Jeanne Elizabeth Daniel is currently a Masters student at Stellenbosch University, where she is focusing her thesis on Computational Linguistics and Deep Learning. She completed her undergraduate degree in Computer Science, and her postgraduate degree in Data Science, while also serving on the House Committee of Irene Residence in 2017. One of her portfolios included Womxn Empowerment, an area which she is very passionate about. Jeanne has completed internships at Allan Gray, Nmrql Research, and Capitec Bank, where she has developed specialized tools for text and sentiment analysis. She considers herself a hardcore programmer, as well as an art enthusiast, and an amateur yogi. Her goal in life is to make the world a better place
What is STEM and how does it relate to a South African context?
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. STEM includes everything from Food Science to Actuaries to Engineering. A recent report has revealed that by 2020, almost 80% of jobs would require some form of STEM knowledge. STEM fields are some of the most underrepresented by womxn, where globally 14% of the STEM workforce is female, and in South Africa, only 7%.
To start at the beginning, what inspired you to pursue your current career path?
My dad is an Electrical Engineer, and he made sure I was exposed to as much loose electrical wires and circuit boards as possible! He cultivated an environment for me and my sister that made us believe that we could be anything we wanted and achieve anything we wanted. He also made sure that we were adequately stimulated in "sciency things", like playing with Lego, playing computer games, reading books on different scientific disciplines, etc. When I was struggling with Mathematics, he spent hours explaining to me the role of the X and the Y axis and how functions work, never getting impatient. Today, I am doing my Masters in Applied Mathematics, and my twin sister is doing hers in Electrical Engineering. The number one inspiration for me being in STEM right now was definitely my dad.
What’s the coolest project that you’ve worked on and why?
I built a model that extracted sentiment labels (positive, negative, neutral) from tweets, using emojis. It worked really, really well (93% accuracy!). This type of problem is called sentiment analysis.
Can you tell us a bit about what you’re doing for your Masters and how it will be helping womxn in South Africa?
I am doing my Masters in Applied Mathematics, but that is a very non-descript label for the field I am interested in. First and foremost, I am a computer programmer that is also really interested in how humans learn and understand languages! Therefore, I am trying to teach computers to learn, understand, and translate natural languages, and my focus is on South African languages. Many South African languages are highly under-represented and they are referred to as "low-resource languages" because so little digital resources and tools exist for them. If I succeed, the benefits could include learning materials that can be automatically translated, health platforms that can provide information in any of our official languages, as well as the preservation of dying languages.
Who are your role models in STEM?
One of my favourite role models is Katherine Johnson, an African-American mathematician who worked for NASA during a time when both womxn and POC faced horrific discrimination. The movie "Hidden Figures" (a must-watch for all womxn interested in STEM) portrays her incredibly vital role in calculating the trajectories and launch windows of the rockets in the Space Program. The film also highlights the discrimination that she faced, both as a womxn in STEM and as a POC. The movie only came out recently but I really wish I could have seen it as a young girl.
Have you watched Black Panther, and if so what do you think Shuri’s character means for young womxn and society in general?
I have not watched Black Panther YET (waiting for it to become available at Pulp!)
From an intersectional feminist perspective, what are the current barriers in South Africa for womxn who want to pursue a career in one of these fields?
South Africa is still one of the most unequal societies in the world. Firstly, fair and equal access to education and opportunities, from a primary education all the way to tertiary education is lacking. South Africa ranks as one of the worst countries in the world in terms of Mathematics and Physical Sciences, which further inhibits developing potential.
Socio-economic factors (poverty, access to healthcare, violence against womxn and children, etc) and cultural biases also play a massive role in preventing young girls from attaining a quality education (as well as developing an interest), that could have potentially set them on the path of entering a STEM field. Further, there is a massive lack of female mentorship and positive role models in the STEM field.
If a womxn, against all the odds, finally obtains a qualification in a STEM field, she is still in the minority and could potentially face unfair discrimination, sexism, and exclusion in the work place, which could prevent her from progressing in her career path. Many womxn eventually leave the field because of the hostile environment they face in the work space.
Do you have any plans for helping overcome these barriers?
I have ideas for starting a Womxn in STEM Stellenbosch workshop, where we can get female entrepreneurs and womxn in STEM fields to come share their story, and provide networking/career opportunities, as well as facilitate a programming workshop. This workshop will be open for anyone who is interested in learning a bit of Python (my favourite programming language), and no previous skills are required.
From a more institutional perspective, what can schools, professional organisations and companies work together to empower womxn entering STEM?
Challenging gender roles and biases in institutions is a must. For example, if you are a company do you cater your Career Day stall for just males? When providing internship/mentorship/bursary opportunities, are you as a company taking into account the various socio-economic factors that influence diversity and take-up in different fields? Do you address the toxic "Boys Club" working environment that excludes womxn and POC from vital business and networking opportunities? If you are a school are you actively encouraging young girls to be more interested in typically male-dominated subjects, like Information Technology, Physical Sciences, and Technical Drawings? These are all very real factors that either pave the way for successful womxn in STEM, or cause them to leave altogether.
Favourite website or app?
I really enjoy reading articles on World Economic Forum. They have some great articles on the 4th Industrial Revolution, Economics, Environment, and much more.
Any advice for current and future STEMinists?
Firstly, my new favourite word is now "STEMinists"! My personal motto is, "There are no traffic jams along the extra mile.". Achieving success requires you to decide you want it more than anything. Don’t be afraid to break out of the box society placed you in. Apply for as many short-courses, internships, conferences, and leadership opportunities as you can! Surround yourself with people that inspire and challenge you. As the saying goes, "If you are the smartest person in the room, find another room!" Practice self-care. And finally, set long-term and short-term goals, work hard, and smash them.