by Julia Renner

The historical reputation of computer science as a men’s field is fading fast, thanks in part to initiatives like SheHacks Boston, which College of Computer and Information Science student Sreeya Sai ’19 helped lead this February.

SheHacks Boston brought together women from universities across Boston, including Northeastern University, Boston University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and University of Massachusetts – Boston, with the goal to set the record for the largest all-female and non-binary hackathon. The 36-hour event drew 750 attendees from across the world to Boston University, where they worked on applications related to social issues. Topics included economic empowerment, healthcare, environmental issues, and more. “The goal of this event was to empower women and non-binary individuals in computing and provide them with opportunities in an encouraging and supportive environment,” Sai says.

Sai served as Head of Sponsorship, and was responsible for raising the funding that made it possible for participants from all backgrounds to access the hackathon for free. She learned about SheHacks through Fiona Whittington, director of SheHacks Boston, who created the program to empower women in tech at universities across Boston. “Little did I know how big it would become and the impact it would have,” Sai says.

She and the other members of the leadership team worked tirelessly to get the event off the ground, this being its inaugural year. “Seeing a room full of passionate engineers, creating solutions to some of the most challenging social problems,” was inspiring, Sai says. She speaks of spending late nights organizing the event and sending emails to secure funding. “I realized that making history and change is not easy, but if one strongly believes in a cause, that is enough to create a movement.”

The gender gap in computer science can be especially noticeable at hackathons, where typically 20% of participants are women. Sai notes that this is partially because women feel unwelcome at hackathons, and her own experiences drove her to create an opportunity for women in tech to be empowered and included.

“We wanted to show the world that Boston is united to end the gender gap in tech,” Sai says. “It is important that every girl has the confidence and opportunities to succeed in whatever they are passionate about.”