

Local University Tech Groups & Alumni Networks

While not a single formal organization, the active student and alumni networks at Sioux Falls's key higher education institutions form a critical first professional community for women entering tech. These groups demystify the local job market and create a self-reinforcing cycle of mentorship that directly feeds major regional employers.

At South Dakota State University (SDSU), the Women in Technology group hosts regular "Tech Talks" with industry experts, focusing on cybersecurity and data science pathways highly relevant to local finance and health tech giants. Their activities, like Tech Talk #8 which focused on security, provide tangible connections and peer support for students navigating a Midwest tech career.

The University of South Dakota (USD) strengthens this pipeline through its specialized graduate tracks and mentorship circles. With programs like its M.S. in Computer Science with an Artificial Intelligence specialization, USD fosters advanced skill development and connects students directly with alumni at employers like Sanford Health and Citibank.

The value of these networks is clear: they provide a direct line to the region's top tech employers and a supportive community that understands the specific opportunities and challenges for women in the Sioux Falls tech landscape. For students and recent graduates, engagement here often leads to internships, job referrals, and a foundational professional network that lasts throughout their careers.

CybHER

Based at Dakota State University in nearby Madison, CybHER acts as a powerhouse pipeline specifically for cybersecurity, a field with immense and growing opportunity in Sioux Falls's financial and healthcare sectors. It serves as a primary feeder for the city, creating a direct talent conduit for this high-demand niche.

The program runs impactful, immersive events designed to engage young women early. These include the GenCyber Girls Camp and initiatives like the "Digital Natives" summer program, which blends technology, culture, and connection over two weeks. For Sioux Falls high school and college students, participation involves short trips to DSU for these hands-on camps or virtual engagement in specialized challenges.

The value for a young woman in the region is multifaceted: direct access to a critical skill set, early exposure to potential employers like Citibank and Sanford Health who urgently need cyber talent, and a clear pathway into a stable, well-compensated career. In a state pushing to lead in cybersecurity, CybHER ensures young women are at the forefront of that charge, planting seeds in the fertile ground of Sioux Falls's key industries.

Girls Who Code Clubs & Pathways Program

National in scope but hyper-local in impact, Girls Who Code maintains a strong and active presence in Sioux Falls area schools and libraries. The organization's structure provides a vital, accessible entry point for young women, offering more than just coding skills but a validated vision of a future in technology.

In 2025, the organization strengthened its focus with the launch of its Pathways program, which directs high school students toward concentrations in AI, cybersecurity, and data science - topics directly aligned with Sioux Falls's growing tech demands in finance and healthcare. Local clubs are typically free to join and led by educators or volunteer technologists, removing barriers to participation.

For a student in Sioux Falls, joining a club means connecting to a national sisterhood with a local face, gaining project experience that stands out on applications for programs like Build Dakota or college admissions. As highlighted in their community updates, Girls Who Code students in 2025 showed up "bigger and bolder than ever", a testament to the program's engaging model. It's a fundamental root in the talent pipeline, planting the seed of possibility long before career decisions are finalized.

iNSPIRE by Omnitech

This local software company translates its commitment into direct action with its annual iNSPIRE conference, specifically designed for girls in 8th through 12th grade. Typically held in the fall, the event fills quickly through school registrations, demonstrating its strong local reputation and demand for authentic tech exposure.

The conference features hands-on workshops in software development, robotics, and design, led by Omnitech’s own female engineers and leaders. This structure provides students with practical experience while building a direct connection to an innovative local employer. The event is strategically designed to feed the local talent pipeline with inspired, prepared young women.

As detailed in a release from South Dakota Mines, the iNSPIRE event is crafted to "empower future women leaders in STEM." For a Sioux Falls student, this experience transforms the abstract concept of a tech career into a tangible, achievable path, showing them that they can build a future right here in their own community, connected to companies shaping the local economy.

The WICT Network Midwest Chapter

For women in the converging fields of media, entertainment, and technology, The WICT Network provides a robust and specialized professional structure. The Midwest Chapter serves South Dakota, offering leadership development programs, networking events, and advocacy tailored to this unique intersection of industries.

Membership involves an annual fee, granting access to national research, local workshops, and a network that includes professionals from regional broadcasters to the tech teams at companies like Midco. In a city where tech roles within media and communications companies are growing, WICT offers a focused community that understands the hybrid nature of these careers. Updates and event information are regularly shared through The WICT Network Midwest Chapter news page, keeping members connected to opportunities.

The value is career-long leadership training and a professional anchor for women navigating roles where content creation meets technology. This is especially crucial in Sioux Falls, where organizations are increasingly digital-first. The chapter's focus on empowerment is reflected in local events it supports, such as the EmpowHERment Seminar held on March 18, 2026, which featured panels of trailblazing entrepreneurs in the region.

Build Dakota Scholarship Program

While not a traditional networking group, the Build Dakota Scholarship is arguably South Dakota's most powerful engine for creating debt-free, job-ready tech talent. It strategically removes the largest financial barrier to education while guaranteeing a local job, creating a risk-free entry point into high-demand fields.

The scholarship covers full tuition at schools like Southeast Technical College for students entering critical need fields, including IT, Cybersecurity, and Precision Manufacturing. In exchange, recipients commit to working in South Dakota for three years after graduation, creating a reliable talent pipeline for major employers. As reported by South Dakota News Watch, these scholarships are explicitly designed to "fill jobs with homegrown talent," directly supplying the workforce for Sanford Health, Avera, and Citibank.

For women in Sioux Falls, this program is a transformative game-changer. It combines a guaranteed education with a guaranteed career launch, offering immediate ROI in a state with no income tax. This practical, funded pathway allows women to enter the tech sector without debt, building financial independence and a stable foundation for long-term growth within the supportive Sioux Falls ecosystem.

SD CEO East Women’s Business Center

Focused squarely on entrepreneurship, the SD CEO East Women's Business Center is a newer, SBA-funded resource that provides essential training, networking, and one-on-one consulting for women founders in the Sioux Falls area. It fills a critical gap by offering the business acumen needed to complement technical skill for technologists ready to build their own companies.

Director Sadie Swier clearly explained the center's foundational mission in a conversation with the University of South Dakota: "This center... really helps start building that foundation. That'll consist of a lot of one-on-one meetings with business owners to see where they're at and how we can help them." This personalized support is crucial for moving from idea to execution.

The center hosts key capacity-building events like the annual EmpowHERment Seminar. The 2026 seminar was held on March 18, featuring panels of trailblazing local entrepreneurs. For a woman with a tech startup idea in Sioux Falls - be it a health-tech app or a fintech solution - this center provides the practical, step-by-step guidance on business planning, funding, and growth that is often the missing piece for technically gifted founders.

AnitaB.org and Grace Hopper Celebration

Following the closure of some local chapters of national groups, virtual and global resources have become increasingly vital lifelines. AnitaB.org offers a crucial digital community through its Career Toolbox, local community lists, and extensive research, including case studies and whitepapers on gender equity in tech.

Its most prominent resource is the Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC), the world's largest gathering of women in tech. While attending the in-person event may require travel, Sioux Falls women, especially those at USD, SDSU, or major employers, often secure corporate sponsorship to attend. The value is immense: access to a global hiring floor, cutting-edge technical sessions, and a transformative sense of scale and possibility.

Locally, technologists leverage AnitaB.org's resources to form informal study groups, prepare for salary negotiations, or stay current on industry trends. This creates a distributed yet connected local network that taps into the power of a global organization, ensuring Sioux Falls professionals remain at the forefront of the field while rooted in their own community.

Startup Sioux Falls

As the central hub for the city's entrepreneurial ecosystem, Startup Sioux Falls is indispensable for women in tech who are founders, early joiners, or supporters of new ventures. It provides the physical and programmatic infrastructure that turns ideas into businesses, fostering the collaborative spirit that defines the local tech scene.

The organization hosts critical, focused events like Elevate Women, which expanded to include regional panels in 2025, broadening its network and impact. Alongside events, it provides coworking spaces that facilitate the daily connections and collaborations essential for early-stage growth. This environment celebrates risk-taking and innovation, offering direct links to mentors, investors, and first hires.

Executive Director Brienne Maner describes the role as supporting "entrepreneurship, the greater Sioux Falls community and the downtown neighborhood," a sentiment that captures the organization's integrated approach. This hub is frequently cited as a key component of the region's success, noted in analyses like Nucamp's overview of Sioux Falls's thriving tech hub. For a woman launching a tech startup, getting involved here is the most direct path to immersing oneself in a community built to help ventures take root and grow.

Women In Science Sioux Falls Conference

The single most impactful event for shaping the future of Sioux Falls's tech pipeline is the annual Women In Science Conference hosted at Southeast Technical College. This massive community undertaking represents the ecosystem working in perfect harmony, with educators, employers, and professionals all investing in the next generation.

The 2026 event on March 11 exemplified this scale, hosting over 1,000 eighth-grade girls for a day of hands-on activities and direct conversations. The girls connected with local women professionals from Sanford Health, Avera, Citibank, and area tech firms, transforming abstract STEM concepts into tangible career paths.

Anna Fischer, a Pre-College Program Advisor, highlighted the unique value of the "one-on-one with professionals working in these areas," a component that makes the conference deeply personal and impactful. As covered in the Southeast Tech news release, the event's exhibit area is designed for interactive learning and direct mentorship.

For the Sioux Falls community, this conference is a cornerstone investment in inspiration. For volunteers, it's a powerful opportunity to give back and shape the future. For a young girl, it's often her first concrete vision of a STEM future that exists right in her own city, planting a seed that can grow into a Build Dakota scholarship, an internship, and a thriving homegrown career.

How to Connect Your Roots for Career Growth

The true strength for a woman building a tech career in Sioux Falls lies not in selecting one resource from a list, but in understanding how these roots interconnect to form a robust, living ecosystem. Your professional growth here mirrors the health of a prairie field - it depends on the symbiotic relationships between all the elements beneath the surface.

Consider the pathway: an 8th grader inspired at the Women in Science Conference may later secure a debt-free education through the Build Dakota Scholarship at Southeast Tech. That foundation could lead to an internship at Sanford Health through their Aspire program, and eventually, the confidence to launch a startup supported by the SD CEO East Women’s Business Center and the network at Startup Sioux Falls.

This is the fertile ground cultivated by our unique advantages: proximity to major employers like Sanford Health and Citibank, the financial freedom of no state income tax, and a collaborative spirit that actively invests in homegrown talent. The ecosystem doesn't just offer a job - it nurtures a complete career lifecycle, from initial inspiration to entrepreneurial leadership.

Your path is here in Sioux Falls. Look past any single program and see the network. Start connecting your roots to it, engage with multiple facets of this community, and cultivate a lasting, thriving harvest in the supportive soil this region has prepared.

Frequently Asked Questions