Women Influencers In Data

Few months ago, I wrote an article about the influencers in big data. The article resonated with many and almost all appreciated it. But that’s not the point. Soon after that, I read an article about the abysmal percentage of women in technology especially in the higher echelons. One report mentioned it to be anywhere between 11% to 28% depending on the organizational level.

So I posted on LinkedIn specifically calling out only the women influencers from my original article. Within 24 hours, 10,000 people read that post and 20,000 in 2 days. I was blown away. I had messages from all over the world thanking me for inspiring with that post. I could never imagine that a simple post could have that strong a reaction.

But I should have known better. Sometimes, just the awareness that there are other women who have succeeded and doing well itself could be strong inspiration.Growing up, I never realized that I could actually become an engineer until I heard that another person with similar background and from same rural area actually became an engineer. I realized that awareness is key. As a father of 2 daughters, all these points are very personal to me.

So it got me thinking. Why can’t I put a site celebrating the accomplishments of women influencers in data field which can serve as an ongoing inspiration to many people around the world. That’s how this project was born. Yeah, it's ambitious, so what. I tested the idea with Carla Gentry who I have gotten to know well and a source of inspiration for myself. She liked it and off I went.

I am happy to announce that the site is ready and the link is posted below.To start with, I picked the original 20 women I had from my original article.

Each of them have their own page on the site with their profile information from either LinkedIn or Twitter, links to their social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter. Additionally, the page will also have their latest tweets. So this will be handy if you are unable to keep up with overall twitter as you can just visit their page and look at their recent tweets. For example, Carla Gentry is a prolific tweeter and you can see her latest 50 tweets on her page.

Wait, there is more. To really pick it up a notch, I have prepared a video with their basic info so you can get it all in less than 4 minutes. The link is below.

So there you have it, folks. This has been passion of mine and I loved every minute of it. Hope you’ll like it as well.

I suggest you start off with this short 4 minute video. To watch the video, go here.

To read about them and stay connected or follow, go to the web site here.

Of course, you can read the original article with all the influencers here. Just be aware that the article was written as a song.

All I ask is few favors.

Be inspired. And don’t keep the inspiration only to yourself. Share with your friends and co-workers.

If you like any of these, please show it with a 'like'. If you don't like it, just let me know what I can do better via comments or messages to me.

I know there are lot more women influencers out there so please pass on their names in the comments section below. My intent is to keep adding to this list and keep the site up to date. This is just the beginning.

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Comment by Ramesh Dontha on July 8, 2017 at 5:31pm: You are welcome Carla.

Comment by Carla Gentry on July 7, 2017 at 5:45pm: Very cool, thanks Ramesh!

Comment by Ramesh Dontha on June 30, 2017 at 5:58pm: Thank you @pamela wood. As you rightly point out, it's not women over men or anything like that. Given the significantly lower percentage of women in tech etc., any awareness about successful women will motivate/inspire others to get into or stay the course. Yes, different backgrounds bring different perspectives as well.

Comment by Ramesh Dontha on June 30, 2017 at 5:54pm: Thanx @matt carter. Got the names.

Comment by Ramesh Dontha on June 30, 2017 at 5:53pm: Thanx Lance for your input. Hilary is already on the list. Got Cathy's name. Thanx

Comment by Lance Norskog on June 30, 2017 at 4:04pm: Hilary Mason (https://hilarymason.com/about/) Was Chief Sci at Bit.ly, started her own consultancy

Cathy Johnson (https://mathbabe.org/) A podcast: https://www.infoq.com/podcasts/cathy-oneil

Comment by Matt Carter on June 30, 2017 at 12:09pm: Great list Ramesh! Couple of more I would submit for inclusion in the list:

Fern Halper (https://datamakesworld.com/about/), VP/Senior Director of TDWI Research for Advanced Analytics

Claudia Imhoff (http://www.intelsols.com/about-us/who-we-are), President and Founder of Intelligent Solutions.

Comment by Pamela Wood on June 30, 2017 at 5:37am: Yay! I'm so glad to see this posting. Not to minimize the accomplishments of my male colleagues, but I wholeheartedly agree that more women are needed in technical fields! I started a Data Analytics Engineering masters degree with a cohort of 25 people and there were only 3 women and 8 men left standing at the end! My experience has taught me that, as women, we bring a different and refreshing perspective to some of the toughest problems in all workplaces. Embracing those perspectives and challenging ourselves to think differently can only result in continued success for all! You go ladies!