Fields of STEM (Science, Technology, Mathematics and Engineering) have been sorely lacking in women. Whether it has to do with the lack of female interest or social-psychological explanation, the STEM field has largely been dominated by males (75% globally; 71% in Malaysia).
One example of an undeterred Malaysian individual is Sharala Axryd. Taking on the role as CEO of ASEAN Data Analytics Exchange (ADAX), she is responsible for humanizing data – contributing to the developments in the field of data science, nurturing data professionals, and looking for avenues to harness the power of data.
“When we first started this journey, we wanted to produce world class talent, only to realize that we needed great teachers too. LinkedIn helped me approach accomplished statisticians and world class academia like Harvard Business School,” Sharala explains the origins of her leap to data science. “I then simple shared my vision with them and they responded positively. From these connections, I hired my first data scientist and eventually built the ADAX team. Today, ADAX has established a team of in-house data scientists, mentoring startups and helping ASEAN organizations become relevant, sustainable and most importantly, profitable.”
Learn about Sharala’s story below.