Women in Data for International Women’s Day 2020

At Datium Insights we’re celebrating the role that women play not just in our business but in the data community worldwide.

While women make up 47.4% of employed people in Australia the prominence of women within the data and analytics industry still lags that of men.

Purportedly only 30% of professional data-related roles are held by women, as of 2019.

Over the past decade data has come to the forefront as a major driver of human behaviour. To ensure its influence is beneficial for all, its critical that a diverse workforce is involved in wielding its influence.

Some of the largest tech companies in the world such as Facebook, Google and Amazon only have less than 40% of their workforce made up of women.

In the automotive industry this drops even further. According to a recent study 26.7% of people employed in automotive manufacturing and vehicle equipment manufacturing industries are women.

At Datium Insights we want to make sure we promote women in data to highlight the improvement we need to make as a society in this space.

With this in mind we wanted to share thoughts from 4 women in our business about their prior experiences in the industry.

Sharing these raw experiences will hopefully encourage more people to acknowledge stereotypes that have been prevalent for women even today.

At Datium Insights our aim is to break these stereotypes and advance women’s participation in data.

Jenna Yang

Head of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science

Why is International Women’s day important to you? 

“I have had the privilege of having a female mentor who showed me that I could do more than what others expected of me (and, more importantly, more than what I expected of myself!).

Being a woman is an honour because we were made to be able to shoulder many responsibilities at once – to be a friend, daughter, mother, and wife – and to do all of that amazingly well while working!

This day is a reminder that we are all still responsible to keep fighting for female-friendly policies at the workplace, equal access to education and opportunities, equal representation in corporate leadership, and to speak out against any gender biases we observe.”

What are the challenges for women in data and how have you dealt with them?

“The data industry is becoming increasingly intertwined with software engineering or computer science, which is traditionally a male-dominated field.

Many women lack substantial experience with coding and may feel limited by preconceptions.

As a leader in the data industry, I learned not to be intimidated by the loudest voice in the room regardless of gender and be proud of the work I do.

I still find a lack of female mentors in the data industry, something I hope to make a positive change in for the future.

With these experiences in mind I look forward to taking on new challenges in uncharted territories and enjoy being a trailblazing woman in my field.”

Lennys Inojosa

Data Engineer

Why is International Women’s day important to you?

“International Women’s Day is an opportunity to empower each other and support women everywhere who are mobilizing for an equal future.”

What are the challenges for women in data and how have you dealt with them?

“There are always challenges but I like to look at challenges as opportunities.

Since technology is still a male dominated field, being a woman in tech gives you an opportunity to stand out from others and be recognized and rewarded for your talent and work ethic.

For me, the perks are also the opportunity to be on the cutting edge of new products, techniques, and technologies. It is certainly never boring.”

Mollyn Teh

Data Analyst

Why is International Women’s day important to you?

“Because it’s a day of appreciation to all the great women of all ages who have contributed to the society, family, and organization.”

What are the challenges for women in data and how have you dealt with them?

“Surprisingly, some bias still exists in the 21-century for women in pursuing their career, include gender bias and stereotypes where people normally assumed women are ‘not technical enough’.

The keys to combat these biases are: keep learning, keep improving and keep growing. Well, I am lucky to work in a bias-free workplace.”

Maisie Badami

Data Engineer

Why is International Women’s day important to you?

“Women’s day is important not only for the whole the community to recognize all the hard works that women do to serve society, but also to remind us of the legacy that we inherited from pioneer remarkable women community. We all are responsible to thrive and retain this legacy.

We as women have to learn to be effective supporters of each other and empower each other to thrive. Women’s day gives us this chance to share our stories of success and failure for the future generations, boys and girls, to motivate them to contribute and be part of this. This would help us to connect and build a community of strong women, who will help one another succeed, and mentor girls ascending the steps into triumph. Women helping women can be a real tendency to a better tomorrow.”

What are the challenges for women in data and how have you dealt with them?

“Unfortunately, females are facing more challenges than males when it comes to entering into the STEM society and I am not an exception.

I had to overcome many challenges from getting into university or getting jobs as a Data Specialist or even become visible in the STEM society. To get into the top university I had to compete with males in an unfair and unequal competition (with less than 1/10 of the chance, that is has been given to men). Finding a career in STEM is another big challenge: there is a general belief that investment in a woman is prone to more risks. This belief that soon after starting a family, women become less proactive, drives a lot of decisions in employing women for certain positions. Positions that are considered as a muscular career!!

For me, it was always about proving that ‘Women Can!’ and for that, I had to work even harder than my male colleagues. Despite all of my efforts, I acknowledge the strength and energy that I have been given by others, it was remarkable, and I believe that I have this responsibility to pass this to other women by empowering them and encouraging them to join the STEM education and workforce.”