It’s been a year now since we postponed our last scheduled Refactor event as New Zealand headed into its first COVID-19 lockdown, and what a year it has been! Over that time, we’ve been so delighted to get emails from our community saying that they hoped we’d be back soon, and continuing to send us amazing suggestions for speakers.

When we started Refactor, way back in 2012, we really wanted to design an event that broke the existing mold for tech-focussed meetups, providing great food and wine, an amazing venue, and an incredible line-up of inspiring speakers that would really showcase the enormous variety of journeys women and non-binary people were on through the tech sector. 

Over the years, over ninety people have spoken at Refactor events. It has provided a platform, for both accomplished veterans and people who had never spoken to a large audience before, to share their work and their passion.

The conversation about diversity, equity and inclusion in the tech sector feels as important now as it ever has, but it can’t and shouldn’t just be about improving the gender balance in our organisations. Our next generation of platforms and products need to be built by teams comprising a full range of under-represented voices.

We feel like it’s the right time to retire the Refactor events. We’re so proud of all the people who have taken to our stage, so glad for the community of attendees who came year in and year out, and so grateful to our loyal stable of sponsors who made the whole thing possible. 

We’ve absolutely loved meeting and hanging out with you all, and we know that you’re the future we’re hoping for.

Sacha, Jess, Steph and Min.