Where are the marathon Girls?: An Analysis of Female Representation in the Brazilian ICPC Programming Marathons

TL;DR

This paper investigates the low female participation in Brazilian ICPC programming marathons, analyzing social and contextual factors despite evidence of no gender-based intellectual differences.

Contribution

It provides an analysis of gender representation in programming marathons, highlighting social factors influencing female participation despite equal intellectual capabilities.

Findings

Women are underrepresented in Brazilian ICPC marathons.

Gender disparity persists despite equal intellectual potential.

Social and contextual factors influence female participation.

Abstract

Education motivated the encouragement of female participation in several areas of science and technology. Programming marathons have grown over the years and are events where programmers compete to solve coding challenges. However, despite scientific evidence that there is no intellectual difference between genders, women's participation is relatively low. This work seeks to understand the reason for this adherence, considering the gender issue in Programming Marathons over the last years, in a real context. This work aims to understand the context of female representativeness in which the intellectual aspects do not differ in gender. Still, there is a considerable discrepancy in female belonging.