Behind The Scenes: My Internship Experience

Throughout the past month and a half I have had the privilege of interning with Hack the Gap. I have gotten to know the two women behind Hack the Gap: Jenna Pederson and Kristen Womack. And I’ve had the opportunity to work with them on a professional level. Before I met them one morning I was doing some research on Hack the Gap. I came across this video and for the rest of the day, the song, Lizzo and Caroline Smith’s Let ‘Em Say, was blaring through my headphones. I had never felt so empowered. I knew that despite my heavy workload I had to take on this internship.

The first time I met Jenna and Kristen, I was incredibly nervous. I was a mere college student about to meet two people who, through the internet, seemed cooler than I was. When I arrived early for our first meeting it took me about ten minutes or so of sitting across from Jenna to realize that she was who I was looking for. Despite the minor hiccup of arriving early, the meeting was successful (no surprise there!).  I connected with their mission to promote and nurture women and minorities in technology here in the Twin Cities.

I’ve learned through this experience that it’s important to be choosy when planning an event of this nature. Jenna and Kristen make sure that the companies that support Hack the Gap really believe in fostering women and minorities in technology. They live Hack the Gap’s mission to amplify the voices and cultivate talents of underserved people in our community.

What always interests me in entrepreneurial endeavors is the moment when the founders decide that they need to take action. What takes a person from identifying a problem to actually deciding to do something about the problem? For Jenna and Kristen this moment came after being on one too many diversity panels. They decided that instead of continuing to talk about women and diversity in technology, they were going to start doing something about it.

The passion that Jenna and Kristen exhibit continues to amaze me. At some point during every meeting we discuss the subject of companies talking the talk but not walking the walk when it comes to diversity initiatives. Jenna and Kristen are doing something about the issue of diversity in tech. It is inspiring to work with people who are so passionate about creating change.

I cannot wait to see all of the hard work being done for this event come to fruition. If you want to get inspired and help hack the diversity gap, join us at Hack the Gap 2017!

Kira Taylor is a current senior at the Carlson School of Management and a current intern with Hack the Gap. Connect with her on LinkedIn! 

The Allure of an All-Women Hackathon

Image credit: https://www.instagram.com/pearlhacks/

This weekend, there are multiple all-women hackathons taking place across the country.

In Chicago, CHI Ladies Hack is hosting an all-women hackathon that serves multiple purposes. While creating a space for women and non-binary people to collaborate, they are ditching the pitches and working directly with non-profit organizations and minority-owned businesses on their projects.

In North Carolina, Pearl Hacks will also be held at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This all-women hackathon caters to women of all skill-levels and encourages them to explore technology. Their twist: they involve men in the process.

Like Pearl Hacks, Hack the Gap also invites men to join in - not as participants, but volunteers, mentors, and judges. We know that the gender gap and the issues and challenges associated with diversity and inclusion in our communities, universities, and organizations is not simply the problem of the minority group. Your involvement in the community and to this cause is crucial to it’s success - it’s going to take all of us, if we want the change we collectively say we do. When we all take responsibility, we foster individual potential, strengthen our community, and grow our businesses. Not only are diversity and inclusion good for humanity, but the research shows that it is good for business, too.

These all-women spaces are becoming more popular, but what is the allure of an all-women space? Why is it so desperately necessary?

By providing a safe and supportive environment at our hackathons, women from all backgrounds and experience levels can enjoy an accessible, approachable, positive experience. They can explore their technical abilities, meet other women, and learn. They can focus on the project, without being one of a handful of women at the event. They don’t stand out as an “other”.

We know that an all-women approach is a hack. We know it doesn’t solve the root cause of what is wrong in the tech industry. But this hack working. And women are demanding more events and spaces like this. It might not be for every woman or non-binary person, but as it turns out, there are many people that identify with the desire for a safe and supportive environment such as Hack the Gap.

That’s the allure.

So, if you’re in Chicago or North Carolina, check out the CHI Ladies Hack or Pearl Hacks - but get a ticket first. And if you’re in Minneapolis and interested in getting involved, we’d love to meet you! We'll open up registration soon, but in the mean time check out other ways you can get involved here.

All-women Hackathon Returns to Minneapolis

Hack the Gap returns in May, 2016 in partnership with Clockwork

Press Release

Minneapolis, MN - March 15, 2016 - Hack the Gap announced the date of the 2nd annual all-women hackathon to be held May 14-15, 2016 at Clockwork in Northeast, Minneapolis. The hackathon is aimed at creating a high-energy weekend where women from all backgrounds and experience levels can enjoy an accessible, approachable, positive experience. While it's normal to feel intimidated upon arrival at a weekend-long tech event, 2015 participants reported leaving feeling excited, empowered, and connected after building a project in less than 48hrs with a newly-founded team.

The women will pitch their ideas, work with new technologies, write code, hack hardware, and present their project to the community by the end of the weekend. Mentors and judges, who are thoughtfully selected from the community to have experience, be encouraging and helpful, will offer feedback to the participants.

Hack the Gap has partnered with Clockwork, the event’s exclusive venue and food sponsor. Clockwork CEO, Nancy Lyons, is a renowned national speaker on addressing the gender gap in technology and other fields. Meghan Wilker, COO of Clockwork and champion of this partnership, is a Minneapolis powerhouse and The (Real) Power 50 award winner. Hack the Gap is honored to have the support of these two women at the helm of the Clockwork leadership team.

At last year’s event, Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges stopped by to say a few words to the group, and later tweeted: “Hack the Gap is the total awesome package of women and tech and apps and cool stuff. So fun.”

Ultimately, Hack the Gap's mission is to create a safe space for women to explore their technical abilities, to create community among the participants, and to learn. “Many women spoke with me about what the event gave them. For some, it was a new group of people they met and bonded with, for others it was a skill they learned, and several spoke of the confidence they left with after the weekend,” says Kristen Womack, co-founder of Hack the Gap.

To get involved with this year's Hack the Gap or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities, visit www.hackthegap.com 

About Hack the Gap

Hack the Gap is an organization that is hacking the diversity gap, one hackathon at a time. Their mission is to amplify the voices and cultivate talents of underserved people in the community by giving the them a safe space to hack and a stage to show what they have built. To learn more about Hack the Gap: www.hackthegap.com

About Clockwork

Clockwork is an interactive design and technology agency in Minneapolis renowned for transformative business solutions. As a values-driven company, they are committed to supporting, promoting, and spotlighting organizations championing inclusivity and diversity.Learn more about what we do: www.clockwork.com

Hello World. We’re back.

Team Neuro Visionaries hacking on their brainwave bio feedback project. 

Here we are. New branding, new website, a refined mission and a bundle of energy for 2016. You may remember last year’s inaugural Hack the Gap event where we had 50+ women gather to hack all weekend and showcase their projects to a packed room of people from the local community and a panel of judges. The winning team, Neuro Visionaries, created a way to measure brain waves for students to learn about mindfulness. You can check out their project here: http://hackthegap.emilylyman.com/

But the hackathon wasn’t just about winning. The majority of the women talked about things they learned, people they met and what they accomplished. It was an inspiring weekend and we’re going to do it again. Sign up at www.hackthegap.com to be notified when tickets are available for the next all-women hackathon!