{"id":7900,"date":"2021-02-23T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-23T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/2021\/02\/23\/women-in-data-interview-with-director-of-data-science-engineering-at-kpmg\/"},"modified":"2022-12-21T11:38:12","modified_gmt":"2022-12-21T11:38:12","slug":"women-in-data-interview-with-director-of-data-science-engineering-at-kpmg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/de\/women-in-data-interview-with-director-of-data-science-engineering-at-kpmg\/","title":{"rendered":"Women in Data: Interview with Director of Data Science & Engineering at KPMG UK"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row full_width=“stretch_row“ el_class=“dark“][vc_column][vc_column_text]Interview<\/span>\u00a0by Lydia Brand, Data and Analytics Consultant at X4 Technology.<\/span><\/p>\n

I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr Rebecca Pope, Director of Data Science & Engineering at KPMG<\/a> UK, Data Science Strategy Lead at Great Ormond Street Hospital and TEDx speaker as part of our Women in Data<\/a> interview series, shedding light on female thought leaders in data.<\/p>\n

Rebecca shared insights into her remarkable career, as well as her opinions on some of the most talked about topics faced by both businesses and data science professionals.<\/p>\n

We discussed the importance of organisations understanding how to work and communicate with data scientists, ripping down stereotypes to attract diversity and equality into an organisation, how there\u2019s still a lot of work to be done to retain female talent, and why organisations shouldn\u2019t shy away from regulation when it comes to data.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=“stretch_row“ el_class=“light“][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the most memorable moment in your career to date?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s difficult to answer that one. The most memorable moment for me was when our Chief Digital Officer, Lisa Heneghan rang me to say that I had passed my Directorship panel. Lisa was away in a different time zone and had taken the effort and kindness to call me with the news in her early hours. It\u2019s also memorable not because it represents a title, but a journey.<\/p>\n

I am from a low socio-economic, single-parent background and times were tough growing up \u2013 I had a mattress on the floor, we had no carpets, garden furniture doubled up as lounge furniture and, we would need to put pound coins in the TV to make it work. \u00a0I was fortunate that that State looked after me and I was gifted an Assisted Place to attend boarding School \u2013 so education has, and continues to be, a real place of sanctuary for me.<\/p>\n

I was absolutely determined to make a life for myself and also give back to society; I saw education as the vehicle for those outcomes. I have been through the care system, had periods of homelessness, the first person to attend University in my family, and now people see \u2018Director\u2019 at KPMG with a PhD; they do not know what it\u2019s taken to get there and that\u2019s why it\u2019s memorable.<\/p>\n

What kind of improvement, change or growth are you trying to achieve at KPMG?<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

Professionally speaking, to continue to lead and grow our data science delivery capability to build technology solutions\/products with our clients that improve our public services.\u00a0 But the nature<\/em> of how we deliver those advanced technologies for our clients is what matters most to me \u2013 I run and encourage a flat structure in my team. It\u2019s not your title that matters \u2013 it\u2019s the technology skills you bring to the build.<\/p>\n

Each Sunday evening, I take a few hours to reflect on the week\u2019s scenarios and really challenge myself \u2013 \u2018could I have handled that in a different way?\u2019; \u2018how would I feel in that situation?\u2019; \u2018what are the challenges my team member(s) have, given the pandemic and have I offered all the support I am able to?\u2019. I think leadership is a lifelong learning journey \u2013 so growing as a leader is very important to me and encouraging an open and safe environment, where people feel supported and nurtured, is what I am always looking to achieve.<\/p>\n

As you can probably tell, I am a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, and I remember early in my KPMG career a female Partner saying to me \u2018KPMG is a platform \u2013 use it drive positive change\u2019. I often reflect on that advice and KPMG is hugely active in moving the IDSE dial. It has given me the opportunity, as a neuro-diverse, gay woman to bring my whole self to work. We have just passed our 150th <\/sup>year and have vibrant communities committed to driving equality of which I am an active member and in turn, I am growing a huge amount (e.g., \u2018ITs Her Future\u2019 \u2013 women in technology; \u2018Breathe\u2019 \u2013 LGBT+; \u2018Black Lives Allyship\u2019 and \u2018Workability\u2019 \u2013 disability network).<\/p>\n

I am very passionate, given my past, on growing our Corporate Social Responsibility agenda and as part of that I was supported to volunteer 1 day a week at Great Ormond Street Hospital throughout 2020 as their Data Science Strategy Lead \u2013 the importance of data and public-private partnerships has never been so needed in light of the pandemic. My data science team at KPMG are currently working with our National Charity \u2013 the NSPCC \u2013 to use data science techniques to understand the toll of Covid-19 on Children\u2019s mental health.<\/p>\n

What do you think are the biggest challenges facing data scientists right now?<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

I think the biggest challenge is showing what it means to \u2018prove value\u2019. I see a lot of organisations hire a data scientist and think \u201cWe\u2019ll leave them in the corner and they\u2019ll just do something that will drive business change and value.\u201d Whereas actually, it really doesn\u2019t work like that. It really is a clash of worlds to ensure that you as a data scientist are having a fulfilling and purposeful career in an organisation, but also that the organisation understands how to give that to you.<\/p>\n

I am not Hermione Granger, you don\u2019t just give me data, I wave my magic wand and \u2018ta dah\u2019 stuff happens. That\u2019s a real challenge for data scientists that I see in industry, they go into industry or a business and there\u2019s a high churn over rate and perceived failure, which is crushing for all involved, but actually it\u2019s because organisations don\u2019t know how to communicate or work with data scientists \u2013 it\u2019s about the alignment of the right problems to solve with the skillset that data scientists can offer in a delivery team \u2013 which is my role to provide.<\/p>\n

Male analysts and data scientists outnumber females 4 to 1. What advice would you give to businesses struggling to attract and retain senior female talent?<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

Well, I think it\u2019s not necessarily just the senior, it\u2019s across all ranks we are seeing this problem. Thinking about senior talent requires thinking about the entire<\/em> talent journey from encouraging girls into technology and them seeing that as a non-gender related career choice, through to employers designing adverts that appeal to all<\/em> people in society. We are very aware of this at KPMG and have taken real steps to look at the language we use in our job descriptions and seen our percentage of females applying for technology roles, increase. Words matter \u2013 rather than \u2018manage a team\u2019 in your job spec, how about using \u2018develop and nurture a team\u2019?<\/p>\n

I think there is a real sense of looking up and not seeing female role models \u2013 which has sadly been amplified in the pandemic, with Forbes reporting that significantly more women in tech being laid off or furloughed and typically taking on more caring responsibilities.\u00a0 Anyone who would like a chat \u2013 I am on LinkedIn and would love to hear from you!<\/p>\n

I would also encourage employers to be far more open to people\u2019s background. You do not have to be a chess champion or physicist to be a data scientist \u2013 I\u2019m not. For example, one of the best programmers I know is a historian, I doubt they would even get through a (human\/AI) CV shift now. When you\u2019re recruiting, I would really encourage concentrating on people\u2019s aptitude to learn and problem-solve, not what they have learned.<\/p>\n

Finally, and for me this is a deal-breaker: What is your Employee Value Proposition? Most jobs (if we are lucky to have one currently) offer similar financial reimbursement etc. I want to join an organisation that cares about its communities \u2013 that actively encourages and supports me to volunteer my data science skill set, like I do at Great Ormond Street Hospital. I speak to many technologists that happen to be female, where this is really important to them. Organisations are very much being put under increasing scrutiny on this point and I think that\u2019s a real positive.<\/p>\n

\u201cData science has an image problem\u201d has been said a lot in the news recently. What would be your advice to employers wanting to change this perception and create a more inclusive culture in their business?<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

I think we do an injustice to data science because we need to talk about data science in the context of purpose<\/em>. We talk about it in a very esoteric way, talking about nonlinear algebra and calculus and all the things that yes you need to know and are super important, but actually, what is the outcome<\/em> of doing those things?<\/p>\n

The outcome could be building a chatbot for Great Ormond Street Hospital that enables frontline staff to potentially understand more about their patient by being able to \u2018talk\u2019 to the data. But we often divorce purpose from data science, and I think we need to bring that back into the conversation; front and centre because who doesn\u2019t want to positively change the world?<\/p>\n

What excites you most about recent developments and future of data science and AI?<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

What excites me most, which sounds like a bit of a paradox, is that I\u2019m seeing far more organisations think about ethics and what that means from a workforce perspective. We use data science products every single day like Google, Netflix and Siri. Whatever it is, algorithms are intertwined into the fabric of our society, but I don\u2019t think there\u2019s been enough focus on regulation.<\/p>\n

We shouldn\u2019t shy away from regulation; I don\u2019t think it stifles innovation at all. I still find it remarkable that I could potentially lead an algorithmic build that could really impact society, but of course I am not allowed to do an audit because I\u2019m not trained, qualified or a member of a professional body to do an audit. There doesn\u2019t seem to be that equivalence in what we do.<\/p>\n

We talk a lot about these algorithms, but it\u2019s no one\u2019s \u2018job\u2019 to monitor if they perform how they should or how we predicted them to. So, for me it\u2019s really exciting that there is this focus on algorithmic bias and ethics; really holding organisations to account. We wouldn\u2019t allow someone to let off a nuclear bomb and yet, in technology it seems to be very different view.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row full_width=“stretch_row“ el_class=“dark“][vc_column][vc_column_text]Interview\u00a0by Lydia Brand, Data and Analytics Consultant at X4 Technology. I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr Rebecca Pope, Director of Data Science…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":9520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,715],"tags":[29],"class_list":["post-7900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-insights","category-thought-leadership","tag-women-in-data"],"yoast_head":"\nWomen in Data: Interview with Director of Data Science & Engineering at KPMG UK - X4 Technology<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/women-in-data-interview-with-director-of-data-science-engineering-at-kpmg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Women in Data: Interview with Director of Data Science & Engineering at KPMG UK - X4 Technology\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[vc_row full_width=“stretch_row“ el_class=“dark“][vc_column][vc_column_text]Interview\u00a0by Lydia Brand, Data and Analytics Consultant at X4 Technology. I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr Rebecca Pope, Director of Data Science...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/women-in-data-interview-with-director-of-data-science-engineering-at-kpmg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"X4 Technology\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-02-23T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-12-21T11:38:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/02\/Tech-Insights-Women-in-Data-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"655\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"dchurch\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"dchurch\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 Minuten\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/women-in-data-interview-with-director-of-data-science-engineering-at-kpmg\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/women-in-data-interview-with-director-of-data-science-engineering-at-kpmg\/\",\"name\":\"Women in Data: Interview with Director of Data Science & Engineering at KPMG UK - X4 Technology\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/women-in-data-interview-with-director-of-data-science-engineering-at-kpmg\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/women-in-data-interview-with-director-of-data-science-engineering-at-kpmg\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/02\/Tech-Insights-Women-in-Data-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-23T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-21T11:38:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/#\/schema\/person\/37c7cd74386b30bccf2a6c70b6e397e3\"},\"inLanguage\":\"de-DE\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/women-in-data-interview-with-director-of-data-science-engineering-at-kpmg\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"de-DE\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/women-in-data-interview-with-director-of-data-science-engineering-at-kpmg\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/02\/Tech-Insights-Women-in-Data-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/02\/Tech-Insights-Women-in-Data-1.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":655},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/\",\"name\":\"X4 Technology\",\"description\":\"Technology Recruitment Specialists\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"de-DE\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/#\/schema\/person\/37c7cd74386b30bccf2a6c70b6e397e3\",\"name\":\"dchurch\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/de\/author\/dchurch\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Women in Data: Interview with Director of Data Science & Engineering at KPMG UK - X4 Technology","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/women-in-data-interview-with-director-of-data-science-engineering-at-kpmg\/","og_locale":"de_DE","og_type":"article","og_title":"Women in Data: Interview with Director of Data Science & Engineering at KPMG UK - X4 Technology","og_description":"[vc_row full_width=“stretch_row“ el_class=“dark“][vc_column][vc_column_text]Interview\u00a0by Lydia Brand, Data and Analytics Consultant at X4 Technology. I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr Rebecca Pope, Director of Data Science...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/women-in-data-interview-with-director-of-data-science-engineering-at-kpmg\/","og_site_name":"X4 Technology","article_published_time":"2021-02-23T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-12-21T11:38:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":655,"url":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/02\/Tech-Insights-Women-in-Data-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"dchurch","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"dchurch","Est. reading time":"9 Minuten"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/women-in-data-interview-with-director-of-data-science-engineering-at-kpmg\/","url":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/women-in-data-interview-with-director-of-data-science-engineering-at-kpmg\/","name":"Women in Data: Interview with Director of Data Science & Engineering at KPMG UK - X4 Technology","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/women-in-data-interview-with-director-of-data-science-engineering-at-kpmg\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/women-in-data-interview-with-director-of-data-science-engineering-at-kpmg\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/02\/Tech-Insights-Women-in-Data-1.jpg","datePublished":"2021-02-23T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-12-21T11:38:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/#\/schema\/person\/37c7cd74386b30bccf2a6c70b6e397e3"},"inLanguage":"de-DE","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/women-in-data-interview-with-director-of-data-science-engineering-at-kpmg\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"de-DE","@id":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/women-in-data-interview-with-director-of-data-science-engineering-at-kpmg\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/02\/Tech-Insights-Women-in-Data-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/02\/Tech-Insights-Women-in-Data-1.jpg","width":1200,"height":655},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/","name":"X4 Technology","description":"Technology Recruitment Specialists","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"de-DE"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/#\/schema\/person\/37c7cd74386b30bccf2a6c70b6e397e3","name":"dchurch","url":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/de\/author\/dchurch\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7900"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7900\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12117,"href":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7900\/revisions\/12117"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.x4-technology.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}