The pandemic emphasizes the need for more women in data science | WARC | The Feed

The pandemic emphasizes the need for more women in data science

While women are well-represented in numbers and seniority in the marketing industry, they are still lacking in the specialty of data science, with detrimental effects to insights. This gap is heightened by the pandemic, as women bear the brunt of losses in the overall labor force.

Why it matters

Diversity in data science is crucial because interpreting data (and managing data bias), demands it, affecting how relevant and impactful insights will be. 

Takeaways

• Data science teams within marketing have a daunting gender diversity problem, partly because only one-third of women college graduates major in STEM fields and even fewer pursue careers in it, and this scenario has worsened during the pandemic.
• This is the time to invest in data science teams, especially those that include women, as Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Volkswagen are among those pursuing more data-driven strategies.
• Data interpretation without the right context further fuels stereotypes, resulting in issues such as Google’s online advertising serving high income jobs to men more often than to women.
• To solve the issue, data science teams should be less “purist,” shifting from static degree requirements and also addressing issues that affect women in the workplace more.