The most recent installment in our Q&A sequence with ladies leaders in knowledge options Angel Vossough, CEO and co-founder of BetterAI. (Learn our earlier Q&A right here.)
Angel Vossough spent over a decade working as a community engineer earlier than she based her first startup, a data-driven firm that helped ladies professionals excel of their careers. Throughout COVID-19, Vossough returned to high school for her second grasp’s diploma – in knowledge science – with a give attention to search and proposals utilizing AI. She now serves because the CEO and co-founder of knowledge know-how firm BetterAI, which just lately launched VinoVoss, a digital semantic search and suggestion platform for wine. We requested Vossough about what impressed her to pursue a profession in knowledge administration, and why getting forward may be so difficult for ladies within the discipline. You’ll be able to observe her on LinkedIn.
What impressed you to decide on a profession in knowledge and develop into a frontrunner within the discipline?
I have at all times been fascinated by statistics and analyzing massive knowledge. I labored at Cisco for greater than 10 years as a community engineer, coping with numerous knowledge to watch community efficiency and detect anomalies and patterns. As the one girl on my group, I used to be accountable for recruiting technical ladies in my division. By way of this, I discovered a lot in regards to the decisions ladies make in directing their careers and understood the depth of the challenges.
I used to be very lucky that Cisco was a frontrunner in having enlightened insurance policies on versatile work, they usually let me work remotely whereas elevating my twin daughters for the primary yr. In the meantime, I noticed my high-achieving feminine pals, clever and extremely certified, “dropping out” after beginning households. Lots of my feminine pals gave up on their careers as a result of a scarcity of help from their employers to successfully combine their lives and careers.
Yearly, Forbes publishes “America’s Greatest Employers for Girls.” I used to be at all times questioning what this actually meant. Our lives as ladies are dynamic, and relying on the place we’re in our lives and what stage we’re going via, we now have completely different wants. Often, in our 20s, we need to advance our careers and climb up the company ladder, whereas in our 30s, we’d want job flexibility and longer maternity go away. Consequently, we want completely different decision-making standards for various life conditions.
This realization led me to construct my very own startup, referred to as DiverseUp, to assist ladies discover a higher manner when selecting an employer. DiverseUp was created as a profit company to serve skilled ladies in search of to broaden their careers and obtain a sustainable work-life stability. DiverseUp offered ladies with an inside look into which corporations had female-friendly insurance policies and cultures and matched them with job alternatives at these corporations. The objective was to carry transparency to work practices, measure variety coverage effectiveness, and assist corporations appeal to and retain feminine expertise.
What has been your greatest problem as a girl in knowledge?
Some of the important challenges was navigating the tech trade as one of many solely ladies in technical groups, particularly in management roles. This expertise highlighted the significance of variety and inclusion in tech, driving me to grasp and handle the excessive turnover charges of ladies in tech. My give attention to attracting and retaining feminine expertise in such a dynamic and generally difficult surroundings examined my resilience however finally strengthened my management and advocacy for ladies in tech.
Greatest recommendation you’d give to different ladies aspiring for a management function in knowledge?
My recommendation is to pursue your curiosity. Dive deep into utilizing the instruments obtainable right this moment, and picture how they’ll and ought to be higher. Search out mentors and networks that help your progress, and don’t draw back from taking over difficult tasks that stretch your capabilities. The AI discipline thrives on variety of thought and innovation, so your contributions can actually make a distinction.
Enjoyable reality about your self?
I really like cooking and studying about new cuisines. I like making an attempt new issues. I get pleasure from experimenting with numerous cuisines and components, which mirrors my strategy to knowledge science – mixing completely different components to create one thing new and attention-grabbing. This interest not solely serves as a inventive outlet but additionally permits me to attach with cultures and tales from around the globe.
Do you know? We produced our first Girls in Knowledge Administration and Governance half-day convention at Enterprise Knowledge World 2024. Hear the dwell recording and be a part of the neighborhood by signing up for our Girls in Knowledge Administration and Governance e-newsletter.
