Data Science for All: Women's Summit- Fall 2020

Correlation One is continuing its mission to promote gender diversity in data science via the Fall 2020, Data Science for All: Women's Summit- Virtual Edition, kicking off September 18.

Women are 46% of the workforce, but hold only 26% of STEM jobs. Many women drop out of STEM careers because they lack support navigating a field dominated by men. In the Data & Analytics space, well-intentioned employers seeking to create workforces reflective of our diverse society struggle because of supply-side challenges- only 35% of data science students are women and only 12% of data science students identify as black, latinx, or LGBT+.

The Data Science for All: Women's Summit increases the supply of women into data science & analytics by providing practical skills training, individual mentorship opportunities, and exclusive employer engagements.

So far, the Data Science for All: Women's Summit has helped elite women with quantitative backgrounds improve their data careers via the DS4A Women's Summit New York (Fall 2019) and the DS4A: Women's Summit- San Francisco (Spring 2020). This fall, in light of COVID-19 disruptions, Correlation One will invite 150 top students and young professionals from around the world to participate in the Women's Summit virtually.

Participants will spend five weeks in September and October completing industry-specific data science projects, case studies, and professional development seminars while working closely with established professional mentors across finance, consulting, and technology. The program culminates with a virtual presentation day and career fair where participants present their work and connect with sponsoring employers, peers and mentors in data science.

THE SUPPLY-SIDE PROBLEM

Imagine that your company publishes an analytics job description with 10 requirements. Studies have shown that men and women tend to process the job description differently. Men see that they have 6 out of 10 requirements and assume they can "wing" the rest. Women, on the other hand, see that they have 6 out of 10 requirements and assume they are unqualified. This results in fewer women applicants.

In addition, the percentage of graduates with data science and computer science degrees are heavily skewed toward men. However, the percentage of graduates in "nearby" fields, such as statistics, quantitative biology, and economics, is much more balanced. When job descriptions require undergraduate degrees in data or computer science, this also results in fewer women applicants.

These two factors fuel a dynamic where 80-90% of applicants for analytics jobs are men. And it is also the reason that changes in hiring practices alone won't solve the gender imbalance problem.

Instead, addressing the imbalance requires supply-side measures: the raw number of qualified women applicants must be significantly increased. This, in turn, can be accomplished by increasing the number of women with the requisite skills - through practical training for example, for women in the "nearby" fields of statistics, biology, and economics. It can also be accomplished by increasing the number of applicants among already qualified women - through mentorship and career coaching, for example. Our Data Science for All: Women's Summit is designed to address this supply-side problem.

APPLICANT SOURCING & SELECTION

Leveraging Correlation One's 150,000+ data science community and 500+ partnerships with academic and professional groups, we promote the event to source highly qualified yet untapped women data & analytics talent. All applicants go through a rigorous application flow, which includes taking a technical assessment and collecting data on which industries applicants are interested in, when they become available for jobs, etc.

We have found that talent is globally distributed, and we believe that skills speak louder than resumes. There is great undervalued talent outside of the Ivy Leagues, often hiding in plain sight. Through our extensive network and our objective selection process, we help firms identify and hire vetted, underrepresented talent. Out of thousands of applicants, 150 are selected to participate in the program as mentees.

PRACTICAL TRAINING THROUGH MICRO-BOOTCAMP

Leveraging Correlation One's data-skills training platform, mentees will receive three weeks of instructor-led training for free. Training will occur on September 18-19, 25-26 and October 2-3. Mentees will also be given self-study work following the sessions, and will have opportunities to receive 1-1 coaching throughout the program with Correlation One's professors and teaching assistants. On the second day of instruction, mentees will form a project team to work on an industry-specific Capstone Project.

Mentees will work on their Capstone Projects leading up to the Women's Summit on October 16, when they will present their work to their peers, mentors, and participating employers.

PAIRING WITH MENTORS

At the Women's Summit, mentees will be paired with mentors from sponsoring organizations.

Mentors will help mentees with career advice, and help with technical advice on their Capstone project presentations. The benefit for mentees is personalized help bridging the gap between having data skills on the one hand, and being effective inside organizations on the other.

From the mentor's perspective, the pairing with mentees gives them an opportunity to share information about their company's culture and to build a personal relationship with vetted and enthusiastic women data scientists through a shared professional experience. Mentors sponsor mentees and help them understand and navigate the firm's culture. Mentors will be men and women. Especially for men mentors, the pairing with women mentees can help bridge gaps and improve connectivity at the firm, as well as help create a culture which supports diversity and inclusion initiatives. The approximate time commitment for mentors is 8-10 hours over the five week period.

PRESENTATION OF CAPSTONE PROJECTS

In addition to professional development and networking, the core activity of the Women's Summit is a career expo in which mentees present their Capstone projects. Mentees will showcase their skills by walking the audience through their data analysis, their hypotheses, their conclusions, and their technical solutions via live stream.

Sponsors will be able to assess the communication skills (technical and non-technical) as well as the analytical skills of mentees. They will also have data points on culture fit and interest level from paired mentors. In this way, the mentee-selection experience generates valuable data - both on technical skills, soft skills, and cultural fit - that employers can use to hire with confidence.

EXCLUSIVE ACCESS TO HIRING OPPORTUNITIES

The Data Science for All: Women's Summit is designed to immediately impact gender diversity in the data science and analytics space by facilitating direct hiring outcomes between program mentees and program sponsors.

Correlation One works with sponsors to promote their firms, their talent brands, and their active opportunities throughout the Summit including keynote addresses, panel discussions, and company-exclusive professional development sessions.

While prior events have relied on in-person addresses and career fairs to inspire candidates to explore new companies and kick off the candidate experience, the Fall 2020 virtual summit will give sponsors the opportunity to address the entire Mentee cohort via exclusive webinars. Following each webinar, interested candidates will be able to 'raise their hands' for new job opportunities via C1 Connect. On C1 Connect, recruiting teams will be able to access candidates contact information, resumes, and C1 Connect Datafolios. When a firm is interested in a candidate, C1 will facilitate introductions and help the candidate make the right first steps in the candidate experience.

GET INVOLVED

If your firm is committed to gender diversity in data science and analytics and wants to join on our mission to make Data Science for All, get in touch.