Case Study Ladies that UX
Building a Career Community - From Meetup to Movement.
Role
Co-Founder
What
Community Management
Output
Workshops, lectures, meet ups, Private group.
Scale
4.8K memebrs
Strategic Impact
Co-founded Ladies that UX Warsaw in 2016 — a professional community for women in UX, built because the one Warsaw needed didn't exist yet. Grew it to nearly 5,000 members, helping women network, build UX skills, and move into the field from other careers — while simultaneously inspiring designers through Tech Leaders and Engage, and speaking at WUD Trójmiasto, Girls Geek Carrots, and Design Practice.
About Ladies that UX
Warsaw's UX community in 2016 had plenty of general meetups, but nothing built specifically for the women working in the field — no space designed around who was in the room. Co-founding Ladies that UX Warsaw was a direct response: build the community rather than wait for someone else to.
Context
2016 sat inside a broader industry shift. Large organisations across banking, tech, and enterprise were formalising diversity strategies for the first time — actively pushing to bring more women into IT and product roles, not just as a hiring target but as a stated business priority. UX was part of that wave, but the support structures hadn't caught up: plenty of general meetups existed, none built specifically around the women entering or already working in the field. Ladies that UX Warsaw filled that gap directly, at the moment organisations needed it most.
With Thanks
Built and grown alongside co-founders Kasia Kubalska, Kasia Słowik, Ania Wysocka, and Joanna Cymkiewicz — the community wouldn't have reached where it did without them.
What I covered
- Co-founded and helped run the community from its first event through its most active years
- Grew membership to nearly 5,000 — organically, through consistent programming rather than paid growth
- Built a knowledge-sharing hub that pulled in UX practitioners from across sectors — banking, e-commerce, media, agencies — so members learned from real cross-industry practice, not a single company's playbook
- Invited practicing UX professionals to facilitate hands-on workshops — giving members real skills, not just theory
- Curated inspirational talks from practitioners sharing their own career paths and lessons learned — especially valuable for members considering a move into UX
- Created a space where women could make career transitions into UX — turning interest into an actual occupational move, not just exposure to the field
- Extended the same practice-leadership approach externally — mentoring through Tech Leaders and Engage, speaking at WUD Trójmiasto, Girls Geek Carrots, and Design Practice events
