Women in data

Throughout this week we’re sharing stories from around the business to highlight our inclusion campaign - Altogether Different.

Katherine James is our deputy head of data science. She is also a member of our Women’s steering group.

‘I joined Royal Mail as a senior data scientist in 2017,’ said Katherine. ‘I began my career in academia, completing a PhD in Genomic Medicine at Oxford in 2014.

‘This was really interesting as I was working on statistical methods that can be used to make sense of HIV-2 genome sequences, which was a great learning opportunity and allowed me to work all over the world with different people.

‘After my PhD I worked in Kumamoto in Japan for six months, learning no Japanese whatsoever, but I made lots of great friends and got to experience life in a completely different culture.

‘My first job in industry was at British Airways where I was responsible for personalising destination for marketing communications (aka building a model which guesses where you want to go on holiday!). I then worked for Aviva in their small start-up office in London, looking at how digital disruption will impact a traditional industry such as insurance.

‘At Royal Mail I have been involved in plenty of different and interesting projects. One of the first things I did was lead the data science efforts on Outdoor Actuals which gave me a real baptism of fire into the complexities of our network and the phenomenal effort our frontline colleagues put into making sure deliveries get made, day in and day out.

‘As a data scientist, my job is to build statistical models that help solve business problems, so a lot of my day is spent talking to colleagues about how the operation works and what we can do to help it run more smoothly. One of the main focuses of my work this year has been on growing the data science team, which we did through non-traditional methods, such as holding a recruitment hackathon.

‘The support we’ve had from the business on our initiatives really highlights the strength of the people at Royal Mail and is one of the things that gives me the greatest job satisfaction.

‘One of the main reasons I chose to come and work for Royal Mail was the size of the organisation and the data that exists to model. We are unique as a company in the size and reach of our network and this is reflected in the range of projects I have been able to work on.

‘What I didn’t appreciate was how this diversity in our network is also reflected in the workforce. Since starting at Royal Mail, I have been involved in initiatives such as Women in Data and have found the internal support offered to be great. I feel supported by my colleagues on a daily basis and I love the opportunity Royal Mail gives me to work with a broad range of people from such diverse backgrounds, both in their personal and professional lives.

‘The support networks that are available within Royal Mail and the openness of colleagues to help each other is extremely unique and something that should be cherished by colleagues throughout the company.

‘I have also been impressed by the career progression offered by the business. We have some great apprentices in our team and many of the data team started their careers as postmen and women, highlighting the fantastic opportunities for change and personal growth that Royal Mail offers.’

Watch our video below to hear more on what it feels like to be included.

Supporting female colleagues

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If you would like to get involved in the Women’s steering group or the planning for future women’s national events, please email: gender.diversity@royalmail.com.