But has this translated into gains for STEM?
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Transparency and visibility into these numbers is key to creating change.
But theres more than one problem when it comes to issues of diversity in data science.
Theres the science problem, and the scientist problem.
We cant just assume we are talking about data engineers and data architects.
Its also pertinent to the domain experts with the expertise that are collecting the data and mining insights.
There must be diversity there as well.
As straight forward as it sounds, a lot of this comes down to customer centricity.
If you know your customer base thats key.
Your customer base is rarely all one jot down of people.
Yet, it takes more than identifying and measuring problems to solve them.
Arguably, nobody should be unaware of STEMs diversity issues in 2022.
Unfortunately, developers cant just push a magic button labeled fix bias to solve the problem.
Bias enters most technology systems unintentionally.
The developers arent necessarily trying to make machines or algorithms that work better for certain demographics than others.
Thats why youll often hear bias referred to as something that creeps into systems.
Luckily, its 2022 and were starting to see some solutions to these problemscreeponto the scene themselves.
Chief among these is transparency and explainability.
As Krishnan transparently explained to me:
Theres the notion of explainableAIthats taking over in a big way.
It also helps root out bias in the algorithms.
I would say this is where we go back to thinking about the customer.
Making sure your data is representative of the customer base youre going over is going to be important.
Its also a matter of supporting clients, partners, customers, and users in the global technology space.
But it still takes effort to get there.
In other words, theres still work to do.
Whether its government or organizations, making moves at a policy level will help in these efforts.
One other important aspect is mentorship programs for those in underserved demographics.
The importance of having a role model cant be understated.
Did you know Radhika Krishnan is speaking atTNW Conferencethis summer?
Check out the full list of speakershere.
