Created on June 28, 2014, Unicorns in Tech is turning 4 years old this year! To celebrate this event, let’s look back at the Unicorns in Tech history, successes and foresee what the future will bring.
Bringing together the LGBT+ community and the tech world, Unicorns in Tech promotes diversity in workplaces. Started as a networking event for LGBT and straight allies, Unicorns in Tech grew over the years and currently gathers more than 2,800 international members.
With monthly get-togethers organised throughout the tech scene in Berlin, the event joins tech talks, pitches and networking in a family atmosphere. “It is important for us to bring diversity in the IT field,” says Stuart Cameron, founder of the Unicorns in Tech, “The tech world is not necessarily as open as one could imagine, and bringing visibility to LGBT and to women for those positions is a step in the right direction.” With hosting partners such as Project A, Bayer and Google, Unicorns in Tech appeals to more and more companies, who are seeing the potential to attract new talents and more diversity to their company.
As a global tech community for LGBT and straight allies, Unicorns in Tech now expands out of Berlin with events organised in Munich, but also in Amsterdam and Tel-Aviv for example. “The ambition is now to keep on growing and make the Unicorn in Tech movement more international, more diverse and more connected.”
To achieve this goal, a new platform is coming up by the end of the year under the name “Unicorns in Tech Academy”. Similarly to the events, the platform will bring together the whole tech community and create a network where developers, creatives and marketers, seniors or students, can all interact and share their knowledge with each other. The goal of the Academy will be to develop the skills and knowledge of the community members.
“Four years since the Unicorns adventure started and there is still so much to do. With the launch of the Academy and the new get-togethers organised outside of Berlin, we give the community the frame for a stronger, more innovative and more diverse tech world.”
The Unicorns in tech is organised by UHLALA, a Berlin-based company founded in 2009 by Stuart Cameron. Supporting women in leadership position and a better LGBT diversity in business and tech firms, the company is at the origin of several projects such as the Sticks & Stones – LGBT Job Fair, RAHM – the LGBT Leadership Contest and community, and PANDA – the Women leadership contest.