Women in Data Science (WiDS) Announces WiDS Workshops Initiative Featuring Female Instructors from World-Class Universities, Companies, & Nonprofits

Women in Data Science (WiDS) Worldwide today announced an initiative to inspire, educate, and upskill data scientists and aspiring data scientists worldwide, led by outstanding female instructors. The gender gap remains wide, as women represent just 15-22% of data science professionals. WiDS Workshops aim to educate everyone, regardless of gender, while inspiring women and girls with role model instructors.

“WiDS Workshops bring instructors from multiple backgrounds together to provide mini-courses on the latest areas of interest in data science, machine learning, and AI,” said Margot Gerritsen, Stanford Professor, and Co-Founder and Co-Director of WiDS. “This is a wonderful extension of our existing WiDS worldwide initiatives.”

The initial set of workshops will include topics such as actionable ethics, automating machine learning, exploration of AI & AR, data analysis for health, and recommender systems. The WiDS Workshops, curated by Stanford University faculty, are led by women from several universities, including Stanford University, Cornell University, and Virginia Tech; industry, including Microsoft, Walmart Global Tech, and Thoughtworks; and nonprofits, including the Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG). These initial workshops will be included in the WiDS Worldwide conference happening on March 8, 2021, a 24-hour virtual event following the sun around the world to inspire, educate, and support data scientists worldwide. Participants must register for the WiDS Worldwide conference to participate in these workshops, and may attend from anywhere in the world. The WiDS Worldwide conference sessions and workshops will be conducted in English and simultaneously interpreted in Spanish and Arabic.

WiDS Workshops are part of the WiDS worldwide initiative, which reaches more than 100,000 people worldwide each year through a technical conference hosted by Stanford and at 150+ regional events around the world; a datathon that helps data scientists hone their skills using a social impact challenge; a podcast series; and an education outreach initiative that encourages secondary students to consider a career in data science and related fields.

The WiDS initiative is spearheaded by Stanford Data Science and Stanford Institute for Computational and Mathematical Engineering (ICME), and supported by WiDS sponsors Facebook, Intuit, Walmart Global Tech, Wells Fargo, IBM, General Motors, Google, MathWorks, Microsoft, Total, and Stanford Mobilize.

About Stanford Data Science

Stanford Data Science weaves data science research and methods into the university's fabric, giving faculty and students the tools, skills, and understanding they need to do the cutting-edge research that will drive 21st-century scholarship and education.

About the Stanford Institute for Computational & Mathematical Engineering (ICME)

Stanford ICME conducts groundbreaking research, trains and advises graduate students, provides consulting, and teaches over 60 courses in computational mathematics and scientific computing at both the undergraduate and graduate level to the Stanford community. Stanford ICME has a holistic approach to providing graduate students the course work, research opportunities, support, and professional development to better prepare them for their careers in scientific computing.