The Racial and Gender Gap in Hackathon Attendance
According to The State of League Report released by Major League Hacking (MLH) in September 2020, 39% of hackers identified as female or non-binary. The gender diversity of the hackathon community has increased significantly over the past few years with representation having increased by 18% since 2019 (reported by MLH).
MLH is the official student hackathon league. Their mission is to empower hackers. Each year, they power over 200 weekend-long invention competitions that inspire innovation, cultivate communities and teach computer science skills to more than 135,000 students around the world.
“At MLH we know first-hand that talent is everywhere, opportunity is not. We’re committed to building an inclusive community where marginalized technologists feel welcome and are able to access life-changing opportunities & resources. That’s why we love partnering with mission-aligned organizations like TechTogether to empower even more hackers in the years ahead,” said Mike Swift, MLH CEO and Co-Founder.
Despite the MLH and broader hackathon community progressing towards gender parity, the representation of women and non-binary hackers of color within the hackathon community remains stagnant.
According to new TechTogether research*, from 2017–2020 only 2–4% of women or non-binary individuals who attended Major League Hacking events identified as Black or Latinx. Among this demographic, the research cited career growth and skill-building opportunities as the main factors influencing hackathon attendance. Social media was cited as the largest source of exposure to hackathons.
TechTogether was not able to draw an evidence-based conclusion as to why Black and Latinx women and non-binary individuals are underrepresented within the hackathon community due to the limitations of their research. However, we can extrapolate from public research on similar topics that the lack of role models, cultural biases, and homogeneous hackathon leadership teams are likely contributing factors.
TechTogether is the nation’s largest initiative to address the gender inequities in the hackathon community. In addition to conducting research, TechTogether hosts programs for people of marginalized genders across the country. TechTogether is credited in part with increasing the gender diversity of the hackathon community by 18% from 2019 to 2020.
The TechTogether team is committed to helping with the diversification of the hacker community. Executive Director, Fiona Whittington said, “We need more hackathons committed to advancing the racial diversity of the hackathon community. With this research, we can start holding hackathons accountable for their lack of action on this critical issue.”
TechTogether recommends getting in touch with a local Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) expert for advice on how your hackathon can take action on this issue. We also recommend that further studies be done to identify factors contributing to racial, and broader inequities facing the hackathon community.
This year, TechTogether is taking steps to address the racial gap in hackathons by diversifying our leadership, forging long-term partnerships with DEI experts and partners, investing in other nonprofits, and setting diversity goals for all of our programs.
TechTogether has committed to increasing the representation of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) served through their hackathons next year by 4%, from 20% in 2020–2021. Through TechTogether’s new Hackathons for Change Initiative, TechTogether along with other hackathons like BostonHacks have pledged that 20% of their 2021–2022 prize funds will go to supporting women and BIPOC-owned businesses.
TechTogether research report was conducted in partnership with Major League Hacking and Boston University.
*TechTogether’s research analyzed Major League Hacking’s survey and hacker census data from 2017–2020.
