![Women sitting in a row of chairs looking ahead.](https://staging.widsworldwide.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Our-Mission-Hero_O.jpg)
Data science increasingly affects every aspect of modern life from setting monetary policy, modeling climate change impacts, to how and where healthcare is administered. Data Science and its related areas are critically reshaping our world, yet women are still significantly underrepresented: they represent less than 20% of students and less than 10% of decision makers. Numerous studies cite this disparity as having a potentially dire impact on our societies. It is imperative that we invest in Women in Data Science and increase their representation to:
- mitigate unconscious biases that can corrupt analytical and predictive models, resulting in decisions and designs that exacerbate inequalities, deepen divisions, and underserve populations
- ensure that critical issues for women, such as women’s healthcare and safety, are treated as a priority and accelerated
- ensure that economic justice & prosperity are accessible to all
- address talent shortage challenges in the workforce
![collage of different faces - representative of the Women in Data Science community](https://staging.widsworldwide.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/WiDS_Collage_web.jpg)
Our Long-term Vision
We envision a future in which women are fully integrated and represented in all areas of Data Science, including AI, and share equally in Decision Making, Economic Prosperity, and Opportunities.
Our Immediate Mission
Our mission is to change the field of data science across the globe by elevating and empowering women to achieve 30% representation in education, innovation and leadership by 2030.
We believe that 30% representation of women is the critical threshold for a more inclusive culture and a tipping point for ultimately reaching equal participation of women. Equal participation is essential to reduce biases in data-driven decision making affecting all of us nearly everywhere: in education, healthcare, safety and security, and economic prosperity.
We are passionately dedicated to our 30×30 mission, and aim to support, inspire, educate and connect Women in Data Science to reduce barriers to entry and career success. Join us and support us with the WiDS mission.
Our Founding Principles
All WiDS Worldwide programming is based on our founding principles:
Diversity
across cultures, races and ethnicities in all our programming.
Equity
by providing all programming, resources and contents at no-cost to all.
Inclusion
through our distributed model that gives agency and ownership to community members, and elevates and respects voices across the globe.