Overview
Designing a different type of experienceIn spring of 2021, the
Davis Women in Computer Science (WiCS) team and the
SacHacks team collaborated in an attempt to create an environment to empower and motivate the growing community of women and gender minorities in technology, regardless of skill level or background.
Lovelace Hacks is the first female-focused, female-led hackathon of the greater Sacramento area. Hosted on April 23-25th,
over 100 female & non-binary participants partook in a 36 hour hackathon in which they learned more about technology and worked on projects to promote social good.
I. Research
Before committing to creating an entire hackathon, my co-founder Derek Lee and I first set out to scope the need of this event. This event was partially inspired by ECS188, an ethics in CS class, in which it was apparent (and alarming) that there were only a handful of women in comparison to the majority of men in the class to speak about their experiences as women in computer science classes. To inform how we designed this event and to gather qualitative data about potential participants, we sent out a survey, receiving over 200 respondents. From this survey:
72.2%
agree that computer science is a male-dominated industy
13%
of female/nonbinary respondents have said that they are intimidated by the computer science field and the competition within the field
94.4%
of female/nonbinary respondents would attend a female-focused hackathon
II. Goals
From the research we conducted, we learned more about what female/non-binary participants needed, and set the following values that helped guide the planning of the hackathon:
Awareness: We strive to shed light on the women like Ada Lovelace that are the backbone of the tech industry to demonstrate how important females and gender minorities are to the tech industry and provide role models to look up to.
How did we meet this goal? In the marketing leading up to the event every week, we highlighted a different woman who had made significant contributions to the computing world.
Thrive: We aim to create an environment to help break tech industry stereotypes and show that women and gender minorities belong and deserve to succeed.
How did we meet this goal? All workshops were led by women and non-binary people. We also had a panel of successful women in tech share their experiences as to how to overcome adversities as gender minorities in tech and had 12 mentors on hand who mostly identified as women.
Exposure: We hope to provide a new opportunity for people, regardless of skill and background.
How did we meet this goal? We had multiple sponsors, including Google Cloud Platform, Axure, and Hypernet, who helped teach their respective technologies and had prizes for best use of each sponsor technology. Also, as a hackathon, we designated 36 hours for participants to code and design a new project.
III. Design Solution
From establishing the goals, the Lovelace Design team set out to create a strong visual language and branding to communicate our goals and vision, while also being fun and inviting to our main audience: college-aged women/non binary people. I was in charge of strategizing the design so that it met such goals.
This graphic standard was followed throughout the website, social media graphics, and all other visuals.
Social Media
Throughout the Sachacks and WiCS marketing channels, we promoted Lovelace Hacks heavily, reminding participants of application deadlines, educating users about different women in tech, and making announcements about the hackathon through these channels. In addition to marketing on these platforms, we also marketed on social media channels focused on computer science, women in technology and college-aged students.
Key Goals for Website
1. Present information about Lovelace Hacks and why it was created
2. Educate on our values and Lovelace Hacks' namesake, Ada Lovelace
3. Be a resource to first time hackers and answer any questions participants may have before applying
IV. Impact and Metrics
Overall, the event went really well!
Over 100 participants signed up,
~15 projects were submitted.
63% of Davis participants that submitted a project reported that it was their first hackathon. To support the participants, there were
12 mentors and
23 judges, most of whom identified as female. In addition, according to our exit survey, 100% of respondents rated their experiences as 5/5, saying their
expectations were exceeded and that a Lovelace Hacks on a
larger scale would be exciting to see! People commented on how
welcoming the community and how
friendly and helpful everyone was.
View California Aggie articleView UC Davis press releaseV. Reflection
Overall, planning this event from start to finish was an exciting experience. I learned a lot about how hackathons work, working cross-functionally with PM/web development/data/operations teams, and most importantly, learned to enjoy the process of creating a larger-scale product (hackathons can be products too!). honestly, it really reaffirmed this passion I have for empowering women in the tech industry and is something I hope to continue doing throughout my professional career.
Special thanks to Derek Lee, the WiCS team, the SacHacks team (a huge shoutout to the Lovelace Design team!!), and everyone who attended the event!
opening ceremony!
