Pearl Hacks Brings Women into Computer Science
The UNC Department of Computer Science and the UNC School of Media and Journalism (formerly the School of Journalism and Mass Communication) hosted one of the largest all-female hackathons in the nation in March. More than 400 college- and high-school-aged women from 15 states attended Pearl Hacks on March 21-22. Approximately one-third of the Pearl Hacks participants had never coded before, and 60 percent were attending a hackathon for the very first time.
Pearl Hacks was founded by Maegan Clawges, a May 2015 graduate who double-majored in computer science and journalism, to help address the gender gap in the computer science field.
“I chose to study computer science because I wanted to learn a skill that would be relevant no matter what type of work I ended up doing,” Clawges said. “And I stayed in the field because of the amazing community that I developed through hackathons, conferences and internships that I was fortunate to have. It’s essential that all women interested in tech experience that same kind of community support.”
According to the National Science Foundation, the percentage of women computer science majors has been decreasing since the mid-1980s despite increases in the percentage of women in medical schools, law schools and physical science fields. Pearl Hacks aims to help more women engage with computer science by building community and self-esteem among students and debunking some of the misconceptions about what it means to be a computer scientist.
Pearl Hacks founder Maegan Clawges
“Pearl Hacks is all about marketing to my female friends who absolutely can do this, and if given the right resources, can make amazing things,” Clawges said.
“They would refuse to come because they didn’t identify with this concept of being a ‘hacker,’ even though I knew they had the skills. I wanted to create an atmosphere they couldn’t say no to.”
During the 36-hour hackathon, attendees participated in workshops geared toward all levels of coding experience and covering topics including building websites, basic software development, working with big data and an introduction to computer hardware. Participants then broke into teams and developed projects using what they learned earlier during the workshops.
Industry professionals from companies such as Capital One, Cisco, and Google were on hand to educate and mentor the participants.
In addition to tech workshops, participants had
access to dance lessons and yoga classes
Dona Sarkar, a novelist, fashion designer and principal program manager lead at Microsoft, delivered the Pearl Hacks keynote address this year. Sarkar shared career advice based on her own professional and personal experiences.
In addition to support by the UNC Department of Computer Science and the UNC School of Media and Journalism, Pearl Hacks has received corporate sponsorship from Amazon Web Services, Capital One, Cisco, Credit Suisse, EMC, Fidelity, Google, IBM, Infusion, Innovate@Carolina, Interactive Intelligence, Major League Hacking, Microsoft, Pebble, Premier, Qualcomm, Red Hat, RENCI, SAS, Sparkfun Electronics, Tata Consultancy Services, The Vanguard Group, and WillowTree Apps.
If you are interested in learning more about Pearl Hacks or becoming involved as a sponsor or a mentor, please visit pearlhacks.com.