Supporting Women in Tech at Hack'n'Lead

This year, we had the privilege of joining Hack'n'Lead, an event hosted by Swiss non-profit organization, WomenPlusPlus. The organization supports women in building careers in programming-related fields and refers to Hack'n'Lead as “Switzerland's first women-friendly hackathon.”

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Hack’n’lead champions diverse representation in tech by providing gender-inclusive hackathons and events, with an 80% participation rate from women. The organizers provide childcare at the event, a great perk for any working parent interested in sharpening their coding skills, and offer coding classes for kids led by the Youth Intelligence Agency.

It's an inclusive environment for all levels and abilities that encourages learning over competition. Additionally, there's no overnight coding to promote a healthy work-life balance.

Our Co-founder and Principal Engineer, Tobias Rein, volunteered to mentor hackers and share our company story, attending for the second year in a row. Senior Tech Recruiter, Marco Mahrer, was also present to talk with participants about our product, gender diversity, and career development in tech. As we look back on the experience, Tobi and Marco provide some insights into what makes Hack'n'Lead a special event.

What’s unique about Hack’n’Lead?

Tobi: None of the other hackathons I've seen focus on diversity to this extent. Additionally, this event also pays special attention to sustainability. They do an excellent job with waste separation and avoiding single-use plastics.

Marco: Hack'n'Lead is all about empowering women in tech. There were quite a few men in attendance, but women took the lead with pride. Attendees were excited to be among like-minded people while tackling the projects at hand.

What impact do you believe this event has on the greater tech community?

Tobi: It gives access and visibility for female engineers. Even though there is still a long way to go, I believe this is one of the steps needed to get there. Especially in Zurich, there's just a smaller pool of female tech talent, and we want to change that.

Marco: It's important to acknowledge that there's a gender disparity in the tech community. There are plenty of talented, diverse people out there who do not always feel included. This event creates awareness and empowers people to join in on the conversation, which is great to be a part of.

What were some of the key learnings from the event?

Tobi: I was positively surprised by the turnout. It was very cool to see so many passionate people come together. There were even a few non-engineers participating, such as biologists that learned basic programming for their thesis. Additionally, I've learned that responsible economy is an increasingly relevant topic. Most of the groups picked the challenge from Thomson Reuters about modern slavery and human trafficking.

Marco: I had the privilege of speaking to some of the organizers, and they reminded me of a few things that people may not know in regards to the gender pay gap and mothers struggling to return to the workforce after their maternity leave. These are very tough topics, and the solutions aren't easy, but it was refreshing to brainstorm a little with them.

Based on this event, what trends do you see for the future of diversity and inclusion in tech?

Tobi: I had a very good chat with another mentor from ZHAW Zurich University. She is part of the diversity group there and is organizing courses for teachers of grades one through six. These classes help expose young girls and boys to tech opportunities by learning to program in a very practical way. I found this approach quite interesting. But it also means we need to wait another 10-20 years before we can reap those benefits.

Marco: I believe we're on the right track. Hopefully more companies will follow suit with more diverse tech teams.

See for yourself why this event was great:

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