WiMLDS Starter Kit for New Chapters

Overview of WiMLDS

Mission: Our mission is to support and promote women and gender minorities who are practicing, studying or are interested in the fields of machine learning and data science.

We create opportunities for members to engage in technical and professional conversations in a positive, supportive environment by hosting talks by women and gender minority individuals working in data science or machine learning, as well as hosting technical workshops, networking events and hackathons. We are inclusive to anyone who supports our cause regardless of gender identity or technical background. However, in support of our mission, priority for certain events and opportunities will be given to women and gender minorities.

The term "women and gender minorities" is inclusive of women (trans and cis), trans-men, and persons who are non-binary, genderqueer, genderfluid, agender, intersex, and all other minority genders.

Organizational Structure & Legal Entities

WiMLDS is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation in New York, NY, USA. The organization started in San Francisco, California in 2013 (with WiMLDS Bay Area) and we now have chapters all over the world.

Agreements

• Leadership
  Leadership roles within WiMLDS chapters, particularly organizer or co-organizer roles, are to be held by women and gender minorities.
• Accessibility
  Provision of FREE events based on a combination of volunteering and funding/sponsorship where available.
• No commercial agenda
  Chapters are started by individuals, not by companies. Chapters can partner with companies for sponsorship in the form of venue space, food or other supplies. Chapters and events may not be ‘used’ by a corporation/as a commercial vehicle for private aims. This also means that speakers cannot give talks about paid products/services, even if they don't work at the company offering the product/service.

Terms

• Event frequency
  Organizers agree to organize at least one event every six months (though we encourage your chapter to have at least one event every 1-3 months).

WiMLDS Web Presence

• Website: https://wimlds.org
• E-mail: info [at] wimlds [dot] org
• @wimlds Twitter and a list of chapter Twitter accounts
• Slack (exclusive to women & gender minorities): http://wimlds.slack.com. To join, send an email to slack@wimlds.org introducing yourself.
• GitHub: http://github.com/wimlds
• YouTube
• Facebook Group
• LinkedIn Organization
• LinkedIn Group

Getting started

More information can be found on the wiki:

• List of current chapters
• Starting a new chapter
• Organizing events
• Code of Conduct
  • English version
  • Spanish version
• Resources
• Accessing your WiMLDS email address

Wiki link