Dear iMWomen community,
As we close out 2025, I want to pause and recognize what you have built together this year. Across regions, time zones, and career stages, iMWomen has continued to grow from a grassroots idea into a global force for women in digital infrastructure. This has been a year of real momentum — not just in the number of events and touch points, but in the depth of connection, honesty, and courage you’ve brought into every room.
2025 Highlights: What We Achieved Together
We showed up on the global stage.
iMWomen members were highly visible at key industry gatherings around the world.
From our iMWomen breakfast at DCD Madrid/NewYork/NOVA/Bali, to our networking event at Datacloud Global in Cannes co-hosted with Women’s Tech Forum, to the iMasons Women’s breakfasts at Yotta and Women in Tech sessions at Datacloud USA, women’s voices were front and center in the conversations that shape our industry’s future.
We grew our local iMWomen presence.
We have women in place across the US leading local iMWomen communities in Atlanta, Denver Phoenix, NOVA/DMV, New York and the Pacific Northwest.
We created safe spaces for growth.
Our local communities created powerful environments for real talk and genuine support.
Phoenix brought women together for “Women to Women: Real Talk, Real Journeys,” “Empathy in Action: The Power of EQ and Allyship,” and a “Mind, Body, and Ambition” gathering focusedon holistic wellbeing and ambition.
Denver explored “Leading with Authenticity,” while other chapters hosted gatherings ranging from Nordic networking lunches to women’s self-defense workshops and holiday mixers that blended celebration with purpose.
Each of these spaces gave women and allies room to connect, learn, and feel seen. We supported the graduation of 18 women in the industry who completed leadership development courses.
We combined data with storytelling.
In 2025, we continued to back our mission with evidence and insight. The “Annual Survey onWomen’s Experience and Advancement in the Data Center Industry” whitepaper spotlighted both the progress being made and the work still ahead, calling on companies to celebrate women’s achievements more visibly and consistently.
At the same time, our “Trailblazers in Technology” nominations campaign invited the community to recognize women who have paved the way in mission-critical and technology roles — ensuring that more of our peers and predecessors are named, honored, and remembered.
We amplified iMWomen’s voice in the broader industry narrative.
External features highlighted the impact of this community and the importance of inclusion in digital infrastructure. In one widely shared Data Center Knowledge article, iMWomen’s evolution from a small volunteer effort to a global leadership program was spotlighted, reinforcing that what we are doing together is not a “nice to have” — it’s essential to the resilience and innovation of our sector.
We strengthened partnerships and sponsorship.
Our work is increasingly supported by organizations that understand the value women in the datacenter workforce. This year, companies like atNorth and others publicly committed to sponsoring the iMWomen program and related initiatives, while partners such as Women’s Tech Forum collaborated with us on events that brought multiple communities together under one roof.
Local hosts — from corporate venues to community spaces — stepped up again and again to make room for iMWomen conversations.
What We Heard From You
Across our events, LinkedIn community, and informal conversations, several themes came through clearly:
- Belonging and representation matter. You want to see more women — and more diverse women — on stages, in boardrooms, in leadership pipelines, and in technical roles.
- Practical tools are essential. You value sessions that go beyond inspiration into real tactics: salary and promotion conversations, career pivots, visibility strategies, allyship in action, and navigating industry change.
- Leadership is holistic. Many of you are hungry for spaces where we can talk honestly about burnout, boundaries, mental health, family, caregiving, and the realities of leading in high-stakes, always-on environments — and we saw this reflected in events focused on EQ, self-defense, well-being, and personal storytelling.
Your feedback, participation, and vulnerability are shaping how iMWomen shows up. Thank you for trusting this community with your stories and aspirations. Your input to our 2025 annual survey is incredibly important, if we haven’t heard from you…please take a few minutes now to respond.
Looking Ahead to 2026
As we move into 2026, our focus will remain clear:
- Elevate more women into visible, decision-making roles.
- Expand and strengthen local chapters and regional leadership.
- Grow our ecosystem of allies, sponsors, and partner organizations.
- Use data and storytelling to drive lasting change, not one-off moments.
How you can stay involved:
- Show up. Join an iMWomen or iMasons event— and invite someone new to come with you.
- Lead. Consider volunteering with your local chapter or expressing interest in deeper involvement with iMWomen discussion panels.
- Nominate and recognize. Put forward the trailblazers in your world and celebrate women’s contributions loudly and often.
- Share our story. Engage with our LinkedIn showcase and iMWomen content, and bring these conversations back to your own organizations.
Thank you for everything you have done this year — for the time you gave up after lon workdays, the travel you undertook to be in the room, the emails you sent to encourage someone else, and the courage you brought to difficult but necessary conversations.
Together, we are not only changing the face of digital infrastructure — we are redefining what leadership looks like in this industry.
Wishing you rest, joy, and connection as the year comes to a close. I can’t wait to see what wewill build together in 2026.
With gratitude,
Heather Doodley
Global chair, iMWomen