Duchess is a global network for women in Java technology. We provide a platform through which women can connect with each other and get involved in the greater Java community. We organize workshops aimed at giving everyone an opportunity to share and learn good ideas in new Java and related technology.

We welcome all women who are interested in Java technology, including developers, architects, testers, business analysts, and others. We truly believe in cross-functional learning so as to create more effective and productive teams.

Currently, we have active networks in the Netherlands and France and are looking for more Duchess leaders everywhere. Join us and help make Duchess into something great.

Richard sent me a snippet of an email about Duchess the other day as he knows that at the moment I'm going through a bit of a "Where are all the techy females hiding?" phase. Anyway, the original email said

I had met several members of the women in Java (aka Duchess) - Java User Group at the Devoxx conference and they asked me to pass on their details to all of the London based women in Java (and their supporters) on this list.

Their website (contains details of what they are about and how they support women in Java) is at http://www.jduchess.org/ and they are looking to branch out into the UK to expand the global network.

They were really friendly and approachable so drop them a line if you're interested in their organisation!

Java isn't my technology, but figured I'd advertise it here in case anyone stumbles across it