R-Ladies

What R-Ladies does

RLadies+ is a worldwide nonprofit organization promoting gender diversity in the R programming and data-science community, registered as a 501(c)(3) under the legal name R-Ladies Global in California. Founded in October 2012 by Gabriela de Queiroz in San Francisco, the organization operates as a decentralized, volunteer-run network of 200+ chapters across 60+ countries with 100,000+ members, delivering meetups, workshops, tutorials, and mentorship programs for cis and trans women, trans men, non-binary, genderqueer, and agender individuals using R, Python, SQL, Git, and related tools.

The core platform consists of community infrastructure rather than commercial software: a Community Slack workspace, the Abstract Review System (with 80+ international reviewers), the Rotating Curator (RoCur) program on Bluesky, a Chapter Mentoring Program, the RLadies+ Guide for organizers, a multilingual YouTube channel (Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish), and a blog. Supporting these are open-source R/Quarto/pkgdown packages (Spellbind, Glamour, Cloak) implementing the refreshed RLadies+ visual identity, and integrations with Meetup Pro for chapter event management and Posit Cloud for cloud-based R environments.

RLadies+ generates no fee-based revenue; its business model relies on tax-deductible donations via PayPal, chapter and event sponsorships (R Consortium is a named sponsor), in-kind venue and speaker support from partner organizations, and an R-Consortium grant awarded in September 2016 to formalize R-Ladies Global. Distribution is entirely volunteer-led through local chapters, social channels (Mastodon, Bluesky, YouTube), GitHub, and the RLadies+ website, with no paid sales motion and no paid staff disclosed.

Name

R-Ladies

Legal name

R-Ladies Global

Website

https://rladies.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

RLadies+ is a volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating 200+ community chapters across 60+ countries to promote gender diversity in the R programming and data-science ecosystem. It delivers meetups, mentorship, abstract review, and open-source tooling supported by donations and sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Open Source Programming Community

NAICS

Business Associations (813910)

akta.pro primary industry

Campus / Early Careers RPO (BPACABAJ)

Keywords

• Open source community
• R programming community
• Gender diversity advocacy
• Data science meetups
• Nonprofit tech education

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Donations: RLadies+ accepts donations via PayPal. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit registered as R-Ladies Global in California, donations are tax-deductible in the United States.
2. Sponsorships: Organizations sponsor local chapters and events by providing venue space, food, beverages, or financial support. R Consortium is identified as a sponsor.
3. Organizational Partnerships: Organizations partner with RLadies+ on events, workshops, or initiatives aligned with the mission through financial contributions or in-kind support.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

RLadies+ (formerly R-Ladies) is a worldwide 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes gender diversity in the R programming and data science community. It operates a decentralized network of 200+ local chapters across 60+ countries, organizing meetups, workshops, mentoring, abstract review, and educational programs for women, trans, non-binary, genderqueer, and agender individuals interested in R, Python, SQL, Git, and statistics. The organization also publishes open-source R packages and Quarto templates that implement its brand identity.

Product overview

RLadies+ is a worldwide organization promoting gender diversity in the R community through a decentralized network of local chapters. The organization operates as a single unified community platform consisting of core programs and services: the Community Slack for networking, the Abstract Review Program for speaker support, the Rotating Curator (RoCur) on Bluesky for community spotlighting, the Mentoring Program for chapter organizer support, the YouTube Channel for meetup recordings, the RLadies+ Guide for organizational resources, and the Blog for community content. Supporting these core offerings are R packages (Glamour for Quarto templates, Spellbind for brand colors, Cloak for pkgdown theming) that enable chapters to implement consistent RLadies+ branding. The organization also coordinates International Women's Day campaigns and maintains directories of member content and packages. With 200+ chapters across 60+ countries and 100,000+ members, RLadies+ functions as a community-driven ecosystem rather than a commercial software product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community Slack An open Slack workspace for women and gender minorities interested in R, used for asking questions, sharing resources, posting jobs, announcing events, and connecting with the global community.
• Abstract Review Program A review and feedback service for conference abstracts and funding applications, delivered by 80+ international reviewers providing constructive feedback on topic, pitch, phrasing, and subject matter.
• Chapter Mentoring Program A mentoring service connecting new chapter organizers with experienced organizers who help with finding speakers, choosing event formats, and maintaining engagement.
• Rotating Curator (RoCur) A rotating Bluesky account (@weare.rladies.org) where a different community member takes over each week to share their work and spotlight minority gender R users.
• Local Chapter Network A decentralized network of 200+ chapters across 60+ countries running local meetups, workshops, tutorials, code-alongs, book clubs, and social events for R users.
• Spellbind R Package An R package providing RLadies+ brand colors for use in R-based data visualizations and projects, distributed via standard R package channels and GitHub.
• Glamour Quarto Extension A Quarto extension providing RLadies+ presentation and document templates for use in community talks, workshops, and documentation.
• Cloak pkgdown Theme A pkgdown theme package for creating RLadies+ branded package documentation websites, distributed via GitHub.

Quantifiable outcome

• 200+ chapters across 60+ countries
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

AI capability4 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• BioconductorminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 February 2025New collaboration between R-Ladies and Bioconductor, two global communities committed to building diverse developer communities around the world.
• Posit CloudcoreTechnology or Integration · 6 December 2023R-Ladies established a Posit Cloud account available for R-Ladies meet-ups, providing cloud-based R programming environment access for chapter events and workshops.
• Science Graphic DesignminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDesign firm commissioned to develop the full visual identity for the RLadies+ rebrand, including logo, brand manual, templates, and imagery.
• Meetup ProcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMeetup Pro platform hosts RLadies+ chapters for event management, RSVPs, and chapter discovery. Chapters are listed under the RLadies+ Pro account.
• YouTubeminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorYouTube channel hosts meetup recordings from chapters worldwide, making content accessible globally with multilingual playlists.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Black Girls Code: Nonprofit introducing girls of color to coding through workshops and after-school programs. Comparable in driving diversity in tech, though with a more youth-focused and education-oriented model.
• Women in Machine Learning (WiML): Community of women working in machine learning and data science that runs workshops, mentoring, and events at major conferences. Closely aligned mission within the data science/ML academic community.
• Lesbians Who Tech: Community of LGBTQ+ women and non-binary people in technology, hosting summits and mentorship programs. Highly aligned with the broadened RLadies+ inclusivity mandate under the '+' rebrand.
• Out in Tech: Nonprofit community of LGBTQ+ professionals in tech with chapters, mentorship, and events. Comparable structure and overlapping inclusive-technology mission.
• PyLadies: Global nonprofit community promoting gender diversity in the Python programming ecosystem, organized through local chapters worldwide. Most direct structural and mission analog to RLadies+ but for Python rather than R.
• Women Who Code: Global nonprofit community supporting women in technology through local networks, events, and career resources. Comparable in mission (women-in-tech) and decentralized chapter model.

Others

• R Consortium: Foundation supporting the R language ecosystem. Already a sponsor and partner of RLadies+, and relevant as a peer ecosystem steward rather than a direct competitor.
• Posit (formerly RStudio): Commercial steward of major R tooling (RStudio IDE, Posit Cloud, Quarto) and an active partner providing cloud infrastructure for RLadies+ events. Enabling ecosystem participant rather than direct community peer.

Broad incumbents

• AnitaB.org (formerly Anita Borg Institute): Major nonprofit advancing women in computing through programs like GHC (Grace Hopper Celebration) and Top Companies for Women Technologists. Comparable mission at significantly larger scale and institutional footing.
• Girls Who Code: Larger, more institutionalized nonprofit working to close the gender gap in technology through education programs for girls and young women. Broader scope (K-12 through college) compared with RLadies+'s adult professional focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/rladies
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCDgj5-mFohWZ5irWSFMFcng
• Xx.com/RLadiesGlobal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about R-Ladies