To: The MLH Community
I have some exciting news to share today: Major League Hacking (MLH) has acquired TechTogether, the organization behind the leading series of gender-inclusive hackathons. Since day zero MLH has been committed to making our community a welcoming and inclusive space for all hackers of all backgrounds. By acquiring and scaling TechTogether’s programs, we’re doubling down on that long standing commitment and furthering our investment in diversity initiatives.
Representation has long been a problem in the tech industry, and even at MLH’s first events back in 2013 it was obvious that there was a lot of work to be done to build a more inclusive and welcoming space. Last year, nearly 47% of MLH’s community in the United States identified as non-male. This is 2.5 times more representation than the average Computer Science classroom and is the result of years of hard work by our team and community. We’re certainly not done working on this, but we are very proud of being able to support so many hackers who may not always feel included in traditional tech communities.
Over the past several years, we’ve frequently partnered with TechTogether to support their hackathons through MLH’s Student Hackathon League. Their events specifically serve hackers of marginalized genders – transgender women, cisgender women, transgender men, non-binary individuals, and all gender identities which have been systematically oppressed by those in power. TechTogether created a space and community that has already inspired more than 10,000 traditionally underrepresented hackers to join the tech industry. When the opportunity for MLH to help scale that impact came up, we jumped at the chance.
In addition to preserving the existing programs and events, MLH will be helping to expand TechTogether’s reach and impact to a global scale. As we grow the TechTogether team, they’ll be able to tap into the expertise and resources that MLH has developed by serving nearly 500,000 hackers across thousands of events. As part of the acquisition, TechTogether’s former Executive Director, Fiona Whittington, will also be joining the MLH team where she’ll help lead the TechTogether community through this next phase of growth.
Thank you and congratulations to Fiona, the TechTogether board, and everyone who made this day possible. I can’t wait to see what MLH and TechTogether will accomplish in the years to come!
Happy Hacking,
Swift
P.S. If you want to learn more about the acquisition or future of MLH and TechTogether, Fiona and I will be hosting an Ask Me Anything (AMA) on Twitch this Thursday, May 5th at 2pm ET / 11am PT (register here). During the session, we’ll be answering questions from the community live on stream and sharing stories from our journeys. We hope to see you there!
P.P.S. If you missed the AMA, you can find a a list of the frequently asked questions and their answers in this follow-up post.