June 2019 www.womanthismonth.com 18 showcase IMTIAZ FOR HER HOSTS WOMEN IN TECH AND EMERGING GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES Hosts Please explain what your company does? At the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), we provide high-quality data, analysis and expertise on internal displacement with the aim of informing policy and operational decisions that can reduce the risk of future displacement and improve the lives of internally displaced people (IDP) worldwide. To demystify the tech angle, what is the role of technology in your business? Our tools are mostly based on natural language processing and predictive analytics. Since the volume of data in our sector is growing exponentially, we need to constantly update and build tools that allow us to monitor this data worldwide. We adopt transparent methodologies and provide opportunities to present our technology to experts and the general public through workshops, events and trainings. We also try to avoid tech jargon as much as possible! Since this is a relatively new field, do you find male/female breakdown is roughly equal or is there a majority of one gender? When I started, I was the only woman in the Data and Analysis department. Today, four years later, our department has a 50-50 gender balance. This is a good improvement which I have observed in other organisations. However, I have also realised that the majority of the management and leadership roles are occupied by men, while the less senior ones are all occupied by women. I don’t think this is due to the lack of expertise but, very often, it is due to the lack of a strong network that can advocate for a woman to get a certain role. How did you become involved in this area of business, and why? Technology and innovation applied to the social and humanitarian sector was my interest on the side. I helped establish the first humanitarian hackathon at CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, and ultimately had the right skills to work on data for the humanitarian sector. What have you found the most challenging aspect, and the most rewarding? The most challenging aspect for me is to plan for the long-term, because the landscape of technology is an ever evolving one and it is important to stay open and flexible enough to adapt the course of action to whatever becomes more relevant to the job. The most rewarding aspect is to witness the results of our work when LUISA MENEGHETTI Internal Displacement Monitoring Expert
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