FAQs

I wish there was an informal Ada’s List meetup near me, I feel like I’m missing out on all the fun in London. How can I make this happen?

Ada’s List is a democratic community. We run the group in our spare time and as such we strongly believe that where members would like to get together outside or inside of London, they should have full freedom to do this by themselves. Here’s how:

– Please confirm a venue, time and date in the city of your choice

– Email details to the list when you’re ready, clearly specifying the city in your email title

– Get together with fellow Ada’s Listers!

If you want to make sure that the date you’re looking at doesn’t clash with something else, read the archives to check or reach out to any of the Ada’s List team. We’re happy to provide guidance. 

I’m an Ada’s List member from London and I’d like to partner with you to organise an event. How do I go about this?

Awesome! We fully support our members organizing events and inviting the list.

Our members are usually interested in topics relating (but not limited) to gender, work culture, women in tech, innovation, public policy, the future of work, government and businesses. As background, the events we have partnered with other people on have so far included:

•  300 Seconds, on an event for inexperienced female public speakers, with the objective of making more women more confident

•  Undercurrent New York (who were visiting London), on an event about gender and work culture, with the objective of shaping the company of the future

•  Ann Friedman, (also on a visit to London from the US) who came to one of our coffee meetups to talk to us about women in tech, Shine Theory and more

•  Martha Lane Fox, on an event about democracy, capital and digital infrastructure nationally and internationally, with the objective of shaping a progressive British government and institutions

• Mel Exon, Jemima Kiss, Jill Green and Kati Price on parenthood and what they wish they’d known when they started their families. 

• Hillary Hartley (18F), Lindsey Keighley (GOV.UK), Leisa Reichelt + Emma Stace (GDS) and Haley van Dyck (USDS) on change at scale and institutional reform 

If you have an idea for an event, we will direct you to our Events committee who will help us take things further if relevant. As a first step, please contact Anjali Ramachandran, whose details you will have via the platform, with answers to the following questions:

•  What kind of event are you thinking of: a talk, an open conversation with the community, a debate, or something else? If a talk or conversation, would it hinge on one or two personalities – and if so who are they? 

•  What topic would you like to focus on? Why do you think it would be relevant to the group?

•  What date & time are you thinking of holding the event? Is it dependent on someone’s availability?

•  Do you have a venue already?

•  Do you have a budget to cover refreshments? 

In the case of venues, we might be able to help, but Ada’s List does not help with event budgets. 

I’m not an Ada’s List member but I’m interested in partnering with you for an event. How do I go about this?

We strongly advise that you or one of your team sign up as members of the list, so you become familiar with the tone of conversation and the kind of things we discuss. This will help you organise an event that is more meaningful and valuable both for our audience and you. All the events we’ve been part of so far have come about because of our members’ involvement with the list. 

I’ve started a conversation about a specific event or topic and some Ada’s Listers want to continue the conversation. How can I do this so that I don’t overwhelm people’s inboxes?

Good question, thanks for checking! With our shift to our new tech platform, we are now able to post messages in specific sub-groups to make sure they are relevant. If you live in New York, please use #nyc, if you’re in London use #london. We also have other sub-groups based on areas of interest (like #tech, #poc, #marcomms, #jobs, #random). Please make sure you post only in the relevant group to avoid #inboxoverload (this is a REAL problem!). You can also direct message specific individuals by using the Ada’s List Mobilize platform to search for them in the directory. 

I’m an Ada’s List member and I find the frequency of emails a bit overwhelming. How can I reduce the number of emails I get?

You can do this yourself by selecting the ‘daily digest’ option within your Mobilize settings. 

I don’t live in the UK but I really want to be a part of the list. Can I?

Yes! We are global in reach and even have specific sub-groups for those in cities with especially huge member populations, like London and New York. We may add more sub-groups when applicable but in the meantime most of our conversations happen on the Global group. 

I’m a man – can I join Ada’s List?

This might seem a strange thing to include in our FAQ’s but we have had more than one male apply to join!

Ada’s List is a WOMEN-ONLY group and we will NOT be able to approve requests from men to join the list. Having said that, we appreciate and understand that there are a growing number of men (you rock!) who want to support and promote the cause of women in tech, and diversity in tech in general. We totally believe that we need you guys on our side! While we can’t add you to Ada’s List, some of our public events are open to both men and women – you are more than welcome to attend those. Please keep an eye out on Twitter for announcements of these @adaslist. And you can help by asking your female colleagues to join the list: adaslist.co/join