Roisin founded Women in Data® in 2015. The impetus for Women in Data and its first 100-strong event at UCL originated in Roisin’s shock and disappointment at diminishing numbers of female applicants for jobs in Data.
Her career started in 2000 when she embarked on a profession dedicated to talent and innovation with the leading recruitment firm, Datatech Analytics. With over two decades of unrivalled experience in the data industry, Roisin is recognised as a leading expert in talent acquisition and retention. Her endeavours with Women in Data have cemented her as an authority on gender representation in the world of data.
Wind forward to 2022: the Women in Data community has grown to 25,000 members and the organisation’s influence is both broad and deep. Women in Data has become famous for its landmark annual events, which have grown in size and prestige year-on-year, as well as its year–round partner and member support, and its Twenty in Data and Technology annual spotlight on female trail-blazers and rising stars.
Today, more insight is available into the barriers to entry that affect both young girls and women in leadership. Together with its partners, Women in Data is involved in practical working parties designed to have a measurable, positive impact on pressing issues such as sector entry, advancement, certification, pay and inclusion. Roisin has been recognised in DataIQ’s Top 100. She still leads Datatech’s operations, where she has happily witnessed a significant increase in applications from women for Data roles, and continues to build some of the UK’s most cutting-edge data teams.
Roisin continues to drive more inclusive and innovative methods in which to engage women in a career in Data, develop their expertise in the sector and use the human capital and brilliance of the community for good. Women’s Safety, Women’s Health and Girls in Data are three key initiatives she is helping to advance.
Payal is a Managing Director at JCURV, a management consultancy company whose mission is to increase the agility of UK PLC by helping companies radically change the way they leverage data. Previous to this, Payal has held several executive roles in the Banking and Finance industry for the last 18 years including Existing Customer Management and Loans Director at Vanquis Bank and Managing Director of Strategic Analytics at Barclays, responsible for all the analytics in the UK and European Credit Card and Lending division across 8 countries.
Payal is the Chair of Women in Data®, whose mission is gender parity in all data roles, especially at a senior level. In 2016, Payal was recognised as the most influential data professional in the DataIQ Top 100 leaders in the UK. In 2019, Payal was recognised in the HERoes Top 100 Women Executives in the UK and highly commended in the category of Digital and Technology in the Asian Women of Achievement Awards.
Twitter: @PeejJain @JCURVs @WomeninDataUK
LinkedIn: Payal Jain JCURV
After a 10-year career working for The Evergreen Group Ltd within administration, I was approached by Women in Data® to undertake the role of Administration Manager to assist them in the fundamentals of organising the second Women in Data® event in 2016. It has been a pleasure to see the community grow exponentially to in excess of 20,000 delegates globally and I’ve been bowled over by the impact this initiative is having in the data and analytics sector.
I primarily deal with keeping the community abreast of news and events running throughout the year via social media, and the development of our Women in Data® Meet-up programme that was launched in 2018. All registration and enquiry details are my responsibility along with finding organisations to collaborate with to continue making Women in Data® fresh and exciting!
Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my four-year-old girl and am currently trying to prepare myself for the arrival of her younger brother or sister, due in February 2020! When I get the chance, I love to cook and indulge in my passion for history.
If you have any queries regarding attending any of the Women in Data® events, please get in touch: emma.randall@datatech.org.uk.
Women in Data® is proud to have on it’s team, the logistical powerhouse that is Henrietta Sauleek: An extrovert with a talent for turning ideas into reality. As Director of Events, Henrietta is responsible for coordinating Women in Data’s activities; such as meet ups, speaker engagements and the flagship event. This monumental task of organizing the Women in Data® flagship conference, requires the strategic foresight of a chess grandmaster and superhuman organizational skills. Henrietta is passionate about every aspect of event management and planning, especially when it serves to inform, empower and enlighten people.
With over 10 years of experience in the hotel industry, Henrietta honed her abilities in sales and event planning working at IHG, one of the UK’s largest hotel chains. She demonstrated her aptitude by elevating the smallest hotel in the chain to the top ten managed hotel by the end of her IHG career. With her keen eye for improvements, diligence and persistence, she raised her profile in IHG to become Salesperson of the year for the UK. Her inexorable energy, passion, attention to detail, grit, and ability to anticipate people’s needs, make her a vital member of WiD.
Henrietta is highly driven and motivated to make every Women in Data® conference bigger and better. She has been heard saying that she enjoys ‘working ridiculously long hours to achieve success’. The 2019 conference is predicted to have over 1000 attendees high profile speakers, panels, interactive workshops and a plethora of exhibitors, as well as a schedule with multiple breakout sessions brimming with activity. As such, her hard work, logistics and operations prowess will be instrumental to the success of this conference.
Starting her career at Women in Data®, Toni has joined the team to lead all things Marketing and Social. Through her equitable view of the world and positive outlook on life, Toni’s role is to elevate and maximise the profile of Women in Data® across all of our social channels and help to support women and girls through their journey in the world of data.
Toni’s enthusiastic, dynamic and confident approach to social media has led to her finding new and creative ways to connect with different communities and intersections of society. Most notably finding creative solutions to build relationships through 2020 from high-spirited picnics through to breakthrough online events. With the greater good embedded in her DNA and a dedication to growth and development, Toni achieved many accolades during her studies, including being honoured by the Dean and later earning a first-class degree.
Outside of work, Toni is often described as a fun-loving soul with a creative flair, looking to get involved with all things design. Recently she has gained a particular interest for interior design and continues to broaden her skills and abilities in trying new activities such as gymnastics and cheerleading.
Melissa was the first in her family to attend university and got her degree in Sociology and Criminology. There were challenges and experiences along the way that shaped an early squiggly career path! Before making any career choices she backpacked around Southeast Asia and developed her love for travel.
Once returning from her travels, her career path began with Retail before changing to Hospitality and now Women in Data!
Within both Retail and Hospitality, she noticed a consistent pattern of senior and leadership positions being male dominated and decided to take on a new adventure. Melissa is part of the Partnerships team at Women in Data and has the opportunity to assist incredible organisations achieve positive changes within their data communities. When she discovered what and who Women in Data stand for, she knew it was where she wanted to be!
After more than 3 decades in the data and analytics industry, Fiona joined ‘the great resignation’ to find a role with purpose at its core.
Joining Women in Data® gives her the opportunity to drive change and give back to the industry that has given so much to her. As partnerships director, she is developing our new propositions to ensure that they meet the needs of our partner organisations, and at the same time supporting our growing membership of 27,000 data, tech and analytics professionals. At the moment, her focus is firmly on partner engagement in the lead up to our Women in Data® flagship event in March 2023.
When not at work you will find Fiona walking and travelling in the UK and beyond, as well as developing some of the new skills she picked up in the last few years.
Sue started her career at 15 in the back office of a bank branch on a computer terminal that was installed in the office by a crane through the window. She has worked with computers ever since. Working in IT allowed her to work in all sectors, from Nat West to Social Services, Treloar Trust, The Firefighters Charity, a dotcom start-up and finally First Choice Software where she met Roisin. So, she’s seen the astounding leaps in technology and has taken advantage of the exciting opportunities that created.
Sue is a problem solver- a facilitator who enables colleagues and clients to reach their goals and potential. From a technical role, implementing the roll out of pcs in 1995 at a Special School ( in those days you installed the OS by floppy disc!) , she moved from technical support to managing networks and finally project management for software houses. She has years of practical experience juggling a career with caring for family (now grandchildren) and a busy social life. She’s a Charity Trustee, runs her village website and a site for wildlife conservation in Hampshire. She loves gardening and feels being outside is the best place to be to put life in perspective.
Livi started her career at Loughborough University, number 1 in the world for sport, running the Loughborough Sport social media channels. In her time at Loughborough, Livi demonstrated a passion for equalling gender disparity through heavy involvement with the Women’s Staff Network, as well as completing the Springboard Women’s Development Programme. She pushed for implementation of changes to equal the representation of female and male sides across social media, for which Loughborough was shortlisted by the National Governing Body for university sport in the Digital Engagement Award for the second consecutive year.
Livi is excited to tackle a new challenge! As Communications Manager for Women In Data she will be leading on all communications. She hopes to build engagement with the brand which provides an opportunity for the WID community to empower one another and reach an even wider audience through sharing their stories and advice as a woman or ally in data.
Her creativity is a consistent theme in her life, both inside and out of work. Livi has been a dancer all her life, trying almost every style under the sun but recently specialising in Latin & Ballroom, Commercial and Hip-Hop.
Representing Ireland in the traditionally male-dominated sport, Taekwondo, at a World and European level, as well as embarking on a career as a Data Recruitment Consultant in a male-heavy tech industry has been a driving force for supporting women and promoting equity. Through harnessing nurturing relationships with Women in Data®’s incredible partners, Chloe aims to give women a platform to share their data journey and the opportunity to be an inspiration for inciting another generation of women to establish careers in the data space. Chloe works innovatively with forward-thinking organisations, helping them attract, develop and retain more balanced teams within their data and tech divisions, as well as, co-ordinate engaging activities and events to collate their internal data and tech teams.
Kezia is a digital marketer passionate about helping SMEs scale through creative marketing strategies and organic social media growth. With experience across industries such as Fashion, EV (Sustainability), Data and Technology. Beyond her digital work, Kezia has successfully managed offline activations, coordinating events in both Hong Kong and London. She thrives in fast-paced environments and is always exploring new ways to help brands increase their visibility and connect with their audience.
Proud to be part of the Women in Data® team, a non-profit organisation dedicated to achieving gender parity in the Data and Tech sectors. Kezia supports community growth and engagement through events and digital campaigns, drawing on her expertise in content creation.
Outside of work, Kezia enjoys travelling, playing badminton and basketball. She’s passionate about fashion and sustainability, always on the hunt for the best thrift shops across the UK and Europe.
Eszter joined Women in Data last year and is a currently serving as a Team Coordinator. With many years of experience as an administrator, Eszter has developed excellent communication and organizational skills, along with the ability to multitask effectively in a fast-paced environment.
Eszter has demonstrated a strong commitment to supporting and empowering women in the data industry. Her role involves coordinating various initiatives and projects, ensuring smooth operations and effective teamwork.
Known for her meticulous approach and ability to manage multiple tasks efficiently, Eszter has been a valuable asset to every team she has been a part of. Her excellent communication skills have facilitated clear and effective interactions with colleagues and stakeholders alike.
Outside of her professional life, Eszter is passionate about health and fitness. She is a certified Yoga and Pilates instructor, sharing her love for wellness with others.
