Women have carved a niche for themselves in almost every field one could possibly think of. Business, finance, marketing, IT, law – you name it and you’ll find women doing a great job without any difficulty. However, data science is that one field that’s still a little unexplored by women. And considering the potential that women have, this field can see remarkable changes in the days ahead.

What’s been observed so far is that the data science industry is men-dominated and the number of females who’ve made a career in this field is relatively less. Almost all the data scientists out there are men and this itself raises questions as to why is that so when the skills required to become a data scientist are gender-neutral. Be it critical thinking, structured approach, creativity, intuition, analytical ability, problem-solving techniques, or any similar skill for that matter – all these have nothing to do with whether the person is a male or a female. Women too stand the potential to inculcate all of this and emerge out to be extremely credible data scientists. Then, why aren’t the number of women data scientists shooting up?

The fact that data science as a career isn’t something that many people are aware of which is why the number of data scientists across the globe is very less. Making people aware of the same will not only open the door of opportunities for people all around but also bring in more women to the field.

No wonder, there’s a staggering difference between the number of men and women in the field. A number of factors have contributed to this like the workplace culture, the level of confidence, lack of interest, no early exposure and inherent bias. Now is the time that women are made to understand what are the opportunities available for them, what will those opportunities involve, and what the quality of life looks like for someone in this role. Women have the potential to cater to business needs and with adequate knowledge of the same can help them achieve results like never before. Additionally, being exposed to the required skills well in advance makes it easy for them to achieve the desired objective.

Yes, there are many qualified women out there who fit the eligibility criteria just right but the hurdles don’t seem to stop. Gender diversity could be unbalanced based on the way an organization recruits for a position. Also, the fact that most of the recruitments rely on referrals to determine the top candidates cannot be overlooked. No wonder, it has been observed that teams with more or less equal number of men and women are more likely to be creative, share knowledge and finish tasks faster and efficiently when compared to teams of unequal genders.

However, a point worth noting is that closing the gender gap in this field of data science shouldn’t only be about reaching a certain ratio of women to men within the workplace. Even though recruitment is still an issue, the focus should be more about empowering women. It is now time that we change how the system functions with fewer women followed by steps such as informing women interested in or entering this field that skill proficiency isn’t based on gender.

With that being said, need of the hour is to bring awareness about this current situation, highlight the growth opportunities available, and bring the benefits of gender diversity to light. Well, better late than never!!

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The importance of data analytics within everyday online interactions, sports, media and general day-to-day life has become more prevalent. Football until recently, was never included within the data monitoring equation before, yet IoT (Internet of Things involves sensory, connectivity and data analytics) has provided some serious advancements that have made the regulation of sports and football in general much more modern and efficient. Big Data is especially useful to analyse player performances on a more intimate level and allows teams to come to more action related conclusions which are superb for plans of the future.

These metrics are not just used within the world of media, the data evidence-based approaches have also become very relevant to concluding and conjuring future promotional welcome betting offers for online sports gambling. With persevering data collection, gambling platforms can come to conclusions of smart ways to entice and interact with their future traffic, which means the system now is the most efficient and catered, then it has ever been. 

I0T and Big Data within football is composed of the following recognised attributes.

Sensory Devices 

Sensory devices are worn by athletes to gain the quantifiable data that is necessary to monitor fitness levels of the player. Many of the fitness objectives such as muscle composition, activity, running speeds within a distance and overall performance levels are assessed. This is quite imperative, as players and fitness coaches can build goals to work towards for improvements and maintenance for peak physical activity. These sensors will be input within the clothing worn by the players and then transmitted via Wi-Fi networks within the stadium and training grounds.

There have been technological advancements within this sector of IoT. The HUMANoX Soccer has provided a solution to increase a greater capacity for digital performance and monitoring, where football is involved. The HX50 shin pads have been made from smart materials to increase resistance when under high endurance and physical environments; at even greater levels of data intelligence. It can be tracked by mobile phone systems too, which is a huge leap within fitness monitoring.

VAR Technology 

We are sure hard-core football fans will already be aware of this form of technology when it comes to football regulation. VAR is an IoT camera that aids referees on-site to conclude decisions for goals, penalties, red cars etc. Decisions received by this technology are smart and even more accurate than human judgement. Meaning it can greatly improve the efficiency and accuracy of gameplay altogether. We saw this technology first appear within the Russian World Cup 2018. 

Big Data in Football 

Big Data in football is primarily composed of computer analytical programmes that are equipped within monitoring algorithms and Artificial intelligence. The data gained from these insights has allowed much more accurate predictive models that can improve player predictions, especially when defining a plan of action for player performance.  It is evidence-based and is specifically tailored to the statistical figures generated for each player. Football teams can suddenly be more aware of how their players respond and act on the field. This is particularly useful to maximise unique strategic tactics in addition to minimising injury risks.

It is very obvious how IoT and Big Data mould together and harmonise player and team capabilities within football. There is no doubt that the data collected contributes to the evolution and understanding of a football team’s capabilities but also enhances it.

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