Imagine a tech world where everyone, regardless of gender or background, has an equal chance to thrive. This vision drives the Coding Girls and WomenTech Global Foundation, dedicated to closing the gender gap in technology. Our mission is “to empower girls to get started in coding and to increase the number of women in technology, leadership and entrepreneurship”. We are a global community that connects diverse talent with companies that put diversity first, providing an environment of belonging. For years, our initiatives have been sparking change, empowering thousands of women through events, partnering with companies to foster diversity, and amplifying women’s voices via global summits and local events.
Now, we are taking our commitment a step further with an ambitious new project: DevOps Academy. In this blog post, we introduce the DevOps Academy project and its mission. This deep dive is for you, whether you’re an aspiring DevOps learner, a current practitioner, or an industry ally. We’ll explore why DevOps is the focus right now, what barriers women face in this field, and how DevOps Academy plans to break those barriers. By the end, we hope you’ll be as excited as we are to join the movement toward a more inclusive tech industry.
Why DevOps, Why Now?
DevOps is everywhere in today’s tech landscape, it’s the engine behind rapid software delivery and reliable IT operations. As organizations worldwide adopt cloud services and agile practices, DevOps skills are in huge demand. The numbers tell the story: the DevOps market exceeded $4 billion in 2019 and is growing at ~20% annually. Yet there’s a major talent shortage, over 60% of IT leaders struggle to find qualified DevOps professionals. In short, if ever there was a time to train new DevOps talent, it’s now.
But there’s another side to this story: Who gets to fill these in-demand roles? Right now, access to DevOps careers is not equally distributed. Women and other underrepresented groups still face significant hurdles entering IT. In Europe, only about 19% of ICT specialists are female, a figure that has barely budged in recent years. In specialized fields like DevOps and cloud engineering, women make up an even smaller fraction (one study found women at under 10% of DevOps practitioners). This imbalance isn’t just a statistic; it represents countless missed opportunities and untapped potential. It also exacerbates the tech talent gap. Simply put, we can’t meet the demand for DevOps experts if we continue to draw from only half the population.
Why aren’t more women entering DevOps? One reason is the persistent notion that a DevOps engineer must have a traditional computer science degree or years of coding experience. This “prevailing belief…that DevOps professionals should possess a degree in computer science…and a robust IT background” means anyone without those credentials, including many women, career-changers, or those from non-traditional paths, is often discouraged from even trying. Training opportunities in DevOps have historically been exceedingly limited, with high barriers to entry especially for newcomers and females without a technical education. For someone juggling work or family, the idea of going back for a costly, years-long degree just to break into DevOps can be a non-starter. Clearly, there is a need for a new approach, one that opens the doors of DevOps to a broader, more inclusive audience.
This is where the DevOps Academy comes in. The project emerged “in response to these challenges and opportunities,” recognizing that modern DevOps practices must be inclusive and accessible. Its goal is to help close the gender gap in tech by offering an innovative training pathway into DevOps for those who’ve been left on the sidelines. In the next sections, we’ll look at the specific barriers women face in DevOps and how the Academy intends to address them head-on.
Barriers to Inclusion in DevOps
Despite growing awareness, women in DevOps still encounter systemic barriers that can hinder their entry and growth in the field. Here are some of the key challenges identified by our research and experience:
- Workplace Bias and “Bro Culture”: Tech teams are often male-dominated, and many women report feeling unwelcome or underestimated. A “bro culture” still persists in some DevOps environments, an unofficial boys’ club with exclusionary attitudes and stereotypes. In a recent survey by WomenTech Network, 72% of women in tech reported experiencing this kind of male-centric culture at work. Women are frequently talked over in meetings or not taken as seriously as their male counterparts. These daily microaggressions and biases, whether conscious or not, chip away at confidence and create an environment where women feel they don’t belong.
- Limited Mentorship and Networks: In any career, mentorship and professional networks are crucial for growth, but they’re often harder to come by for women in DevOps. With far fewer women in the field, there are fewer natural mentorship opportunities and role models. Many women lack access to the informal networks (“the boys’ club”) through which their male peers share opportunities and advice. Indeed, 58% of women in one survey said they did not have equal access to professional networking compared to men. This networking gap can leave women without advocates to champion their advancement or peers to learn from, making it tougher to navigate career opportunities in DevOps.
- Rigid Pathways and Learning Barriers: Traditional routes into DevOps often aren’t designed with diverse adults in mind. Many training programs assume a computer science background or require full-time commitment that working professionals or parents can’t manage. This lack of flexible, beginner-friendly training paths disproportionately affects women (who still shoulder the majority of family care responsibilities in many cases). When training options are inflexible, costly, or simply scarce, women trying to pivot into tech can hit a wall. As our project’s needs analysis found, “training opportunities in this field are exceedingly limited, with high barriers to entry especially for newcomers and females…without a technical background.” Without deliberate support, those who didn’t start as tech geeks in college are too often left behind.
- Confidence Gap and Stereotypes: Another subtle barrier is the imposter syndrome that many women in tech report experiencing. Being one of the only women on a DevOps team, or never seeing women in leadership, can feed self-doubt. Women sometimes hesitate to apply for roles or speak up, having internalized societal stereotypes about tech being a “male” domain. This isn’t a lack of ability, but a lack of encouragement and representation. Over time, such confidence gaps can discourage women from pursuing advanced technical roles like DevOps. Furthermore, stereotypes from peers or managers (e.g. assumptions that women are less technical) can create a self-fulfilling prophecy, where women aren’t given the same challenging assignments that lead to growth.
- Work-Life Balance Challenges: DevOps can be demanding, think late-night deployments or being on-call to fix urgent issues. Rigid work cultures that expect 24/7 availability can clash with personal responsibilities. This affects many people, but studies show it especially impacts women, who more often juggle caregiving roles. Nearly half of women tech leaders say flexible work arrangements are a top priority for themSharepointSharepoint. If employers don’t support work-life balance (like parental leave or flexible hours), women may opt out of or stall their tech careers. The pandemic’s shift to remote work helped somewhat, but flexibility remains a key factor in retaining diverse talent.
It’s important to stress that none of these barriers are women’s shortcomings, they are systemic challenges that the industry needs to address. And that’s exactly what DevOps Academy aims to do. By understanding these pain points, bias, lack of mentorship, inflexible training, and more, the project has been designed from the ground up to tackle them, creating a smoother path into DevOps for women and other underrepresented adults.
How the DevOps Academy Changes the Game
DevOps Academy is built to be a game-changer, an inclusive, innovative program that actively lowers or removes the barriers we just discussed. How will it achieve that? Let’s look at the key features of the Academy and how each one is designed to empower learners and make DevOps more accessible than ever:
- Beginner-Friendly and Inclusive by Design: From day one, DevOps Academy is meant for beginners, including those with no tech background at all. You won’t need a computer science degree or years of coding experience to start. In fact, the project’s ambition is to “pioneer a groundbreaking…course dedicated to training future DevOps professionals entirely from scratch”. The curriculum begins with fundamentals and builds up gradually, ensuring that learners who are new to IT can follow along. Our training concept is inclusive and tailored for underrepresented groups, “ensuring that no one is excluded from pursuing a career in the IT sector”. Whether you’re a woman returning to work, a recent graduate from a non-tech field, or a career-changer in your 30s or 40s, the Academy will meet you where you are. Crucially, we also integrate soft skills and confidence-building into the training, not just hardcore tech knowledge. This means learners gain not only DevOps technical skills but also communication, teamwork, and agile mindsets, all the tools needed to thrive in real workplaces. By being welcoming to novices and valuing diverse skills, the Academy lowers the intimidation factor that keeps many people out.
- Hands-On, Sustainable Learning: This isn’t your typical lecture-and-exam course. DevOps Academy emphasizes practical, hands-on learning with real-world projects. Training content is structured in an interactive way (think Scrum/Kanban style modules, user stories, and lab exercises) that encourages learning by doing. Participants will get to practice with the same tools and scenarios they’ll encounter on the job, from setting up CI/CD pipelines to managing cloud deployments. And here’s something innovative: the curriculum weaves in Sustainable DevOps practices, aligning with the latest industry focus on green IT. That means students learn not only how to deploy software, but how to do so efficiently, optimizing energy use and reducing environmental impact. By combining technical excellence with sustainability, the Academy ensures learners are ahead of the curve. It’s practical training with a purpose, designed to produce capable DevOps professionals who are mindful of their social and environmental footprint.
- Built-In Mentorship and Support Network: Remember the mentorship gap we discussed? DevOps Academy is directly addressing it by embedding mentorship and community support into the program. Each learner will have guidance from dedicated trainers and coaches who “guide students in their one-year program”. In addition, the project includes a mentorship program specifically for female participants. This means women learners can connect with experienced women in tech, industry leaders, senior engineers, and role modelsi, for advice and encouragement. By pairing learners with mentors, we aim to recreate the kind of support network that traditional “boys’ club” networking provides, but in a much more inclusive way. As the project plan describes, DevOps Academy “will provide a mentorship program for females, and advocate for change and equality in the tech industry”. The mentorship isn’t just a nice add-on; it’s a core part of the Academy’s strategy to boost confidence, combat isolation, and help learners navigate their early careers. Alongside formal mentorship, participants will be part of a cohort, a supportive peer community spread across different countries but connected by the Academy’s platform and events. No one goes it alone; by the end of the journey, learners will have built a professional network that lasts far beyond the course.
- Flexible, Accessible Learning Paths: DevOps Academy is free and accessible to the target groups (thanks to co-funding by the EU’s Erasmus+ program), removing financial barriers for learners. The training is delivered through a user-friendly e-learning platform, allowing participants to access modules from anywhere and fit learning into their schedules. Content will be available in multiple languages (reflecting the partnership’s countries: Portugal, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria, Belgium, Austria), so English fluency isn’t a barrier. The program is also modular, learners can progress step by step, which is ideal for adults who might be studying part-time alongside jobs or family duties. By offering flexible hours and remote learning, the Academy acknowledges that adult learners need options. This flexibility is key to making DevOps education work for women who may need to balance other responsibilities. The project also plans to launch an outreach campaign to recruit diverse learners, emphasizing that this program is for them. As noted in our plans, “targeted promotional campaigns will…emphasize the engagement of underrepresented groups, with a particular focus on increasing female participation.” In short, everything from the mode of delivery to the messaging is geared toward lowering the threshold to participate, while adhering to the highest standards and newest trends. The door is open, walk on in!
- Culture Change and Advocacy: Beyond training individuals, DevOps Academy aspires to drive a broader culture shift in tech. It’s not just about skilling up women; it’s about changing the environment they will enter. The project includes awareness-raising activities to highlight the value of diversity in DevOps and to challenge bias. Partners will work with employers and the tech community to promote inclusive practices. The idea is to create a ripple effect: as Academy graduates move into industry, they carry forward a culture of inclusion, and as companies engage with the project, they start to reassess their own team cultures. The Academy’s holistic approach “includes not only skill development but also efforts to reshape the industry culture for a more inclusive and gender-equal future”. In practical terms, this could mean incorporating diversity and allyship workshops, showcasing success stories of women in DevOps, and encouraging male allies to be part of the solution. When learners see a community rooting for their success and advocating for equity, it sends a powerful message: you belong here, and we’re going to make tech better together.
Taken together, these features make DevOps Academy a unique offering. It’s not just another online course. It’s a comprehensive program, funded by the European Union, backed by research, and crafted by a consortium of international partners, all aimed at one outcome: more women and underrepresented people thriving in DevOps careers. By addressing technical skills and the surrounding support system, the Academy changes the game from multiple angles. It doesn’t merely help individuals navigate a difficult system; it strives to transform the system itself into one that’s more welcoming.
The DevOps Academy Project: Goals and Structure
So, what exactly is DevOps Academy as a project, and how is it organized? Here’s a quick overview:
An International Partnership: DevOps Academy is a 33-month Erasmus+ cooperation project bringing together six organizations from across Europe (Portugal, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria, Belgium, and Austria). Each partner contributes expertise – from vocational training and research to community outreach and industry connections. This diverse consortium shares “a common mission to promote equal access to careers in DevOps by offering high-quality and inclusive DevOps training, targeting mainly females and disadvantaged categories”. In other words, everyone involved is passionate about gender equity in tech and is pooling resources to make this initiative a success. The project is co-funded by the European Union, which underscores both its credibility and its alignment with broader European goals (like improving digital skills and inclusion).
Goals and Ambition: At its core, DevOps Academy aims to democratize access to DevOps education and foster diversity in the IT workforce. The overarching goal is to reduce skills gaps and open up digital career pathways for adults who have been left behind in the tech boom. That includes not only women, but also other groups underrepresented in tech (for example, migrants, job seekers, or those from non-tech fields). By focusing on sustainable DevOps (integrating green IT) and inclusion, the project supports the EU’s dual priority of digital advancement and equal opportunity. It even contributes to global Sustainable Development Goals like SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 8 (Decent Work). The ambition is not just to run a one-time course, but to create a scalable model for inclusive tech education that could be replicated elsewhere. A Transferability Guide will be produced so that other organizations and regions can learn from this project and perhaps launch their own versions of DevOps Academy in the future. This way, the impact can extend well beyond the initial partnership.
Project Structure – From Research to Action: The DevOps Academy project is structured in phases to systematically tackle the challenge:
- Phase 1: Research & Design – Before rolling out training, the project is conducting thorough research on the barriers women face in DevOps (the very issues we outlined earlier). This involves literature reviews, surveys, and interviews across partner countries. The findings from this “detailed analysis of the main barriers” will directly inform how the training is designed. In parallel, the team is developing a Competence Framework for Sustainable DevOps – essentially a map of the skills and knowledge a DevOps professional needs (with a sustainability angle). Using the research and competence framework, the consortium will design an inclusive training curriculum and materials. The outcome of Phase 1 is a well-founded training program blueprint that addresses real needs and gaps.
- Phase 2: Development & Pilot Training – Next comes building the actual Academy platform and content, and then testing it in the real world. The project will create all training modules (basic DevOps plus specializations in Cloud, CI/CD, or Automation). Trainers (instructors) will be onboarded and trained. Then the Academy will launch its pilot course: the first cohort of learners (our target is around 50 students across the six countries) will be recruited and enrolled in the DevOps Academy program. Over a planned period, these participants will go through the curriculum with guidance from trainers and mentors. This is where the rubber meets the road, we’ll see the inclusive training model in action, gather feedback, and track the learners’ progress. The pilot isn’t just about teaching; it’s also a learning experience for the project itself, allowing us to refine the content and support based on what works best for the students.
- Phase 3: Evaluation & Wider Impact – After the pilot, the project will evaluate outcomes: How many participants completed the program? Did they gain the skills and confidence intended? How effective were the mentorship components? This assessment phase will lead to improvements and finalization of the training toolkit. Crucially, Phase 3 is also about dissemination and sustainability – sharing results with the world and embedding the Academy’s legacy. This includes publishing the training materials as open resources, producing the Transferability Guide mentioned earlier, and running awareness campaigns. Partners will host events (locally and online) to showcase success stories – for instance, a woman who transitioned from zero tech experience to a DevOps role thanks to the Academy. By the end of the 33 months, the goal is to have not only a group of newly skilled DevOps professionals, but also a proven model and a momentum for continuing the Academy (or inspiring similar efforts) beyond the project’s lifespan.
Throughout all these phases, quality and inclusion remain the watchwords. The team is continuously seeking feedback from participants and stakeholders to ensure the project meets its objectives. And as an Erasmus+ initiative, DevOps Academy adheres to rigorous standards in educational content development, collaboration, and impact measurement. In practical terms, this means we are carefully documenting lessons learned, and aligning with European frameworks. The multi-phase approach ensures that the Academy is grounded in evidence, well-executed, and geared for long-term success.
What’s truly exciting is how this project is more than the sum of its parts. It’s research, education, mentorship, community-building, and advocacy all wrapped together, a holistic push to break the status quo.
Join the Movement
The DevOps Academy project is more than a course – it’s a call to action. It’s part of a larger movement to bring diversity to tech, and you can be a part of it. As the Academy gears up to launch, here are a few ways to get involved or show your support:
- Aspiring Learners: Does a career in DevOps intrigue you, but you’ve felt held back by lack of experience or confidence? This is your opportunity. The DevOps Academy is tailor-made for women and newcomers who are eager to learn in a supportive environment. Keep an eye out for our recruitment announcements and don’t hesitate to apply. We welcome you – whether you’re 18 or 48 – to start your DevOps journey with us. No prior IT experience required, just bring your curiosity and determination.
- Mentors and Allies: Are you a DevOps professional or an experienced IT practitioner? Join us as a mentor or guest speaker! Your insights could make a world of difference to someone beginning their career. By mentoring through WomenTech’s programs (which the Academy will leverage), you’ll help shape the next generation of female DevOps engineers and show that tech’s future is inclusive. Even if you’re not in a formal mentor role, you can still champion this cause – spread the word about DevOps Academy in your networks, and advocate for diversity and inclusion in your own workplace.
- Employers and Educators: The Academy isn’t just training individuals in a vacuum; it’s creating talent ready to enter the workforce. If you’re a company looking for fresh DevOps talent, consider partnering with us – for example, by offering internship spots or by simply committing to give our graduates a fair shot in your hiring process. Employers who engage with initiatives like this send a strong message that diversity matters. Educators and community organizations can also collaborate by referring candidates or adopting parts of our inclusive curriculum. Ultimately, the Academy model is meant to be shared (our Transferability Guide will be publicly available), so let’s replicate and scale up what works.
- Everyone: Perhaps you’re not directly in tech, but you care about equality and empowerment. You can still be an advocate. Support programs that uplift underrepresented groups. Celebrate the achievements of women in STEM. Challenge stereotypes when you encounter them (“Yes, women do excel in DevOps!”). By changing minds, we change the culture. And consider this: the DevOps Academy project is co-funded by the EU Erasmus+ Programme – which means it carries a broader mission of promoting lifelong learning, inclusion, and solidarity across borders. When you support or talk about this project, you’re contributing to a global awareness campaign for diversity in IT. Together, we’re not just helping individual women; we’re reshaping the narrative of who can succeed in tech.
Join the movement on social media (LinkedIn / Instagram) and at events. Follow updates from WomenTech Network and Coding Girls – there will be hackathons, webinars, perhaps even features at the Women in Tech Global Conference showcasing the Academy’s journey. Share our stories, or even your own story of overcoming barriers. Each voice adds momentum to the cause.
We invite you to walk this path with us. Whether as a student, mentor, partner, or advocate, you have a role to play in making tech more inclusive. As one team, let’s challenge the status quo and prove that diversity is our strength. The future of DevOps can, and will, include all of us, and it starts now with initiatives like DevOps Academy.
Are you ready to be part of the change? Join us, and let’s build a future where the DevOps world is as diverse and dynamic as the solutions it creates. Together, we’ll ensure that when it comes to opportunities in tech, no one is left behind.
Let’s break those barriers, and do it DevOps style: collaboratively, continuously, and boldly. 🚀👩💻🤝