The Edie Windsor Scholarship Aims to Assist LGBT Students
Southampton’s Edie Windsor, known for being the lead plaintiff in United States v. Windsor—the case that dismantled the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and led to marriage equality across the country—is back in the spotlight, for another good cause.
Outreach organization Lesbians Who Tech has announced the Edie Windsor Scholarship, which covers half the tuition costs for LGBT people looking to learn to code and program. Windsor is a former mathematician and computer scientist who previously worked at IBM as a technology manager. Last year, the scholarship was awarded to 40 people, backed partially by a Kickstarter campaign.
Lesbians Who Tech is a “community of queer women in or around tech,” according to their website, lesbianswhotech.org. Their mission is to connect lesbians and queer-identifying people and build a network of colleagues, associates and friends in the tech industry. “Lesbians are women first, and right now women are some of the most gifted folks in technology, yet there are far fewer of us than there should be…and add the element of being lesbian, it’s equally important for us to represent women, and out women, for our communities.”
Windsor, 87, is a longtime LGBT rights activist, was lawfully married to Thea Clara Spyer in Toronto. After Spyer’s death, DOMA prevented Windsor from claiming federal estate tax exemption for surviving spouses. Her long-running lawsuit went on to take down DOMA in 2013. Windsor has also been involved with the Long Island GLBT Center, as well as SAGE – Services & Advocacy for LGBT Elders. Windsor remarried in 2016, to Judith Kasen at New York City Hall.
Applications are open to any queer-identifying person looking to enroll in a coding program that starts between June and December, 2017. The application deadline is April 30, so there’s still a little bit of time for those interested. Click here for more information.