At the Women and Leadership Forum, the mathematician Regina Llopis demands a more active role for women in the world of science and technology
Regina Llopis, PhD in Maths from Berkeley University and CEO of SME Grupo AIA, was the keynote speaker at the latest Women and Leadership Forum, held by ESADE Alumni in conjunction with Banco Sabadell.
Llopis focused on two areas: technology and education in society. She highlighted the importance of today’s data economy. "The data economy is the convergence of analysis and big data. Companies have already learnt to work with data but now they must familiarise themselves with sensors, the internet of things. Company data may or may not be structured but they must be understood and processed. This is the challenge that companies face now and in the future", she said. This calls for new professionals: data scientists and data analysts. "We must surround ourselves with these new renaissance professionals who need to have highly specific skills." Llopis went on to explain that these professionals must be familiar with scientific methods and artificial intelligence, be able to analyse and synthesise, be able to communicate well and be convincing, and must also be hackers, creative and artistic. "This field will create many jobs – the USA alone has about 800,000 jobs in big data – and women mustn’t miss the boat: this is an excellent opportunity", she emphasised.
The truth is that nowadays the presence of women in the realms of technology, science and maths is still low. In the USA only 24% of women work in these fields in comparison with 76% of men. "We women mustn’t fall behind in the fields of science, technology and maths. We women must learn to take risks and believe that we are able to, because the truth is that we can." Therefore "the change must come from within and very early in life, otherwise girls will carry on not wanting to study engineering", she went on. New ventures have emerged which champion this change, such as GoldieBlox, a toy specially designed by an engineer to stimulate girls’ most scientific, constructive and mathematical inclinations and pave the way for all the girls who want to be engineers in the future. "This is a huge challenge. Women must be equipped to access these jobs."
During her talk, Llopis also mentioned her very own dream, her micromultinational SME Grupo AIA. "We create logarithms for a better world. We’ve been working for 25 years in different areas such as finance, health, energy and telecommunications, and this year we’ll be working for the NASA", she explained.
Llopis wound up her talk by calling to mind her family which consisted, she said, of great women, all very strong. "My mother wanted to study engineering but the pressures of that time made her change her mind and decide to be a primary school teacher – although this enabled her to instil a love of maths and physics in her pupils. She had five daughters. Three of us are mathematicians, one is a physicist and one is a computer engineer", she recalled. Llopis also emphasised the importance of technology applied to the human sphere. "My eldest child was born with a handicap. Recently we managed to help him recover a period of his memory. It was so exciting for him and me too. The brain is another area that needs more research", she declared.
This Women and Leadership Forum was brought to a close by the director of technology and systems at Banco Sabadell, Carlos Abarca. He believes that "people like Regina Llopis will change the world. Banco Sabadell is working with Llopis to enable us to adapt to new times and segment our customers to offer them tailor-made products". Abarca also emphasised the importance of people in these new areas. "Tools are essential, but so are creativity and intuition. In this revolution, women mustn’t be side-lined", he declared.
