Ladies That UX
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| Ladies That UX | |
|---|---|
| Name | Ladies That UX |
| Type | Professional network |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Founder | Rosaria Cirillo |
| Location | Global |
| Services | Networking, mentorship, events, education |
Ladies That UX is an international professional network for women and gender-diverse people working in user experience design, product design, interaction design, service design, and related fields. Founded in 2012, the organization grew from a local meetup into a global community with chapters in multiple cities, coordinating events, mentorship programs, and partnerships with industry organizations. Its activities intersect with professional bodies, conferences, design studios, technology companies, and academic institutions.
History
The group originated when Rosaria Cirillo organized meetups that connected practitioners from London, New York City, San Francisco, Toronto, and Vancouver with independent designers, startups, and consultants. Early development paralleled growth in conferences such as UX London, CHI (conference), Interaction (IxDA), UXPA International, and collaborations with organizations like AIGA, Design Council (United Kingdom), and IDEO. As chapters formed, the network engaged with employers including Google, Microsoft, Facebook, IBM, and Amazon (company), while contributors published in venues such as Smashing Magazine, Medium (website), and The Guardian. The timeline includes volunteer-led expansions aligned with events like World Usability Day and partnerships with training providers such as General Assembly and Coursera.
Mission and Activities
The network’s mission emphasizes professional development, visibility, and inclusivity within design professions, working alongside initiatives by Women Who Code, Girls Who Code, She++, AnitaB.org, and Girl Develop It. Activities include mentorship schemes similar to programs at Mozilla Foundation, career workshops comparable to those at LinkedIn, and speaker series like those seen at TED Conferences. The organization collaborates with universities such as University College London, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and University of Toronto to promote pathways into interaction design and human–computer interaction disciplines. Partnerships have extended to incubators and accelerators including Y Combinator and Techstars.
Chapters and Global Presence
Chapters span major metropolitan areas and tech hubs including London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore, Bangalore, Birmingham (United Kingdom), Glasgow, Manchester, Dublin (city), Barcelona, and Stockholm. Local chapters coordinate with event venues such as Google Campus, WeWork, Impact Hub, and cultural institutions like The Barbican Centre and Tate Modern. Regional growth has mirrored industry shifts documented at conferences such as SXSW, Web Summit, DICE Summit, and The Next Web.
Events and Programs
Regular programming includes speaker nights, portfolio reviews, design critiques, hackathons, workshops, and mentorship circles. Speakers have included practitioners and leaders from IDEO, Fjord, Airbnb, Spotify, Dropbox, Salesforce, and Atlassian, and have referenced research from labs like Nielsen Norman Group, Microsoft Research, IBM Research, and Google Research. Events often align with broader observances such as International Women's Day, Ada Lovelace Day, and World Usability Day, and have featured panels influenced by publications from Harvard Business Review, Wired, and MIT Technology Review. Programs also mirror accelerator-style cohorts seen at 500 Startups and university-run bootcamps at General Assembly.
Membership and Community
Membership is largely volunteer-driven and includes designers, researchers, product managers, content strategists, accessibility specialists, and academics affiliated with institutions like RIBA, Royal College of Art, Pratt Institute, and Parsons School of Design. Community governance borrows from nonprofit and meetup traditions linked to groups such as Meetup (service), Eventbrite, and VolunteerMatch. Networking bridges corporate and freelance sectors involving companies like Accenture, Deloitte, PwC, and boutique studios such as Pentagram and Frog Design. Mentorship and career services reflect models used by organizations like The Design Council and Council of Fashion Designers of America.
Impact and Recognition
The network’s influence appears in career advancement metrics reported by partners and in visibility initiatives that have been acknowledged at industry awards and festivals including D&AD Awards, Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Design Museum (London), and regional design awards. Media coverage has appeared in outlets such as The Guardian, BBC News, The New York Times, The Verge, and Fast Company. Collaborations with diversity and inclusion efforts echo programs by Equal Rights Trust and UN Women while scholarship and sponsorship initiatives have paralleled funding models used by Open Society Foundations and corporate diversity programs at Apple Inc. and Intel.