One hackathon we ran came out almost 50% women

We did nothing to make it happen

One hackathon we ran came out almost 50% women. Same event we always run, just a different city. No targeted marketing. No quota. We accepted almost everyone who applied. It just landed there.

For me that is a dream. It is also the problem. Because I think it was luck, and luck does not repeat.

Where I actually stand

I have never been a fan of quotas. But I have listened to people I respect who say they can be the bridge to a point where we do not need them anymore. That role models matter. That women-only spaces matter. I think they are right about more of that than I first assumed.

Women-only hackathons are a genuinely good thing. For a lot of women they are the first door in. A place to build confidence, find people, and often the launch pad into the open events afterward. I am glad they exist.

That is not our lane

sprintd is not a women's initiative. We run innovation sprints open to everyone. But open only means something if it is fair, and fair is something you build on purpose, not by accident.

What I want is simple to say and hard to do. Not a forced 50/50, but the same genuine interest. As many women applying, and showing up, as men. And that spark reaching girls who are still deciding what they are allowed to be ambitious about.

Why it matters beyond fairness

Mixed teams, different backgrounds and different genders, produce more original work and stronger results. Better teams. Better solutions for the partners who bring us their problems. Better companies built after the weekend ends. That is the room we are trying to build.

So here is what I keep sitting with. What makes a woman decide to come? What makes it worth staying once she is in the room? We have started with the boring, practical answers: a separate women's area for the overnight stay, matchmaking that runs before the event rather than a scramble on the floor, and a code of conduct that is enforced rather than posted.

That is a start, not an answer. If you have one, I would genuinely like to hear it. Our next sprint is in October in Zurich.