The
Caucus for Women in Statistics and Data Science organised the third edition of the
International Day of Women in Statistics and Data Science (IDWSDS2024) on 8 October 2024, with the running theme 'Empowering the next generation of statisticians and data scientists'.
The event gathered global speakers from 26 countries, from South Korea to Nigeria, and keynote sessions by Kerrie Mengersen (Queensland University of Technology, Australia), Nancy Geller (NHLBI, US), Ruth Keogh (London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine) and Leslie McClure (Saint Louis University, US).
Our Celebrating Diversity group took part in IDWSDS24 on 8 October, with a session jointly organised with the History of Statistics Section as part of this 24-hour international conference. The session included two talks, '"Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History"….or Do They?' by History of Statistics member Penny Reynolds (University of Florida) and 'Suffrage, statistics and spurious correlations' by the chair of Celebrating Diversity and secretary of the History of Statistics section, Altea Lorenzo-Arribas (BioSS).
Our colleague Edith Milanzi, also part of the 2024 RSS Future Leaders cohort and founder of the non-profit organisation FemAnalytica, organised a symposium showcasing the remarkable contributions of Malawian women in data to motivate the next generation of statisticians and data scientists.
As part of the global event, an initiative was run to promote Career Stories through the YouTube channel of the Caucus. Selina So (Innovate UK), also an RSS Future Leaders representative, shared her experience. As part of
her inspirational video, Selina commented 'I’ve always felt fascinated by the stories that data could tell us' and invited us to 'keep supporting each other.'
Tricia Dodd, RSS Honorary Officer for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, said, 'The International Day of Women in Statistics and Data Science is an important occasion, bringing the community together to showcase and celebrate women's contribution to the profession and promote equity, diversity and inclusion in all areas of our work.'
We hope you can join this supportive community of Women in Statistics and Data Science next year to celebrate IDWSDS2025!