4 Reasons Why We (Still) Need a “Women in Data Science” Conference

On International Women’s Day earlier this month, I attended the Stanford Women in Data Science (WiDS) 2023 conference in Palo Alto, along with several of my colleagues here at Intuit. Having initiated the Intuit-hosted WiDS Tel Aviv conference (still going strong six years later with WiDS Tel Aviv 2023), I was curious to experience it firsthand from where it all began back in 2015.

At the time, it was a one-day technical conference to provide a forum for women in data science to share and recognize their social, economic, cultural and political achievements.

In just a few years, WiDS has grown into a worldwide movement with more than 200+ regional events in more than 50 countries that engage 100,000 participants, complemented by a series of year-round initiatives (workshops, podcasts, datathons, and much more). It kicks off each year in the Bay Area with 400+ in-person attendees and thousands more from 75 countries joining via livestream to hear keynotes, technical talks and panel discussions.

Intuit data scientists showing up at Stanford WiDS to represent!

Left to right: Amy Smith, Sunitha Repaka, me!, Joy Rimchala, Taanya Gupta, Yue Yu, Elaine Xu

It was a unique experience for me for many reasons. Ultimately, it helped to answer a question that’s been in the back of my mind for quite some time: “Why do we still need a women in data science conference? “

From my perspective, there are four reasons why.

#1 Inspiration

I was (once again) in awe of the diversity and impact of applied data science to provide insights, foster understanding and solve real-world problems. All the way from ad monetization by VP data science, Gayatree Ganu at Meta (which turned out to be not all bad, as it enables small businesses and creators to connect with communities that benefit from their products and services), to Stanford Communications Professor, Jennifer Pan’s analysis of the intentions of censorship in China (spoiler alert — they do allow criticism as they are more after stopping collective action), to the heart-wrenching work by Director of Data, Trina Reynolds-Tyler at the Invisible Institute to uncover patterns of gender-based violence in the hands of police. And, so much more.

It seems we’re still just “scratching the surface” at the potential for data and AI.

#2 Be the change

Movements happen when people support a cause and decide to do something about it.

In 2017, it was striking to me that 90% of the technical conferences I attended had no women speakers. Having a keen interest in my own professional growth as a data scientist, learning from my peers in the Israeli community, and raising my own voice in the industry conversation around AI and data, I co-founded PyData Tel Aviv meetups. We were constantly seeking female speakers for our events, but soon discovered that it was a two-way street. Talented, well-qualified women who were perfectly capable of delivering awesome talks simply lacked the experience and confidence to accept opportunities.

Upon joining Intuit, I had the incredible opportunity to not only serve as a WiDS Ambassador in Israel, but the support of our leadership for our team to host Intuit’s inaugural WiDS Tel Aviv conference. Our vision was to create a stellar technical conference that would be highly attractive to all genders. In keeping with WiDS (brilliant!) global guidelines, only women would be allowed on the mainstage. We recognized that this was a platform we could use to inspire women in data science to raise their voices, and share tech innovation, best practices and career journeys with the community.

Over the years we continued to brainstorm, experiment and evolve our approach to the agenda, ultimately coming up with a mixture of keynotes, lightning talks, moderated roundtable discussions and poster sessions. We expanded our call-for-papers (CFP) outreach through various channels and enlisted a large committee of industry reviewers to scrutinize and select the best submissions. Each year, we hosted workshops to coach speakers on how to build engaging talks and uplevel their public speaking skills. We also established an application process to curate an audience in the data science field (industry, academia) to foster discussions and networking at the highest level.

#3 Representation

Each year, when we would share our CFP with the “Machine Learning Israel” community on Facebook, we would get the same question: “Why aren’t men allowed on stage?” We did our best to patiently explain. But, here’s a simple answer so eloquently stated by my sister WiDS Ambassador from Romania, Mariana Ungureanu: “Because they are everywhere!”

By setting the stage for women only and providing speaker coaching to help them give their best, our intention has been to inspire more women to share their work, build their expertise, and establish their leadership and reputation in the data science field. Along the way, we also set out to normalize the fact that women are speakers (and leaders!) at technical conferences and to provide role models for the next generation.

By doing our part to increase representation of women in leadership roles in data science, each of us can play a role in increasing the ratio of women in the field. I experienced this first-hand when building a team made up of more than 50% women in data science while at Intuit Israel (I’ve since moved into a new role here in the U.S).

#4 Impact

Since its debut in 2017, our incredible Intuit Israel team has led 6 successful WiDS Tel Aviv conferences. The number of submissions for talks has grown exponentially from year to year. What started with ~20 CFP submissions has grown to over 100 (!) in 2022. What began as an annual conference has grown into a thriving community with more than 1,700 members who often connect as part of a WiDS tech meetup series and online forums, and serve as a bouncing board for sharing questions, challenges, and mentoring opportunities.

Best of all, we’ve seen a significant increase in female representation at other technical conferences in Israel!

We’ve come a very long way

As I was listening to all the amazing talks at Stanford WiDS earlier this month, I thought about the positive impact of the WiDS community in the world, and felt a sense of pride about how far we have come.

….and we (still) have a long way to go

The overall ratio of women in technical and leadership roles in the tech industry is still significantly lower than their ratio in the population, and honestly, there’s no good reason for that.

A commitment to women in tech at Intuit

WiDS is all about inspiring and educating data scientists worldwide, and supporting women in the field. A mission that’s well-aligned to Intuit’s commitment to women in tech.

Our diversity and inclusion strategy starts at the top. We set goals, measure them and hold ourselves accountable. In FY22, we met our goal for representation of women in technology, reaching 33 percent of the technology organization. We’ve set a goal to reach 38 percent globally by FY25.

If this blog has sparked your interest in AI and data innovation at Intuit, take a moment to explore data science career opportunities and join our talent community!