Many women are now building a strong industry presence and taking leadership roles as the gender gap in tech industry leadership roles decreases.
To acknowledge and recognize their contribution and get to know them better, we continue our blog series featuring women game changers in the mobile industry.
Lace Rogers
BI and Data Science at Yakuto
- What inspired you to pursue this career?
I’ve always loved statistics, but I got the bug when I was invited to join a programming group by my mentor in my early 20s. From this, I discovered the vast difference analytics can make to a business. I was especially attracted by the fact that analytics was an emerging area in gaming when I took my first position in the gaming industry and the challenges this posed.
- What do you enjoy most about being a data scientist?
What I enjoy most is the vast array of challenges data in this industry represents. You get to analyze so many facets such as marketing, product design, and player behavior. I love the fact that I’m constantly learning even after a decade working with data, as well as how much the industry has changed and evolved in the past few years. My role is constantly evolving and there is never a dull day.
- Finish the sentence: “Mobile Gaming of the future looks like..."
It will be even more data-driven with greater reliance on data modeling to create more personalized experiences for players, especially with more games moving into VR and AR. I expect the business and marketing focus strategies will be determined by data-driven algorithms and have more reliance on automation than currently.
- What are the common challenges of women in this industry?
There are many challenges facing women in the industry but things are changing. Over the past 5 years in gaming, I have seen a vast increase in women entering the industry. However, the industry remains disproportionately male, especially in technical roles. This poses challenges both for the reputation of gaming careers but also in building strong mentoring networks of women to provide support for each other.
One of the major challenges still is the stigma of working in gaming and STEM careers. One of our biggest challenges is showing that working in mobile gaming is a highly accessible industry and is an opportunity for a wide and varied career in data science. In general, it’s also important to make data science, BI education courses, and roles more accessible, especially to those who may not necessarily have had the opportunity to study statistics at a university level but have the drive to learn. By doing so, we will open up the industry to a wealth of knowledge and experience which should support diversifying the industry.
- What’s the coolest thing you’re working on right now?
Currently, I’m working on some very exciting models which will be supporting work to ensure we give players a personalized experience and journey in the game. I’m also working on a mentoring network for analysts to share skills with people who want to learn analytic programming but have not had the opportunity to do so.
- Name one thing you’re most passionate about and why.
My passion is making the industry more accessible by building training courses and mentoring networks. I am especially passionate about getting people who were in care into technology roles as they have a disproportionate rate of unemployment during their 20s. I was in care so this is very close to my heart. - Tell us something that might surprise us about you.
I actually qualified as a gemologist, studying diamonds and precious stones.
- If you had a superpower, what would it be?
To slow down time to get more done :)
- If you could choose anyone in the world to live next door to you, who would it be?Michelle Obama - she is an absolute inspiration.
- Who are the three women that inspire you?
- Dorothy Vaughan is my biggest inspiration, the resistance she faced (along with many other women) and her drive to succeed is amazing.
- Malala Yousafzi - This woman faced the worst opposition in promoting education
- Irena Sendler
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