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Celebrating innovative LIDA women

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Celebrating innovative LIDA women

Research finds that certain groups (such as women, those from minority ethnic backgrounds and people with disabilities) are underrepresented in the data workforce. A lack of workforce diversity has the potential to amplify existing inequalities and prejudices.

According to a Parliamentary report “Data science skills in the UK workforce” (UK Parliament Post)...

  • The 2020 Ipsos Mori study found that across surveyed organisations, 24% of employees in AI roles were women
  • 53% of organisations had no female employees in AI roles
  • Research in 2021 by the Alan Turing Institute found that women in AI and data roles were more likely to occupy a job associated with lower status and pay, even though, on average, across all industries, women had higher formal education levels than men
  • Women are also underrepresented in education: The Joint Council for Qualifications found that girls represented 21% of students taking a GCSE in computing in 2022. While according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency, women comprised 23% and 20% of higher education students on computing and engineering courses (respectively), in the 2021/22 academic year.

Here at LIDA, we aim to support, celebrate and eliminate gaps between groups of the Data Science community with protected characteristics across all career types and levels.

We're delighted to congratulate the following members of the LIDA Community on their inclusion in The Northern Health Science Alliance (NHSA) and N8 Research Partnership list of women, who are pushing the boundaries of innovation in their sectors, marking International Women’s Day that took place in March.

  • Anna-Grace Linton PGR (School of Computing)
  • Kylie Norman (LIDA Co-ordinator of the Data Scientist Development Programme)
  • Dr Megan Wood (Research Fellow)
  • Professor Michelle Morris (Professor of Data Science for Food)

Read the full #NorthInnovationWomen 2024 list

Kylie NormanKylie in the Spotlight
As a new edition to this year’s campaign, N8 also introduced its Women in the Spotlight feature, a series of interviews with women making remarkable differences in their fields of work. We are delighted to say that LIDA’s own Kylie Norman, who leads our Data Science Development Programme (itself the recipient of the University of Leeds Equality, diversity and inclusion in research award (2022) is one of these.
Read Kylie’s Spotlight interview

A huge well done to all those women included in the list and beyond who are all working to help their peers and future generations to develop similar interests and careers.