Celebrating our Women in Data

We’re excited to be partnering with Women in Data UK again this year, joining a network of 30,000 data professionals to share ideas and perspectives, take part in debates and create opportunities to develop our colleagues working in data or those who aspire to enter the sector. 

Women in Data UK started in 2015 looking at the underlying causes and barriers to women in the data industry. It’s a network that aims to bring awareness of the issues and emphasise the value of female participation at every level.

Why are we partnering with Women in Data? We’re proud to be a company that encourages colleagues to be themselves. We believe diversity of thinking strengthens the way we operate and reflects the diverse customer base that we serve. This makes us successful and, as a competitive and growing organisation, we are continuously challenging ourselves to do better. 

We value the expertise of our data professionals, yet we recognise we need to do our part to bring more gender balance to the industry. We are committed to celebrating and supporting women in the industry, building a more diverse pool of data professionals, and changing the profile of the industry over time.

It’s great to shout about our own super data specialists – Charlotte, Actuarial Manager in Underwriting Services, and Baoqi, Risk Pricing Analyst, share their data journeys…

Charlotte, BSc in Classical Mathematics:
Alongside managing a small team of actuarial analysts and data scientists, my role is comprised of two main responsibilities, data and risk scores. As part of the data workstream, I transform and combine the data extracts provided by Data Engineers with external data sources acquired by the company to produce data extracts fit for modelling projects and analysis by the wider department. The risk scores workstream involves using innovative machine learning techniques to build predictive feature models that feed into the larger pricing structure. 

I really enjoy the collaborative nature of data and analytics at Hastings Direct, getting to work with stakeholders in multiple business areas and understanding how the data and models produced align with the wider company goals.

I gained a Bachelor of Science in Classical Mathematics from West Virginia State University and started my career in insurance straightaway. I began in a Commercial Underwriter Rep role in the USA, moving into a Commercial Underwriting role in Australia a year later. I soon realised I wanted a more technical role, where I could go deeper into the details of the data and help steer the analytical solutions being used to price insurance products. This led me to Hastings Direct, starting as a Trainee Actuary and studying towards my Actuarial qualification with the IFOA.

Throughout my three years at Hastings, I’ve further examined the importance of good quality data and feel excited by all the possibilities this provides. There is never a shortage of development opportunities and new things to learn in a data and analytics role! From coding techniques and functions, to modelling algorithms – I love trying new strategies and the dynamic nature of the industry. Hastings has given me the opportunity to learn from experienced colleagues, in a comfortable and supportive environment while enjoying the open culture at Hastings, where colleagues are prioritised through inclusion, wellbeing and career development opportunities.

Baoqi, MSc (Hons) Biomedical Engineering:
I joined Hastings Direct as a Risk Pricing Analyst even though I started my career as a software engineer. With a very different work experience, Hastings Direct gave me the opportunity to work in the area I find more fascinating, and my areas of expertise include data visualization and presentation, data mining and statistical analysis. 

I’ve worked on different projects to improve our business performance, requiring close collaboration with my teammates and colleagues across different teams. I appreciate the responsibilities I have been given by my line manager and the trust from my colleagues. I can see that I have grown a lot during my two years with Hastings Direct. I received a lot of support from my colleagues and I feel that I can be myself at Hastings. I’m really enjoying our new career framework – it’s a clear way to work on my development and evaluate my performance. The company encourages creativity and embraces colleagues with diverse backgrounds and although there have been challenges, I can see our colleagues working together to tackle any issues. 

Join us
If you’d like to be part of a team working together to support our customers and if you thrive in a fast paced and data-driven company, click here to find out about our available roles.