Women make up only 16% of the population of data scientists and machine learners, according to online community kaggle. While there are no statistics to confirm, trends from other industries would indicate the percentage for women of color in the data field is exponentially lower. I had the chance to speak to Sadie St. Lawrence, the CEO and founder of Women in Data to discuss women’s role in data and where she sees data going in the future.

The emergence of big data, artificial intelligence and analytics has led to a massive transformation in the financial services sector; the insurance industry included. As these new technologies continue gaining acceptance in different sectors, established insurance firms have not been left behind as they continue investing in digitization of their processes and products. Accordingly, the number of InsurTech companies has been increasing over time as new companies make their way into this sector.

I recently wrote an article about Walmart’s new Intelligent Retail Lab (IRL) from a supply chain perspective. Walmart’s IRL, is a new AI powered store that uses technology and data to monitor every day tasks from re-stocking shelves, notifying employees when a new cash register needs to be opened; and insuring that there are always enough carts available for customers.

Glassdoor recently published their “Best Jobs in America” for 2019 and it was no surprise that data scientists topped the list for the fourth year in a row. Almost every industry utilizes data in some form to build a more efficient business model, and that trend does not seem to be slowing down.