𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗚𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗸, 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲

On October 13, 2026, AnitaB.org announced it was cancelling the 2026 Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC), scheduled for October 27–30 in Anaheim, California. Registrations and sponsorships came in far below what was needed to cover critical operating costs. CEO Brenda Darden Wilkerson called it "a function of not having the funds required to move forward with the Celebration, unlike in years past." (1)(2)

GHC is widely described as the world's largest gathering of women in tech. More than 700 companies, from Fortune 500 employers to startups, take part each year. For thousands of women, it was the one week when recruiters, mentors, and peers were in the same room.

For Girls Who Build PH is a Filipino community for women and girls in tech, and we are only a week old. This news arrived just as we are saying why a community like ours needs to exist.

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗣𝗨𝗧𝗦 𝗔𝗧 𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗞

Forbes contributor Sandy Carter asks what happens to the recruiting, mentoring, and professional connections people expected to find there. (1) Cathy Hackl, who was set to emcee, told her, "I'm in shock."

One cancelled event will not decide who succeeds in AI. But the pipeline it served is already thin. Carter's article cites U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data putting women at 27.5% of computer and mathematical workers in 2025, and Stanford's 2026 AI Index finding that women remain underrepresented among AI researchers and developers. (1)

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗡𝗘 𝗣𝗜𝗖𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘: 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗨𝗥𝗘

The Philippines is not starting from zero. ICT is the STEM-related field with the smallest gender gap among graduates, with women at about 48%. (3) Filipina learners are also turning to AI: Coursera data reported in the Philippine press shows women's generative AI enrollments grew 818% in 2024, faster than men's at 765%. Yet women were still only 38% of those enrollments while making up 51% of all learners. (4)

The ILO adds the warning. Its February 2026 brief finds that women in the Philippines face double the rate of generative AI exposure of men. More than a quarter of Philippine employment (12.7 million jobs) is exposed, and AI adoption is accelerating particularly in the IT-BPM sector. (5)

Together, these numbers point to the real gap. Filipino women are entering tech and learning AI in large numbers, and many are also in the jobs AI is changing fastest. The task is to move from using AI to building it. Skills, mentors, and employers make that move possible. That is what GHC offered, and many Filipinas would also benefit from the same kind of support closer to home.

𝗪𝗛𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗠𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗜𝗦 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘𝗟𝗬 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗨𝗦

GHC has shown what a gathering of women in tech can do, and many of us in the Philippines have looked up to it. Its cancellation is a loss, and we feel for the women who prepared for it. It also reminds us that women need places to learn, connect, and build all year, close to where they live.

That is what For Girls Who Build PH is for. We believe communities for women in tech should be:

𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹: Learning, mentorship, and peers close to home, with no visa or flight required.

𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿-𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱: Confidence and skill grow through repeated building, not one big week a year.

𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀-𝗼𝗻: Girls ship real projects and treat AI as a tool they shape, not a force that happens to them.

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆-𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗱: Built by the women who take part in it, so it keeps going whatever the season.

Big events and local communities work best together. GHC's cancellation makes the local side more timely.

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗪𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗔𝗦𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗢𝗙 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗘𝗦

Carter asks whether GHC's corporate sponsors will keep investing in reaching women in tech, or whether those efforts "disappear with this year's event." (1) This is how we think they can answer:

1. 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁, 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁. Move part of the budget set aside for GHC into regional, grassroots programs this year.

2. 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿. A small grant to a community that meets every month goes a long way.

3. 𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀. Mentorship hours, internships, and project reviews from your engineers cost little and compound.

4. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁. Women in tech need relationships that last past the next funding cycle.

𝗪𝗘 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗚𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗗

The GHC news did not create the need for a community like ours. It made the need visible. If you are a girl who wants to build, a woman in tech who wants to mentor, or a company that wants to back the next generation of Filipina builders, we would like to hear from you.

𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗖𝗘𝗦

(1) Forbes, "What The Grace Hopper Celebration Cancellation Means For Women In AI," Sandy Carter, Oct 13, 2026: https://www.forbes.com/sites/sandycarter/2026/10/13/for-women-in-ai-what-the-grace-hopper-celebration-cancellation-means/

(2) DEV Community, "Grace Hopper Celebration 2026 canceled over funding shortfall": https://dev.to/techaiwire/grace-hopper-celebration-2026-canceled-over-funding-shortfall-1bjo

(3) SciDev.Net, "Filipinas stare through the glass ceiling in STEM fields" (March 2023): https://www.scidev.net/asia-pacific/features/filipinas-stare-through-the-glass-ceiling-in-stem-fields/

(4) Daily Tribune, "Filipinas strive for career growth" (March 2025): https://tribune.net.ph/2025/03/21/filipinas-strive-for-career-growth

(5) ILO, "Generative AI and jobs in the Philippines" (Feb 2026): https://www.ilo.org/publications/generative-ai-and-jobs-philippines-labour-market-exposure-and-policy

#ForGirlsWhoBuildPH #WomenInTech #WomenInAI #GraceHopperCelebration #PinayInTech