Shameless plug time. Catherine Devlin, myself, IndyPy, the Boston Python Workshop folks, Indiana LinuxFest, and a few others are getting together next month to host the Indianapolis Python Workshop for women and their friends: A hands-on, genuine beginners' introduction to computer programming.
It's from April 13-14 and is a no-cost event. Go to https://openhatch.org/wiki/Indianapolis_Python_Workshop for the full details and to RSVP.
Catherine said it best:
Our goal is to widen and diversify the computer programming community with outreach events that overcome the technical and social barriers that hold too many people back from learning to program. Basic programming skills are so empowering and useful that we think everyone should have them, whether those skills lead to a career, a new hobby, an occasional handy trick, or just a deeper understanding of the computers that surround us. We'll borrow the curriculum - and some of the teachers! - from the famously successful Boston Python Workshop, which has already brought programming skills to dozens of women and their friends.
Some people have asked what "women and their friends" means. It's simple; all women are welcome, and men are welcome as guests of women who are attending (you can calculate the gender ratio; see this talk by Jessica and Asheesh for the rationale). If you already know Python, we'd love to have you come and help teach; we're located right in the middle of Indiana LinuxFest in downtown Indianapolis
I believe past workshops have included librarians, teachers, and non-engineering members of software and technical companies who wondered what their co-workers were doing all day; we're also hoping some local high school students will join us. Please spread the word to people in the area you think would like to know about this event; we'd particularly love to reach groups of women who might be curious about programming but may not have had opportunities to play with it in the past. It should be a blast!