Kate Kirwin

Founder, She Codes and women in STEM advocate

2024 WA Young Australian of the Year

Kate Kirwin founded She Codes Australia in 2015 with the aim of teaching women coding skills, helping them enter technical careers and building a likeminded community.  

As a country girl, Kate strongly believes in empowering women from some of Australia’s most remote regions. So far, more than 6000 women from all over the country have learned to code through She Codes. 

Kate’s work is closing the gender gap in tech, where only 30 per cent of employees are women. She has sourced more than $1 million from government and industry to support women in STEM.  

Kate has also contributed to the growth of Spacecubed, a start-up hub in Perth, and since 2014 has played a pivotal role in building communities and coordinating programs such as Plus Eight and Startup Weekend.  

Her achievements have been recognised with the Business News 40 Under 40 Award and The West Australian’s Rising Star Award.