SheHacks comes to RMIT Melbourne on 15 July. Here’s what you’ll actually do, and why it works for women who’ve never set foot in the industry.
Overview
- Most women who could thrive in tech careers never pursue one because the industry has rarely made them feel like they were welcome to try.
- SheHacks is a complimentary full-day event at RMIT University, Naarm/Melbourne on 15 July, open to women from all backgrounds and career stages with no prior IT or startup experience needed.
- Participants explore how AI is reshaping tech careers, work through real case studies, and develop and pitch a startup concept, guided by women from RMIT’s School of Computing Technologies at every stage.
- SheHacks is part of the FemTech project, a multi-year Australian Government initiative delivered by Professionals Australia to increase women’s skilled, ongoing participation in digital and technology industries.
Most women who could thrive in tech careers never find out because the invitation never arrived.
It rarely does. According to WORK180’s 2026 What Women Want Report, 58% of women in digital and tech say they’re being judged or underestimated because of gender stereotypes, including being seen as less suited to certain roles. That message doesn’t start when women enter the workforce. For many, it starts long before. By the time they’re choosing a career direction, the idea that tech belongs to someone else is already well established.
SheHacks exists to challenge that directly.
Here’s what you’ll do on the day
On 15 July, RMIT University in Naarm/Melbourne will host a complimentary, full-day event for women who are curious about technology careers. No prior IT experience required. No startup background. All career stages welcome, whether you’re just starting out, changing direction, or returning to work after a break.
The day has a clear arc. It opens with an exploration of how AI is transforming the technology landscape and what that means for careers, giving you a grounded picture of where the industry is heading and where you could fit within it. From there, you move into real case studies, working through challenges that let you try actual tech skills in practice rather than just hear about them. The second half of the day shifts into team-based work: developing a startup concept from scratch, with mentoring and structured workshops taking you from an idea to something pitch-ready. The day ends with participants presenting what they’ve built.
Sessions are led by women from RMIT’s School of Computing Technologies. When you’re walking into unfamiliar territory, who’s leading the room matters. It changes how you see your own place in it.
Skills you get to keep
The most common barrier for women considering tech careers isn’t ability. It’s never having had a supported space to find out whether they’re suited to it, or what it actually involves.
Working through a real case study, building something from nothing, and pitching it in a room that’s on your side are experiences that shift something. Confidence isn’t built by being told you could do something. It’s built by doing it. That’s what the structure of SheHacks is designed to create, and why the format works for women at every career stage, including those who’ve spent years convincing themselves tech isn’t for them.
You’ll also leave with a network of people who were in that room with you. That’s not a small thing, particularly in an industry where who you know and who you’ve built alongside shapes how quickly you move.
Built for sustainable change
SheHacks is part of the FemTech project, a multi-year Australian Government initiative delivered by Professionals Australia and funded through the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, aimed at increasing women’s skilled, ongoing participation in digital and technology industries.
Recently, we wrote about the Leading for a Safer Tech Sector webinar series, a complimentary four-part program for employers and HR and DEI professionals working in tech. That series focuses on the conditions women are navigating inside workplaces. SheHacks focuses on the women who haven’t walked through the door yet. Both are part of what the FemTech project is trying to shift.
Event details
- Date: 15 July 2026
- Location: RMIT University, Naarm/Melbourne
- Cost: Complimentary
- Open to women from all backgrounds and career stages. No prior IT or startup experience needed.
A second SheHacks event will be announced later in the year.
If you’re looking for employers in the tech sector who are already committed to supporting women’s careers, explore WORK180’s endorsed tech employers to find organisations building workplaces worth joining.
SheHacks is delivered by Professionals Australia and RMIT University as part of the FemTech project, funded through the Australian Government’s Building Women’s Careers Program.
