Lola Odelola facts for kids

Lola Odelola is a British software engineer and a champion for fairness in the technology world. She is famous for starting Blackgirl.tech, a group that helps Black girls, non-binary people, and women learn about and explore technology. Her goal is to make the tech industry more welcoming and diverse for everyone.

Lola's Journey into Tech

In 2011, Lola Odelola started studying English Literature and Creative Writing at Kingston University. She finished her degree in 2013. After graduating, she was looking for a job. She wanted to create a website to show off her writing.

However, she couldn't afford to pay someone to build it. So, Lola decided to teach herself how to code. While building her own website, she discovered how much she loved coding. This led her to change her career path. She then joined a special coding training program.

Starting Blackgirl.tech

After her tech training, Lola found it hard to get a job in London. She noticed that many tech companies talked about "diversity." But often, Black women were not included in these discussions. Because of this, Lola decided to create Blackgirl.tech in 2014.

It was a safe place for Black girls and women to learn about technology. In 2016, she told Buzzfeed, "I grew up in an area where most kids were Black. The kids at my school were Black too." She added, "I want to help introduce Black girls to the world of tech."

By 2016, Blackgirl.tech had a dedicated team. They held at least one workshop every month. These workshops taught different coding languages. Later, Blackgirl.tech received money from 38 Degrees. This funding helped them rent a screen at RichMix. They hosted a private showing of the movie Hidden Figures.

The next year, they showed the movie Black Panther. 38 Degrees gave them more funding. This allowed Blackgirl.tech to start their scholarship program. Blackgirl.tech closed in 2019. Over five years, they helped and hosted events for more than 300 Black women, girls, and non-binary people.

Her Latest Work

In 2018, Lola was asked to speak on BBC Inside Science. She talked about why there aren't enough different kinds of people in the tech industry. Lola also creates and hosts a podcast called 'Lost in the Source'. On her podcast, she shares her experiences in tech. She also explains tricky tech ideas in a simple way. Today, she works as a Core Support Engineer at Heroku. This means she helps keep important systems running smoothly.

Awards and Recognition

Lola Odelola has received many awards for her important work.

• In 2016, Code First: Girls named her one of the top UK women in tech under 30.
• In 2018, she was recognized as an inspiring woman in tech. The Department for Work and Pensions listed her as a female role model.
• In 2019, Computerworld named her one of the most inspiring Black women in UK technology. This was for her work with Blackgirl.tech and her help with Project Ada.
• Tech Nation also listed her as one of the "50 most inspiring, prominent, and influential Black voices in UK tech."