Major initiative to inspire women in the data industry

L to R, Rachel Keane, Payal Jain, Roisin McCarthy (WiD UK) and Edwina Dunn (The Female Lead)

L to R, Rachel Keane, Payal Jain, Roisin McCarthy, Edwina Dunn

Senior female figures in the UK data industry are joining forces to highlight the breadth of achievement within the sector and showcase success stories, in a move designed to encourage women working in data science to aspire and progress throughout their careers.
The initiative is being driven by a new partnership between The Female Lead, a not for profit organisation set up by industry guru Edwina Dunn and Women in Data UK (WiD UK), a group launched by Roisin McCarthy and Rachel Keane, managing consultants at data recruitment firm Datatech Analytics.
Next month it will launch the “20 in Data”; a project designed to shine a light on 20 exceptional stories of female achievement and inspire data practitioners across the UK.
It will be launched and showcased at the WiD UK 2017 event on November 30 and features portraits and in-depth interviews with each of the 20 data luminaries.
The collaboration has been spearheaded by WiD UK chair Payal Jain and Dunn, whose shared experience of a career in data science has inspired them to tackle the gender-talent gap inherent to the industry.
Dunn said: “Trends indicate that data science is lagging behind other sectors in this respect, including similar fields such as technology. ’20 in Data’ aims to showcase the wealth and diversity of data-led career paths that women are successfully pursuing in the UK today and inspire the next generation of data science leaders.
“Connecting Women in Data and showcasing inspiring and real-world female role models is having a measurable influence on the career trajectories of today’s practitioners. The benefits to industry of this ground-breaking collaboration will be seen for generations to come.”
Details of this year’s conference and previous videos of WiD UK speakers can be found at http://womenindata.co.uk