Women in Tech: Transforming Innovation and Defying the Status Quo
The healthcare industry in the U.S. today faces some real challenges, such as a widespread reliance on outdated systems and a temporary inability to slow spiraling costs. In response, many leaders and innovators in technology see a huge opportunity to make a difference. But we’re not going to win these battles if we continue to fight with one hand tied behind our back. The National Center for Women & Technology stated in a recent study that women occupy only 26% of the workforce in computing, software engineering, and information technology (IT).
To help change this, EviCore is dedicated to fostering an environment that ensures that women are valued and supported in our workforce. We have recently launched the employee resource group Network for the Empowerment of Women (N.E.W.), which seeks to make a difference in the workplace by raising the visibility of, and researching and implementing solutions to, these issues.
Recently N.E.W chatted with three women professionals from our IT department to learn more about their career progressions as well as their efforts to help shape our thinking about how we can more effectively apply technology at EviCore. Here’s what they had to say:
Why did you choose a career in technology?
Poonam Dhingra, IT Data Analyst: I’ve always wanted to be in an industry where I can make a positive impact on the quality of human life, which was the main reason I directed my educational path towards analytical studies. Additionally, I wanted that impact to be on a larger scale, and I knew technology could open those doors.
Now as an IT Data Analyst, I’m empowered to use my analytical skills to improve the overall performance of healthcare data for millions of lives. The diverse nature of my role allows me to work with both the business and application teams to help them understand the importance of data and the value of applying data optimization in the real world. The challenges I face every day inspire me to continue on my knowledge quest to help people.
How do women bring additional thinking or perspective to technology?
Monica Bhargava, IT Business Analyst: As an IT Analyst, my primary focus is to put myself in the shoes of the various users we interact with, including patients, providers, payers, and internal users. It’s vital to have a holistic perspective incorporating the insights of both men and women as we build technology products for people of all walks of life. If things are analyzed from a narrow viewpoint, a system or process change can have an unanticipated, adverse, or disruptive impact on certain user personas.
My second goal is to educate stakeholders on technological innovations and trends. Then, I act as the bridge between business and IT, guiding teams to the most successful path for long term success or adoption of a feature. Diverse teams with men and women are more likely to avoid the group-think trap and open up doors that lead to solutions during this interpersonal communication.
What do you like most about your role in technology at EviCore?
Hanna Zhu, Senior Data Science Analyst, QPID: I’ve been fortunate to work in a department that values and supports growth for all team members, including women engineers! I’ve been empowered with the opportunity to experience all the different sides of data science, such as producing machine learning models, evaluating performance, and creating data visualizations.
Having diverse teams allows us to build solutions that are more creative, generate broader appeal, and reach more people. I like to see things from the business perspective, so it’s good to be able to do a combination of technical work but then be able to step back and look at the business value that machine learning models drive.