Women played a glorious role in the early days of tech.
During WWII hundreds of women solved complex calculations for the allied military forces to improve their weapons. They paved the way for modern programming language and worked on the first general purpose computer, the ENIAC.
As men focussed on profitable hardware engineering, software was seen as suitable work for women. By 1984, the number of US women in computer engineering majors was 37%.
But all that changed when Silicon Valley started to become a goldmine and the focus shifted from hardware to software engineering.
Like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, the male tech nerd became a hero in popular culture. Gaming consoles were marketed to boys. Steadily, the number of women in computer engineering majors declined.
But everyone can feel times are changing. Data Natives is on a mission for change, together with our diverse community. We love to connect people from all genders and backgrounds to a bigger network through our events. We write about all their achievements and we have a fabulous mix of professionals shining on our stages.
“It is certainly no easy task to make a contribution to diversity within a classic male domain such as data science. Nonetheless, this year, more than 40 percent of female speakers are discussing on Data Native’s four stages.”
Data Natives CEO, Elena Poughia
We are proud to welcome these women who are changing the game in the tech industry at DN19:
Filipa Peleja – Senior Data Scientist, Vodafone Portugal
After getting awarded a 1st prize in an industry challenge from NOS, Peleja worked at Yahoo! research, before joining Vodafone. She also passes on her data wisdom during lectures at Neueda and faculty NOVAIMS, or during awesome conferences such as DN19.
Susan Wegner – VP Data, AI and Governance (CDO), Deutsche Telekom
Wegner is responsible for data governance, management, architecture, models and analytics. Susan brings with her more than 20 years of experience, especially in the fields of platform/software design, image processing, data analysis and AI.
Caroline Sinders – Principal Designer & Founder at Convocation Design+Research
With her company, Sinders works on the intersections of machine learning, user research, designing for public good, and solving difficult communication problems. As a designer and researcher, she worked with Amnesty International, Intel, IBM Watson, the Wikimedia Foundation, and others.
Sophie Brüggemann – Data Analyst & Technology Consultant at Spinnin’ Records (Warner Music Group)
Brüggemann is on a mission to personalise music streaming and improve listener experiences. She is a PhD candidate at the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich and specializes on the intersection of consumer research and business analytics.
Ellen Konig – Senior Data Scientist at Humanitec
Konig loves turning messy business problems into hypotheses that can be tested with experimentation, statistics and machine learning. She is establishing data science at Humanitec and TolaData by day and saving the world with her non-profit “Data Science for Social Good Berlin” by night.
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The data science scene is evolving so quickly, you go on holiday and wham you are running behind. No worries, we got you covered this fall. Visit DN19 and get updated on the latest data trends and tricks. Get your ticket here.
