Last year, Forbes reported that only 26 percent of U.S. data science jobs were held by women. In an era of tech characterized by explosive growth, talent shortages, and societal impact, the industry’s historical imbalance in gender inclusivity is even more pronounced — and more detrimental. Though corporate diversity efforts have been an uphill battle in many cases, a few industry leaders are taking on the challenge of reversing the entrenched patterns that have resulted in such exclusion.

“Harvey Mudd is … a community that’s committed to diversity and inclusion. Everything we do, we try to figure out ways that we will attract people who are underrepresented,” said Maria Klawe (pictured), president of Harvey Mudd College. The first female president of Harvey Mudd, Klawe dedicates her work toward advancing inclusivity for women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ communities both inside the school and in the tech community at large.

Klawe spoke with Lisa Martin (@LuccaZara), host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the Global Women in Data Science Conference (WiDS) in Stanford, California. They discussed the impact of tech’s diversity problem and the solutions Klawe has implemented to great success in her professional community. (* Disclosure below.)

A simple, revolutionary roadmap to inclusion

Data science is growing exponentially, both in terms of job opportunities and impact on the world at large. Klawe has been practicing and speaking on the importance of inclusivity for years, and she saw great potential in the community offered at WiDS. “They had the insight … to do a conference where all the speakers would be women, just so they could show that there are women all over the world who are contributing to data science, who are loving it, and who are being successful,” she said.

In her own WiDS address, Klawe shared her insights and the practices she’s implemented at Harvey Mudd to establish a more inclusive, supportive environment at the foundational education level. Through her work, Klawe has found that engaging with students that are traditionally alienated from science, technology, engineering and mathematics studies in their first college semester is critical to supporting long-term careers in the field.

“If you discover that you can solve major issues in the world by using these ideas … you’re probably going to stay in … that field. … When we get young women and men excited about these possibilities, they stick with it,” she said.

For Klawe, there’s not much of a difference between creating a diverse learning environment and a diverse work environment. After speaking at Forbes’ Most Powerful Women Summit, Klawe was approached by Ellyn Shook, chief leadership and human resources officer at Accenture. By incorporating Klawe’s inclusion practices in her recruiting efforts, Shook increased the number of female engineers hired at Accenture’s India office from 30 percent to 42 percent.

“It’s a great example of a company that just decided … to make it equitable,” Klawe said.

As data science continues to increase its social impact, the need for varied perspectives becomes even more important for companies around the world. “Data science is changing everything … and if we want those changes to be for the better, we really need diverse perspectives and experiences influencing things that get made,” Klawe said.

Klawe attributes the success of inclusion efforts at Harvey Mudd, Accenture and other organizations to awareness, encouragement and overall support. “It’s about believing in people. … It’s setting that expectation that everyone can succeed,” she concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Global Women in Data Science Conference. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the Women in Data Science Conference. Neither Stanford University, the event sponsor, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE