{"id":7780,"date":"2019-03-08T08:00:18","date_gmt":"2019-03-08T08:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-gb\/industry\/blog\/?p=7780"},"modified":"2019-03-05T09:35:59","modified_gmt":"2019-03-05T09:35:59","slug":"why-women-should-consider-a-role-in-data-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-gb\/industry\/blog\/cross-industry\/2019\/03\/08\/why-women-should-consider-a-role-in-data-science\/","title":{"rendered":"Why women should consider a role in data science"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Blogger<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been working in the tech sector for 20 years. So far, it\u2019s given me amazing experiences and countless fantastic opportunities. Recently, I found myself reflecting on the tech jobs I’ve had over the past two decades. I thought about how much had changed, in terms of the world, the industry, and myself.<\/p>\n

Personally, I don\u2019t listen to TLC anymore (ok, sometimes they sneak onto my Spotify). I no longer need a special password to access the internet. And I am usually not the only woman in a room anymore.<\/p>\n

The shift in gender balance within the industry and the companies I have worked for has been gradual but steady, and momentum has gathered pace in recent years. As someone who works for a very inclusive company, I realise I am in a privileged position. Microsoft has a well-established programme to deliver gender equality across all areas. I also work in business development, which tends to have a more equal gender balance than other sectors of the technology industry.<\/p>\n

However, in other areas, and for other women, the story is not so simple. When we think about being inclusive and diverse, we can\u2019t forget about intersectionality. And that means making sure that we foster an environment which is fair and open to all.<\/p>\n

\"WomanBalance for better<\/h2>\n

This year, International Women\u2019s Day is all about #balanceforbetter. Diversity and inclusion create a more innovative, happy workforce. That\u2019s why our campaign for International Women’s Day this year ensures we create opportunities for women from a range of different backgrounds and geographical locations.<\/p>\n

My role in our independent software vendor (ISV) business means I get to work with some amazing software developers, cloud architects, and data scientists across a range of industries, as well as collaborate with other channel partners. When I attend meetings, there are often discussions around the challenge of finding and building digital skills, particularly in data science. There seems to be a groundswell of concern across our ecosystem. Hiring data scientists is hard, because there is a serious shortage. When I looked at the research, there were some interesting statistics \u2013 80 percent of UK businesses plan to hire a data scientist in 2019. According to a recent Forbes article (cited in Harnham.com), only 26 percent of data jobs in the US are held by women, with that number halving for the UK.<\/p>\n

Given that 93 percent of data scientists earn more than the average UK wage, and knowing the importance of having gender balance across all roles, I want to encourage more women to become data scientists.<\/p>\n

Closing the gender skills gap<\/h2>\n

We have so many fantastic people working at Microsoft. And these incredibly talented people want to come out into the community to support those who are considering a career in the technology sector. We know there are many women leaving other industries. We know there are not enough women in tech. And we know that there are not enough data scientists in the UK. We also know our partners are finding it difficult to hire data scientists, too. Could we, perhaps, make some small change to take us a step closer to solving these problems?<\/p>\n

To help address the gender skills gap we’re currently being challenged with, we’ve launched a plan to run nine data science bootcamps<\/a> across the UK on the 2nd May. Facilitated by our channel partners; Amido, ANS Group, BJSS, DevOps Group, DSP, Grey Matter, and Kainos & Incremental, our aim is to host 100 women and support them through their first module of our Microsoft Professional Programme qualification in Data Science. They will then go on to study online from home over the next six months, before returning to their host partner site for a recruitment day.<\/span><\/p>\n

We aim to have at least half these women to gain their qualification within six months of the bootcamp, with as many as possible securing their first data science role shortly thereafter. We\u2019re excited to launch this for International Women’s Day and hope it will be something that we can repeat.<\/p>\n

Paying it forward<\/h2>\n

I\u2019ve been lucky enough to be supported by some amazing women throughout my career, and I want to pay that forward by offering other women the opportunity to explore the wonder of tech. We are also encouraging those women to pay it forward to others who are less fortunate. The training course and first certificate will be provided free of charge, but we are asking for a nominal \u00a310 donation from each delegate, which will be donated to Smart Works<\/a>. Best of all, Microsoft will match each donation pound for pound.<\/p>\n

To support our outreach and promotion of these bootcamps, we’ve profiled five amazing data scientists<\/a> here at Microsoft to share their experiences and tips for becoming a data scientist.<\/p>\n