UPDATED 11:45 EDT / MARCH 04 2020

BIG DATA

LinkedIn pursues its vision to leverage data for global economic opportunity

It would be a mistake to simply characterize LinkedIn Corp. as merely a job or networking website.

With 660 million users, LinkedIn has the ability to leverage a tremendous amount of data in ways that go far beyond the latest job switch or promotion. The field of data science is helping it transform economic structures on a worldwide scale.

“Everybody can benefit from better data and better data access,” said Ya Xu (pictured), head of data science at LinkedIn. “We truly believe in the vision that we are working towards, which is creating economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce.”

Xu spoke with Sonia Tagare, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the Women in Data Science conference in Stanford, California. They discussed using data responsibly, the importance of diversity, and advice for women seeking a career in the data science field.

Data privacy is fundamental

Speaking at the WiDS conference this week, Xu addressed ways that responsible data can create global opportunity. Data privacy and diversity are fundamental components of that strategy, according to Xu.

“The fundamental thing that we have to start with is to be able to preserve the privacy of our members,” Xu said. “If you have a diverse team that is a representation of the customers you are serving, then you are able to come up with better features that are able to serve the needs of a population. That’s just the right thing to do.”

In her role as a data science leader for LinkedIn, Xu has advice for other women who may be seeking to follow their own careers in the field.

“Just have that ‘can do’ attitude,” Xu said. “We’re not any less than a man, and there are certainly many strong and talented women that we have in the field. Don’t let people’s’ perceptions or biases around you bring you down.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Women in Data Science conference:

Photo: SiliconANGLE

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