Introducing Black in Data
We spoke to founder Sadiqah Musa and co-founder Devina Nembhard of Black in Data (BID), a rapidly growing network of people of colour in data, with an end goal of shifting diversity in the data industry, ‘in order that people of colour may feel confident, visible and heard’.
Please tell us about yourselves!
Devina: I am a lead analyst for the Guardian and co-founder of Black in Data. I’ve worked in data for 10 years, in all types of industry: gaming, a high street retailer, a luxury retailer. The Guardian is my longest tenure, I must like it here!
I studied maths because I wanted to do finance. When I left university I applied for loads of jobs and saw what stuck. It happened to be a CRM analyst role — I didn’t even know what that was!
I’d like to move into analytics management at the Guardian, but my ideal next step is to be full-time at Black in Data. It’s so rewarding, but we have to use any free time that we’ve got after 5.30pm and before 9.30am.
Sadiqah: I started studying petroleum geophysics because that’s what I thought I wanted to do all my life — analysing seismic data. After eight years, it hit me that it was not making me happy. It was long hours and I had young kids, so it wasn’t sustainable.
I love physics, I enjoy numbers, and I asked my brother ‘what can I do?’ By chance he said to think about data — it made perfect sense. I started doing SQL, exploring data sets and visualising data, and it clicked for me. I could still use the skill sets that I had. I retrained and went into data analytics. My first role was in financial data — super long hours again, but it was interesting and challenging, and I learned a lot.
I started at the Guardian as an analyst, and as of next month I’ll be a lead analyst. I found the perfect balance, where I can work and be fulfilled, and still have enough time to spend with my family. A bit of a detour of the original plan, but it worked out well in the end.
You met each other at the Guardian?
Sadiqah: I love this story! I had a final stage interview at the Guardian, and the interviewer said ‘there’s a member of the team I’d like you to meet’. I walked in, and there was Devina. I had done lots of interviews and had multiple job offers, but that was the decider for me: seeing another black female in that environment.
That was our very first meeting, and I kept telling everybody about the emotions and experience, because it had never happened before in my life. It was like seeing a unicorn! That’s how we met, three years ago.
How did you start BID, and where did the idea come from?
Devina: It was a thought that we’d had for quite a while. We’d been to lots of conferences and joined lots of groups that were catering for us, but not all the way. Women in Data is an absolutely great conference, we really enjoyed it, but it’s not specifically tailored for black people, and our experiences are so different. Not only black people: all people of colour.
We had an idea and decided at the beginning of 2021, let’s just do it. We didn’t know exactly what we wanted to do but we had a name. We wanted people of colour in the data industry to have somewhere to go and network, and be safe and supported. To make new friends and look for new experiences.
We created the group on LinkedIn and met a couple of times a week. We started mentoring straight away, then thought about training, events, community outreach, and kept adding to it as and when we could. Doing this around our nine to five, over the course of nine months, we’ve achieved quite a lot!
We’re on our second cohort of mentoring now and have had really great feedback. We have launched Teens in Data, and the first event was at the end of November. We’ve run multiple events, all virtual, which have gone really well. We’ve spoken at events as well, which is amazing, because I never thought I’d be able to speak in public!
We’ve also been successfully placing people into roles, as well as having a jobs board, and partnering with lots of different companies. It’s nice to think about where we were in January [2021] in comparison to today. It does blow my mind a little — I don’t even know how we’ve had time!
Sadiqah: When we started, we weren’t expecting anyone to join. I said to Devina I’d be happy if we had 20 people in our LinkedIn group. Now, we have over 8,000 data professionals of colour in our network. It really amazes me how much what we are doing has resonated with so many people.
Devina: The responses and feedback that we’ve had really goes to show how needed it was. Some people don’t post in the group, but just love to know it’s there. Everyone felt the same way: they wanted a space.
People from our mentoring scheme talk about how it has helped them with finding their first roles, career progression, and upskilling. We’ve partnered with a company that sets up candidates for training, then they’re placed within their first data role.
Anyone can go on this training, you just need a passion for whatever the discipline is. What they don’t expect, and are so happy about, is the support they get from both the other company and us. They’ve got a guaranteed job that they’re getting really well paid for. It blows their mind that they can get that, and we’re more than happy to provide it.
Are you based in the UK alone?
Sadiqah: One of the most interesting things that we found was that people joined in Brazil, the US, New Zealand, Laos, a massive following in West Africa. I was really blown away.
Devina and I are both London-based. I think we need to perfect our UK formula, learn from that, and perhaps duplicate it. For me, the next step is towards the African region. We’re seeing a lot of talent from that area: all that the people need there is opportunity, and to be visible and recognised for their skill sets. I think that’s where we’ll probably have the most impact.
How did it feel when you started this space?
Sadiqah: It was a little bit nerve-wracking at the beginning. I was thinking ‘I know how I feel, but how does the rest of the community feel?’ Obviously, we don’t speak for every black person, and every black experience is different. There was that thought of ‘okay, are we going to represent ourselves in the right way?’
But after that settled, there was a deep sense of enjoyment and pride in what we’re doing. I started seeing the comments people were making, and the company collaborations that we started. I was seeing real impact, not just for our own members, but for the organisations that we partnered with. I feel happiness!
Devina: I felt really nervous at the beginning too, it pushed me out of my comfort zone. Because I wanted the network to grow I had to make the first move with networking, and I found that I didn’t hate it! That’s been the most surprising, the fact that I’m able to have these conversations with people that I wouldn’t usually.
I was most excited about doing the podcast. When we started webinars and meetups there’s less control, and we can’t go back and erase what we’ve said, but they all went really well. Now we’re speaking at events with thousands of people, virtually. I’m not ready to do face-to-face yet, but it’s been a lot of growth for me over the past nine months.
What were your main reasons for starting Black in Data — you mentioned it being so rare to actually meet other black people in this space?
Sadiqah: Working with Devina was the very first time I’d ever worked with another black female in my life. You go through your working environment as the only person of colour, and get a deep sense of isolation, like you don’t belong in the spaces that you occupy.
Our main motivation was to create a community where people won’t feel like that. They might be the only one in their working environment, but they can connect with other people that look like them, and feel supported. So really, being a support for people that look like us.
Devina: Same for me. Before I met Sadiqah I had been working for seven years in the data industry. When we started working together, we could be completely ourselves with no censoring, no code-switching. It was a whole different experience and a lot more enjoyable. I wanted people to feel like that more, which meant that we’d have to increase diversity within the industry.
Another reason is because so many people stumble into a data career. Both of us didn’t really know what it was that we wanted to do, or that we’d like it! Even having studied maths at university, I didn’t have the skills to be a data scientist.
I’m so passionate about training for Black in Data, because you can leave a maths degree and still not know SQL or statistics, or how to apply it in the workplace. I really want to make that leap easier.
What do you want for Black in Data, and what do you see in the long term?
Devina: We’ve spoken to thousands of people over the last few months, on our podcast, at different events, and chats with people on LinkedIn. I’d love to get everyone together in the same space — although with Covid sticking around, we may not be able to yet!
Sadiqah: I’d love for it to continue to grow and see our membership get stronger, and the community get more connected. Ultimately, I want to develop a really strong pipeline of training and job placements — I think that will be one of our main focuses next year.
Partner or get in touch with Black in Data
Reach out to Black in Data if you’d like to improve diversity in your organisation, sponsor an event, host jobs on their jobs board, sponsor Teens in Data, or simply have a discussion!
However you’d like to help, please get in contact! You can reach out to Devina or Sadiqah, email hello@blackindata.co.uk, or find them on LinkedIn, Twitter, and their website.
