3000 data women walked into a room: Here’s what happened 

Last Thursday I was one of 3000 women packed into a room at the InterContinental London, all of us working in data, AI and technology. The event was inspiring, energising and even emotional at times.  

I was one of the lucky ones who got a ticket through the ballot to attend Women In Data Flagship Event. I learned on the day that only 1 in 4 people got a ticket, so I felt blessed to be one of the selected few. It’s been 7 years since I attended this event, back in 2019 I got opportunity to attend having got a ticket through one of their sponsors, Tableau. I vividly remember looking round the room back in 2019 and was taken aback to see a sea of females (mainly in red) and the same was true this year with only a handful of males present. Today in the UK women still only make up 25% of the workforce in data and AI type roles, and this has only risen by 3% in the last five years. So to attend an event especially a data related event where the majority of attendees are female is rare.  

Knowing I was one of the lucky ones with a premium ticket I was keen to make the most of day and I set myself a key goal to make some new connections. Having attended lots of conferences over the years I have become far more comfortable meeting new people, but like most it still takes a concerted effort to strike up a conversation with someone new. I had recently been at an event and met couple of new people, and thought finding their details on Linkedin was a bit of a chore. When I finally found my QR code on Linkedin I thought be better if I could share my QR code with new people, and thought business cards might be a bit outdated so came up with the idea of creating customised stickers that I could hand out. I was a little nervous giving out my first couple, I thought people might think me a little odd but actually the majority I shared them with thought it was a great idea! Phew. On reflection I was really pleased I did it, I felt it let me have some better conversations and make some lasting connections, rather than be one of many people they had spoken to especially when I spoke to some of the vendor partners. And I got a great response when I posted about my stickers on linkedin. Maybe I will start a trend!  

One of the most impactful sessions for me on the day was Fiona Sweeney’s session sharing the results of their annual research. I learned that the UK’s gender pay gap stands at 6.9% for full-time employees (ONS, 2025), but once you factor in part-time workers, that rises to 12.8%, meaning women earn just 87p for every £1 men earn on average. In our sector specifically, it’s considerably worse. The gender pay gap in data, tech and AI sits at 20.3%, one of the widest of any industry.  

“The gender pay gap has fallen by 23% over the last decade – but at this rate it will take another 29 years to close it entirely” UK Government Data 2025 

I was aware of the gender pay gaps but probably the most sobering moment of the session was Fiona talking about the mass exodus of females from our sector in their 40s and 50s. As a women in my late 40s (ssh) my ears pricked up! I did a bit more research on this topic. Research describes what happens in midlife as a collision, a toxic combination of patriarchal systems, gendered ageism, and midlife pinch points arriving all at once. Menopause, caring responsibilities, children’s mental health, the empty nest. These aren’t small distractions, they are huge life events, often hitting simultaneously, in environments that were not designed with women in mind. McKinsey’s research found something particularly striking: for every female director promoted, two are leaving the organisation. The pipeline isn’t broken at the bottom, in fact it’s leaking at the top. Yet strangely the same research found that 70% of women navigating this midlife period were ready and willing to step up in their careers. It looks to me like the ambitions are there but the ‘systems’ just aren’t catching them. These kind of stats are a firm reminder of why these events are so important.  

Not only was Fiona’s session jam packed with startling stats but also the supporting slides were being created on the fly with AI. To be honest they weren’t the best slides, and would definitely need some tinkering to improve the content and need some well considered data visualisations to help back up such a serious topic! A huge time saver though and cool to see it in action. Very brave Fiona.

Back in 2019 women in data event I had the absolutely honor of listening to Dame Stephanie Shirley delivering the most memorable and inspiring session, followed by a standing ovation. This year following her death in 2025 one of her close colleagues and friends gave a very touching tribute followed by another standing ovation. For those not aware of her work, Dame Stephanie “Steve” Shirley was a Jewish child refugee who arrived in Britain aged five with nothing, she founded an all-female software company in 1962 with just £6, pioneering flexible and remote working decades ahead of her time. She made 70 employees millionaires and gave most of her fortune away. She was utterly inspiring. I would highly recommend reading her autobiography ‘Let It Go’ and if you have never heard her speak then check out her TED talk: Dame Stephanie Shirley: Why do ambitious women have flat heads? | TED Talk 

The day just kept on giving in between sessions on AI, data democratization, retirement, oh and a top secret talk by an MI6 ‘agent’ 🤐, the great Sandy Toksvig OBE came to the stage to provide us with a funny and thought provoking talk sharing the lack of notable females on Wikipedia and campaigning to create a female friendly version! Apparently it takes a Nobel Peace Prize to get on Wikipedia as a female….  

Another highlight of my day was meeting the amazing ladies from ‘Ella Support Loop’. Ella Support Loop is a specialist SEND AI tool that simplifies and clarifies the SEND journey. Whilst I popped to their stand to simply say hi, well ofcourse as an “Ella” I wanted to find out about my “support loop” . What I came to learn was that this tool will be a game changer for parents and carers navigating complex jargon heavy process. Shout out to Cynthia Lau the founder and creator of this new tool. 

My day at the event ended on an absolute high! After a day at a conference usually everyone is exhausted and lots of people tend to sneak off early to catch trains, this was not the case here. Dame Kelly Holmes sat on a panel with the great Kate Muir (womens health expert, investigative journalist and recent documentary maker) and Natalie Crimp Co-Chair of the Womens Health Women In Data sharing lessons from campaigning in women’s health sharing her personal health challenges. Another sobering reminder of the struggle women go through whilst juggling careers and life. Kelly then lifted the room, sharing insights on leadership, resilience, staying power, and the importance of asking for help. She spoke about the real experience of high-performance sport which included the pressure, the setbacks, and moments of self-doubt. Whilst she recognised the majority of the room aren’t elite athletes she talked about us all reaching our own potential and striving for our ‘gold’. Challenging us to “keep our vision high” and reminding us that we are honoured to be walking on this planet when some of the people we have loved are no longer with us. Losing my mum suddenly less than 18 months ago this really struck a big cord with me especially as she mentioned her mother who she lost 8 years ago.  

She told us to “Fight for things that matter”, “get support when you need it”, “go for your goals” and amongst lots of amazing take aways “set yourself the highest goals”.  

Kelly didn’t stop there right at the end of the day she got us on our feet and dancing! Yes all 3000+ of us in the room. Looking round the room with everyone attempting to dance between the chairs and the aisles was a special moment, everyone smiling and everyone lifted, truly memorable moment. Thank you Dame Kelly! 

There is so much to say about this amazing event. I loved the opportunity to make new connections (I shared quite a few stickers!!), learned about ever growing advancements in technology and AI, filled my pockets with freebies to take home to the kids and the dog, listened to many many inspiring women, got to dance/shuffle alongside Dame Kelly Holmes and 3000 amazing women (and men) in data, and above all came away truly  inspired and energised!  

“Make Your Move” ran as a thread through the day, I think it speaks to something deeper than career advice. Yes, it was about knowing when to make a move, finding allies and mentors, building visibility and confidence. But for women at the midpoint of their careers, “making your move” is also about resisting the pressure to shrink, to step back, to quietly disappear from rooms like the one we were all sitting in on Thursday. Something I have been reflecting on a lot lately.  So what move will you make?!  

thanks for reading my blog

Ella