{"id":611337,"date":"2019-10-01T00:00:49","date_gmt":"2019-10-01T07:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/?p=611337"},"modified":"2023-09-18T11:35:33","modified_gmt":"2023-09-18T18:35:33","slug":"inclusive-environments-empower-big-dreams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/blog\/inclusive-environments-empower-big-dreams\/","title":{"rendered":"Inclusive environments empower big dreams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Anna<\/a>
Anna Krystalli from the University of Sheffield (fourth from right) won best poster at the fourth Conference of Research Software Engineering with her poster on pkgreviewr<\/a> for helping automate the rOpenSci<\/a> review process for open reproducible research and data access. Microsoft sponsored the first prize for the competition, and pictured with Krystalli is a group from the company (from left): Pashmina Cameron, Kenji Takeda, Camilla Longden, Raluca Georgescu, Matthew Johnson, Tania Allard, and Bhavin Bhagalia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t limit yourself. If someone else can do it, you can do it, too.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t get comfortable. If doing well is easy, it\u2019s time to challenge yourself.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years, these two principles have guided Columbia University PhD student Adji Dieng (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a> in her career in AI and machine learning. Dieng, who was a Microsoft Research intern in 2016 and 2017, shared this advice and described her journey from Senegal to Columbia University on a Dean\u2019s Fellowship during a recent panel on women in AI at Deep Learning Indaba 2019 (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>. She was joined on stage by Kathleen Siminyu (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>, co-founder of Nairobi Women in Machine Learning & Data Science; Tempest van Schaik (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>, an entrepreneur and healthcare ML engineer in Microsoft; and Grace Mutung\u2019u (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a> of Kenya ICT Action Network. They\u2019re amazing women doing great work in machine learning and AI\u2014and we need more of them in the field. The problem in AI is not a shortage of talent, but a shortage of representation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the Grace Hopper Celebration (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>, an event that brings together women in tech, gets underway this week, I\u2019m proud to share some of our recent activities in diversity and inclusion in AI and ML. I had the pleasure of participating in the Indaba African Women in AI Evening (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a> panel, as well as on a panel about inclusivity in the workplace at the fourth Conference of Research Software Engineering (RSE) (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>, with several colleagues. Like Deep Learning Indaba, the RSE conference has made encouraging and supporting diversity a large part of its mission (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women in AI<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Deep Learning Indaba, held this year in <\/strong>Nairobi, Kenya, aims to empower Africans to take the lead in advancing the use of machine learning and AI to solve real-world problems. In its third year, the conference was bigger than ever with around 700 attendees representing universities, companies, and nonprofits from across the continent. It was particularly exciting, as this year, Microsoft opened its first engineering development centers (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a> in Africa, one in Lagos, Nigeria, and another in Nairobi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft Principal Researcher Danielle Belgrave<\/a> has been on the Indaba\u2019s advisory board since the beginning, and Microsoft participation in the Indaba has been steadily increasing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tempest van Schaik, who has been a driving force for Microsoft participation in the Indaba, said, \u201cAs a South African and a woman in AI, I\u2019m extremely proud that Microsoft has been part of the Indaba from the beginning. After a packed house last year<\/a>, I was excited that we could again host the women in AI event. I wanted to put together a panel to show female attendees the opportunities available in the field and connect them with other women pursuing similar career paths.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the panel, Dieng, Siminyu, van Schaik, Mutung\u2019u, and I discussed how our journeys were motivated by different things: curiosity, rebellion (when told we couldn\u2019t or shouldn\u2019t do something), a drive to overcome challenges, and a desire to continuously grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"From<\/a>
From left to right: Kathleen Siminyu, Grace Mutung\u2019u, Tempest van Schaik, Pashmina Cameron, and Adji Dieng speak about their professional journeys and share advice with attendees during a panel on women in AI during Deep Learning Indaba 2019. Photo credit: Raesetje Sefala and Deep Learning Indaba<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We discussed professional development and how important and incredibly technical glue work\u2014leadership, strategic planning, and other skills necessary to keep a team moving forward (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>\u2014can go unrecognized, as performance metrics in organizations may not always reward such efforts. This resonated with many in the audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Siminyu, a member of the Deep Learning Indaba leadership, shared how she automated the work she didn\u2019t want to do. All panelists mentioned having a crucial mentor or supporter. I discussed my mantra: Don\u2019t let your environment drive your career, but instead, define your environment by your career. Van Schaik encouraged everyone to believe in themselves and go after opportunity. \u201cYou\u2019ll never land your dream job or school place if you don\u2019t apply for it,\u201d she said. She also described how adaptability, creativity, and resilience rather than top grades enable you to carve your own career path. Mutung\u2019u highlighted the importance of technologists helping to shape policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our panel was very open, honest, and moving at times, especially when we discussed the unique social pressures that only women in developing countries face. The discussion helped break barriers and open people\u2019s minds to the challenges underrepresented groups face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Great session at Women in AI session @DeepIndaba (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a> by @MicrosoftAfrica (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key Take-away:
-Power your curiosity
-Grow and go beyond stereotype
-Get a mentor
-Don\u2019t let the environment drive your career
-Be unlimited
-Go outside the comfort zone#IndabaWiAI (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a> #DLIndaba2019 (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a> #SautiYetu (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a> pic.x.com\/EYNz37w7MC (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 DataScienceNigeria (@DataScienceNIG) August 27, 2019 (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

At the Indaba, I saw a group of women and men eager to learn, collaborate, and effect real-world change. Few engineering conferences bring people to tears; I saw tears of joy, gratitude, and hope. The Indaba is not a conference\u2014it\u2019s a movement. Ignore this movement at your own peril.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concrete ways to build an inclusive workplace<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At the RSE conference in Birmingham, England, which celebrated the community that builds research software, I moderated \u201cMentoring and Inclusivity: Concrete Ways to Build an Inclusive Workplace\u201d (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a> with Microsoft Research Software Engineer Camilla Longden<\/a>. One of the most popular sessions, it featured Michael Croucher (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>, developer advocate, Numerical Algorithms Group; Miranda Mowbray (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>, University of Bristol lecturer; Tania Allard (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>, RSE conference diversity and accessibility chair, Microsoft; and Andrew Fitzgibbon<\/a>, Research Theme Lead, Microsoft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We discussed how finding and recruiting the best candidates from the most diverse communities takes hard work, and the panelists shared advice for building more diverse teams: Actively seek out people you want to see represented, encourage qualified candidates to apply, read lots of CVs, and deliberately connect with first-time conference presenters, who may be less confident and who may know fewer people in the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating an inclusive workplace and culture that will attract top talent was also top of mind for everyone. Key actionable ideas from the session included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n