Top 10 Women in Tech Groups and Resources in Uruguay in 2026

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Rails Girls Montevideo
• Globant Women that Build Awards
• AnitaB.org and Grace Hopper Celebration
• PyLadies Montevideo
• Universidad ORT Uruguay Scholarships
• Cuti b_IT Training Program
• ANII Fondo Ida Holz
• Chicas en Tecnología
• Mujeres IT Uruguay
• Nucamp
• Conclusion
• Frequently Asked Questions

Rails Girls Montevideo

Rails Girls Montevideo offers introductory programming workshops designed to move you from “I don’t know where to start” to building your first application in a single weekend. Sessions focus on sketching, prototyping, and basic programming - deliberately avoiding the overwhelm that pushes many beginners away. Events are held in coworking spaces in Montevideo’s Ciudad Vieja or Punta Carretas, and attendance is completely free. You don’t need prior experience - just a laptop and curiosity.

The real value lies in the mentors. Volunteers from companies like GeneXus and PedidosYa work alongside participants, offering direct exposure to professionals building Uruguay’s tech infrastructure. Past attendees have reported landing first internships at local agencies after completing a single weekend workshop. While Rails Girls Montevideo isn’t a continuous community, each event provides instant access to a network of women who made the same leap you’re considering.

For anyone still scanning the dial, Rails Girls’ hands-on coding workshops are a low-commitment entry point - one weekend that can shift your entire trajectory. It’s the frequency you tune into when you’re ready to stop listening and start doing.

Globant Women that Build Awards

Globant’s Women that Build program shines a spotlight on outstanding women in technology across Latin America, and Uruguay consistently produces winners. The award comes with visibility at Globant’s global events - often streamed from Montevideo or Buenos Aires - and access to an executive mentorship track. Beyond the award, Globant runs internal forums for female engineers to discuss career progression, pay equity, and retention strategies. Given that Globant employs hundreds of developers across its Zonamerica offices, the program creates a direct line to senior women who can advocate for your promotion or project assignments.

In 2025, the Montevideo office reported that 34% of its tech leadership roles were held by women - above the national average of 26%, but still a work in progress. Globant continues to use the Women that Build awards to highlight and promote local female talent, and the nomination-based structure ensures that recognition flows to women actively shaping Uruguay’s tech landscape. According to Uruguay XXI, Globant’s ongoing commitment to recognizing women in technology across Latin America is part of Uruguay’s broader push for inclusive innovation.

For women already in mid-career roles looking to break into leadership, this program is a dial position worth locking. It’s not a beginner’s frequency - it’s the signal you tune into when you’re ready to be seen.

AnitaB.org and Grace Hopper Celebration

The signal from AnitaB.org reaches Uruguay even without a physical chapter in Montevideo. Its Grace Hopper Celebration remains the largest gathering of women in tech globally, and the virtual Unbound track makes it accessible from anywhere with a stable broadband connection - whether you’re in Montevideo’s Ciudad Vieja or Salto. The 2026 edition runs April 28-30 and focuses on AI leadership and STEM innovation, with speakers from Mercado Libre and dLocal expected to share their strategies for scaling responsible AI in Latin America.

The real power lies in what happens after the conference. According to AnitaB.org’s impact data, 89% of mentorship program participants are promoted within two years. For Uruguayan women, the global job board and resume database are game-changers: recruiters from Microsoft, Google, and Globant actively search for Latin American candidates through the platform. Conference passes start at approximately UYU 12,000 with early registration - a significant but strategic investment in career acceleration.

This isn’t a local community, but it’s a powerful tool to tune your career signal internationally. For women targeting roles at multinational companies operating in Zonamerica or looking to benchmark their skills against the global standard, AnitaB.org is the frequency that carries beyond Uruguay’s borders.

PyLadies Montevideo

PyLadies Montevideo runs on Python and purpose. The community participates in the global PyLadiesCon cycles, offering free registration for international conferences and access to a dedicated job board. Members gain speaker mentorship and Open Source Program tracks - direct pathways to contributing to real Python projects used by companies like Mercado Libre and GeneXus. According to the global PyLadiesCon announcements, these cycles are designed to amplify women's voices in open source communities worldwide.

Monthly meetups happen in coworking spaces near Avenida 18 de Julio, often featuring lightning talks from women working in AI, data engineering, and DevOps. The real action, though, lives on the Discord server, active daily with members sharing job leads, debugging help, and advice on balancing caregiving with coding careers. For women already in or entering AI/ML roles, this is one of the most practical communities in Uruguay - zero theory, all signal.

• Access to a curated job board with companies actively seeking Latin American Python talent
• Speaker mentorship that prepares you for conference talks at PyLadiesCon and beyond
• Open Source Program tracks that build portfolio contributions visible to recruiters
• A Discord community where questions get answered within hours, not days

The cost is free. The barrier to entry is clicking the join link. For women who speak Python and want a frequency that hums with real-time support, PyLadies Montevideo is the dial position that keeps broadcasting.

Universidad ORT Uruguay Scholarships

ORT Uruguay’s targeted scholarships are among the most generous in Latin America. The Beca Concursable Mujer covers 80% of tuition for women entering Electrical, Electronic, or Telecommunications Engineering. The Beca Charlotte de Grünberg goes further: full tuition plus a monthly stipend of approximately UYU 30,000 for living expenses. According to ORT’s official scholarship announcement, the application deadline for March 2026 entry is November 21, 2025.

ORT’s engineering faculty consistently ranks among the top in Uruguay, and its graduates feed directly into companies like dLocal and Globant. The scholarship application process is your first networking opportunity: previous recipients often become mentors to new cohorts, creating a self-reinforcing pipeline. For women who have been scanning for a financial frequency that actually matches their need, these scholarships deliver the clearest signal in the country.

Cuti b_IT Training Program

The 1,000 scholarships offered per cycle by Cuti’s b_IT program represent the single largest-scale entry point for women in Uruguay’s tech workforce. Run in partnership with INEFOP, the two-year IT analyst and programming courses are explicitly designed to invert the industry’s gender imbalance, and the numbers show it working: current enrollment is over 60% female - a striking reversal of the 26% national average. According to Cuti’s b_IT program details, the curriculum covers full-stack development, databases, and agile methodologies, culminating in a capstone project often sponsored by Mercado Libre or PedidosYa.

The outcomes speak directly to economic mobility. Graduates report an average starting salary of approximately UYU 50,000 per month, according to Cuti’s 2025 placement data - a figure that transforms financial independence for women entering the field. The program is free, removing the cost barrier that often silences the dial for women from lower-income backgrounds. For women in the interior who cannot commute to Montevideo daily, b_IT offers remote tracks with periodic in-person workshops in cities like Paysandú and Maldonado, ensuring geography doesn’t cut the signal.

This is the frequency for women who need structured, long-term training with a direct line to employment. One thousand scholarships per cycle means the signal is strong - you just have to apply before the static of hesitation takes over.

ANII Fondo Ida Holz

Named after the Uruguayan computer scientist who pioneered the country’s first Internet connection, ANII’s Fondo Ida Holz provides dedicated grants for female-led research projects and startups, ranging from UYU 200,000 to over UYU 1,000,000 depending on scope. This is not symbolic recognition - it’s capital that can fund a prototype, a research assistant, or the equipment needed to push a project from concept to market. According to ANII’s official program page, the fund is part of a broader push to close the gender gap in STEM leadership through targeted financial incentives.

Additional programs like Posgrados en empresas fund graduate degrees undertaken while working at a participating company - ideal for women who can’t afford full-time study but can commit to learning alongside their job. ANII also mandates gender balance on its evaluation panels and gives extra points to female-led proposals, ensuring that the people deciding which projects get funded reflect the diversity the agency aims to support. The agency publicly committed to promoting women’s participation in evaluation panels, moving beyond aspirational language into structural change.

For early-career AI researchers in Montevideo, securing an ANII grant is a strong signal that can unlock future international collaborations with institutions like MIT or Cambridge. It’s not just funding - it’s a credential that broadcasts your work at a global frequency.

Chicas en Tecnología

Chicas en Tecnología operates across Latin America but has its strongest roots in Uruguay. In 2024, the organization reached millions via social networks and hosted regional festivals with over 70 partner organizations, according to their annual impact report. Their free training programs - open to girls aged 15 to 23 - cover AI-assisted programming, robotics, and community-driven social impact projects. The emphasis on social impact is deliberate: CET doesn’t just teach code; it asks students to build tools that solve real problems in their neighborhoods, from Montevideo’s Ciudad Vieja to rural communities in the interior.

The regional scope gives Uruguayan participants a comparative edge. By connecting with peers in Buenos Aires, São Paulo, and Santiago, they benchmark their skills against the largest tech hubs in Latin America - exposure that sharpens both technical ability and professional confidence. Many alumni go on to study at ORT or join local startups like Kinzbio, proving the pipeline from training to employment is direct. The application process involves a short online form and a brief interview, with acceptance rates hovering around 60%.

For girls and young women who are still scanning - wondering if tech is their frequency, unsure where the entry point actually is - CET provides a structured, supportive environment to find out. The application is live year-round through their experiences portal, and the cost is zero. This is the dial position for those ready to prove to themselves that the signal exists.

Mujeres IT Uruguay

Founded by Lucia Bustamante, Mujeres IT Uruguay has become the premier grassroots community for women in Uruguay’s tech sector. Bustamante describes the community as “a necessary space” for women to find each other and learn through exchange. The group maintains an online directory of women in tech, hosts regular networking events at coworking spaces in Punta Carretas and Zonamerica, and runs a private Slack channel where members share job openings - many from companies like dLocal and GeneXus that value gender diversity.

“Being a volunteer fills me with joy… helping is a mutual benefit since we can also learn from others.” - Lucia Bustamante, Founder, Mujeres IT Uruguay

The community is especially active in discussions about pay negotiation, remote work rights, and the Montevideo-versus-interior job divide - topics that directly affect career trajectories but are rarely addressed in formal workplace settings. Unlike a scholarship or training program, Mujeres IT Uruguay provides the ongoing signal of peer support that sustains women through the challenges of building a tech career in a still-uneven industry.

For anyone feeling isolated in a male-dominated team - whether in a Zonamerica office or a remote role from Paysandú - this is the clearest frequency you can tune into. The cost is zero. The return is a community that knows the static you’re hearing because they heard it too.

Nucamp

Conclusion

The data is clear: 26% representation (Cuti) won’t change by itself. Programs like b_IT (60%+ female enrollment) and ORT’s Beca Charlotte de Grünberg (full tuition plus UYU 30,000/month) are actively bending the curve. The Fondo Ida Holz from ANII puts capital directly into women-led research. And communities like Mujeres IT Uruguay provide the ongoing peer support that sustains careers through the difficult middle years.

According to GlobalGiving’s survey of girls in tech initiatives across Uruguay, the most common regret among women who eventually leave tech is not asking for help sooner. Don’t let that be your story. The signal is already broadcasting - you just have to stop scanning and start listening.

Frequently Asked Questions