While acknowledging that there is more work to be done, the organisation celebrated when it achieved 50:50 gender balance at management level in 2019, a year ahead of schedule. However, a search for the term “data” within the same press release yields zero results. This comes despite the fact that data continues to lag when it comes to the diversity of people entering the industry: just under two-thirds of all new hires made in the UK data and analytics (D&A) sector in the 18 months before September 2021 were male, according to a recent study by Harnham.
As attention has been drawn to workplace inequality in the wake of the social upheaval caused by the pandemic, the data office has an opportunity to shatter existing stereotypes and break away from outdated hiring patterns. Morgan Vawter, global vice-president of data at Unilever, sat down with DataIQ to outline the organisation’s approach to overcoming gender inequality in the data office.
DataIQ (DIQ): Organisations may set gender goals, but many data leaders complain that they simply do not get a diverse enough pool of applicants to hit those targets – is that something you’ve experienced?
Morgan Vawter (MV): “Every company has to do more if they want to get a balanced pool of candidates in for the interview process. To start with, there aren’t as many visible female role models in data, and over time this creates unconscious biases, both for females that do go into the field and for younger women considering their career options. It’s certainly a career that’s associated with men, and women often feel that they need to pursue a more ‘female-oriented’ role. Sometimes, the way we position D&A can seem abstract, or even competitive. Women in STEM put more of a premium on purposeful, impact-driven careers.
There can even be language barriers in the way we approach job postings – from using gender-biased words through to searching for that “unicorn” candidate with knowledge of myriad coding languages, prior experience and communication skills. Research shows that men are more likely to apply for jobs that may be a stretch for them than women are. This all combines to lead less women to apply for vacant D&A roles, and we have to be conscious of that.”
DIQ: What is Unilever doing to address that problem?
MV: “We have launched a Women in Data initiative, which focuses on what we can do for Unilever and the industry at large by creating more role models. We want to showcase our female leaders through social media, job adverts, events and community mentoring programmes. Then, we want to systematically revise our job postings so that they use inclusive language and aren’t overly ambitious. We use a strategic partner for proactive sourcing, which helps us to identify and drive diversity across our talent funnel.
On top of this, we have implemented a three-day internal training programme for our leadership, coaching them on how to become an inclusive leader. It’s not enough to think about diversity purely as a numbers exercise, you need to get the tone right in leadership otherwise a lot of females will leave after they join.
Our Women in Data initiative has been official for about a year now, but it’s built on scattered projects that Unilever has been running for a while. It brings the approach together into one cohesive message, helping to secure investment and drive a bigger impact.”
DIQ: Diversity targets are often centred on the hiring process, but workforces often become more imbalanced in senior positions. How are you ensuring that your career development process is inclusive?
MV: “In terms of internal progression there are a couple of things we’re doing. Firstly, we put an emphasis on being transparent about the skills required to progress to the next level, and we have an objective way of assessing those skills. This is important, because one of the key impacts on gender inequality in progression is that promotions are often based on subjective views. We try to make our process as objective as possible by linking promotions to technical and functional skills development.
Secondly, we’re big on mentorships. Typically, men will ask for mentors or create those kinds of relationships more naturally. We go out of our way to ensure that our female staff receive mentorship where needed, and we take a structured approach to that. We have an organisation-wide mentor-matching programme, and within the data office this will be tailored to specific areas of expertise. For example, if I need development in data engineering, I’ll be paired with somebody a bit more senior in that position. It’s curated based on skills, not demographics.”
DIQ: What does diversity bring to the data office?
MV: “In data and analytics, you’re often creating datasets, algorithms or digital services that have an exponential impact on society. If you don’t have a diverse team – not just when building the analytics and preparing the data, but also when looking at the data and determining the problem you’re going to solve – you can inadvertently create solutions that aren’t good for society, consumers or customers.
For example, Google Home technology was initially found to be better at identifying male voices than female voices. When Apple first launched its health app, it failed to include any means to track the menstrual cycle. It can get scarier too, when AI is better at predicting cancer in male patients than it is in female patients. If more diverse perspectives had been engaged in the development of these solutions at every step, I’d bet that these issues would have been avoided.
More diverse teams get a better market share, identify new markets faster and are more innovative in what they create. This is true regardless of industry or function.”
