Chicago - GET Cities

Why Chicago?

We’re excited to work in a city that already has the ethos to see women in tech soar and offers a diverse talent pool that continues to gain momentum. We look forward to convening and elevating Chicago’s already robust efforts toward gender equity in tech, creating an actionable example for cities around the country.

Tech-related degree completions in Chicago grew by ~37% from 2012 to 2017.

Since 2013, Chicago’s tech talent pool has grown 10.5%, making it the sixth largest tech market in the country.

In 2018, 8.3% of venture investments occurred in the Midwest- a number that continues to increase.

Tech powerhouses Uber, Salesforce, Google, Apple, Hewlett Packard, IBM, LinkedIn, and Oracle all have a Chicago office with ~1,000 or more employees.

Our Local Collaborators

Universities represent one of the most important pipelines of tech talent for most companies–both for internships and full-time employment. Working with Break Through Tech to increase the number and percentage of women studying and graduating with relevant tech degrees, we expect to have a measurable impact on the number and percentage of women being hired in tech in our target cities.

Our academic partner for GET Chicago is the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)—an ethnically and economically diverse research powerhouse that is already driving increased interest in computer science.

Since 2005, their computer science department has undergone continuous student growth, from 187 undergraduate students in fall 2005 to 1,415 students today.

With 33,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, UIC is Chicago’s largest university.

With 49% of Chicago college graduates staying local after graduation, UIC grads have major potential to shape Chicago’s tech culture and economy.

Future Collaborators

GET Chicago is currently forming relationships with influential local organizations working to build on, support and scale the strong inclusivity work already being done in Chicago.

GET Chicago is looking to partner with organizations, agencies, companies and universities that are interested in and committed to closing the gender gap in tech. Whether it’s your organization’s primary focus or something you just really care about—we want to work with you.