Benchmarking gender inclusivity in hackathons

Hackathons have become a defining feature of contemporary engineering and computing education, providing collaborative and time-bounded environments that promote creativity, teamwork, and innovation. Yet, traditional hackathon formats have often reflected the persistent gender imbalance seen across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Competitive structures, compressed timeframes, and masculine cultural norms can create barriers to equitable participation. This study examines the impact of inclusive hackathon design on gender representation through a quantitative benchmarking analysis of two university hackathons delivered during the 2024/25 academic year. Both events were intentionally structured around inclusive principles, including flexible participation schedules, diverse mentorship, accessible technical support, and explicit equality policies. Gender participation data from these events were compared against five years of institutional data (2019/20–2023/24) and four years of national data (2019/20–2022/23). Results show that female participation in the two hackathons was 29% and 30%, respectively, representing an increase of nine percentage points above institutional averages and thirteen above national benchmarks for engineering and computing disciplines. These findings demonstrate that inclusive event design can measurably enhance gender balance within extracurricular and co-curricular learning environments. The study also highlights the value of longitudinal benchmarking as a method for evaluating inclusivity initiatives. While gender parity has not yet been achieved, the results affirm that inclusive hackathons are effective, replicable interventions that can complement broader equity, diversity, and inclusion strategies within engineering education.