The Women in Data Science Conference was created to ensure women will be represented in the data science field. By 2030, they want 30 percent of all data scientists to be women.
Professor Margot Gerritsen is no stranger to this problem. Gerritsen, who received her Ph.D. in scientific computing and computational mathematics at Stanford University, recalls that as a woman and an international student pursuing a degree in computational science nearly three decades ago, there were few people she felt closely connected to—and fewer still who understood the challenges she faced in scientific fields.
Gerritsen points out that these gaps in data science can be quite dangerous since limited perspectives and incomplete and biased sets of data are being used to make decisions that will affect everyone. To Professor Gerritsen, having a diverse group of data scientists at the decision table is vital to creating equitable solutions to the problems we face today.
Diversifying the field, according to Gerritsen, means identifying and removing traditional barriers to entry. WiDS models how to do this through focusing on accessibility. Rather than charging expensive entry fees, WiDS livestreams the conference and provides all WiDS programing for free so those who cannot afford to participate in person are still able to access important information.
To Gerritsen, ensuring women can see other women in the field will help them destroy the myth that data science is a field exclusively for men. In constructing the conference and programming around accessibility, WiDS has turned what could have been another expensive and exclusive 20,000-person conference into a network of women working together to find solutions to the problems they face.
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