All-women hacking competition aims to be world's largest

BOSTON – Women at Boston University are organizing what they hope will be the world's largest all-female hacking competition.

The SheHacks Boston event running through Sunday is expected to bring 1,000 college and high school students from across the U.S. and as far as Ethiopia to Boston University's campus.

Organizers say their goal is to empower women and allow them to explore the tech industry in an encouraging environment.

BU student Fiona Whittington says she decided to organize the event after attending a hacking competition in New York where she was one of few women and felt unwelcome.

Hacking competitions, often called hackathons, gather computer programs and others who use coding skills to solve real-world problems.

The SheHacks competition includes challenges intended to help victims of sexual assault and combat fake news.