Interact and React: Exploring Gender Patterns in Development and the Impact on Innovation and Robustness of a User Interface Tool

In open-source software design, the inclusion of women is often highlighted simply to remind programmers that women exist. Yet, little attention is given to how greater gender diversity, specifically women's participation, could fundamentally alter development patterns. To understand the potential impact of gender inclusion, this study investigates React, a widely used JavaScript library for building user interfaces with an active contributor community. I examine gender differences in metrics of robustness and innovation, as well as shifts in contribution patterns leading up to major version releases over 11 years of the React project. My results show that the exclusion of women is detrimental to software as women contribute significantly more to feature enhancement and dependency management. By exploring how gender influences innovation and robustness in the development of React, the study offers critical insights into how increasing gender diversity could lead to more inclusive, innovative, and robust software.