Laura Alexander, head of data at Hodge, not only agrees with this saying but seeks to take it a step further. For a start, she believes that the gender of the person analysing data is as important as the data itself. And furthermore, having worked in the data sector since 2008, she also continues to be frustrated by the lack of representation of women and other non-male genders still lay claim to in her industry.
Here, Laura explains why there needs to be further gender equality and diversity within the data sector as whole, and how without it much of the data that we hold remains incapable of being analysed to its full potential in the meantime.
Under-represented in the data world
I was once told by a former boss of mine that I would do well as a ‘token female’ working within the rapidly emerging data industry. It was a remark which not only spurred me in on my own career, but also made me look long and hard at my sector, at the job I loved, and at the people I then went on to hire.
As a sector, it’s safe to say that data analysis is significantly lacking in gender equality. In fact, research from The Alan Turing Institute found only 22 per cent of all data and AI professionals are women – which, let’s face it, just isn’t good enough.
During my years working in and now leading data teams, I’ve observed closely the different ways in which men, women and non-binary people analyse and read data. Merged together, these genders bring a much stronger level of analysis to the field – offering a far greater depth of insight and ultimately drawing more power from that data in the process.
From my perspective, capturing all within your data teams is key to creating the information ‘powerhouse’ most businesses are hoping to put into place these days.
The power of diverse thinking
At Hodge, I’m part of a team of 14, five of whom are women, including me. In my experience (which, let’s not forget, includes that comment from my former boss), we’re doing okay in the gender stakes – certainly compared to other data teams I know of and in my own experience. However, there’s so much more to be done.
Data is a wonderful career, and one I don’t believe has a glass ceiling – or, if it does, I haven’t yet experienced it. I didn’t go to university, but instead applied for a job involving data entry. I found I had a talent for analysing it and working with the data I was involved with and worked my way up from there. My flair for analytics was spotted and I was both promoted and nurtured at the start of my career, which is something I now work to put into practice with the colleagues I work alongside at Hodge.
As Hodge offers us days to volunteer with charities and do things that matter to us, I also get to give talks at careers events and at schools about my job in analysis, covering what I do and how data is now pivotal to most business decisions made in the modern world.
I think it’s really important we instill in young girls and those who are gender fluid that technical careers are an option for them as a career. It’s an amazing career which unlocks business opportunities, market insights and consumer understanding. The skills involved are also highly transferable and hugely in demand.
We need all people, with all points of view, to look at what consumers and customers are telling us. This in turn allows businesses and organisations to answer the needs they are expressing – whether that be in relation to their mortgage or the social housing benefit they are in receipt of.
Put simply, without data analysis, large organisations would really struggle to see how to support customers or create the products they need.
So, in response to my former boss who told me I’d do well in data as a ‘token woman’ – you’re right, I am doing well as a woman in data, but I am not a token. I am a champion of diversity in data and will continue to do so through my work in schools and the career services I provide.
Furthermore, I want to say thank you for your memorable comment, which put the fire in my belly to prove you wrong – and to encourage as many ‘tokens’ as I can to work alongside me in this wonderful industry too.
