WIA Women to Watch: 2021 Q3, Sreyoshi Bhaduri

Women In Analytics (WIA) is proud to present our Q3 2021 Woman to Watch, Dr. Sreyoshi Bhaduri.

Dr. Sreyoshi Bhaduri is no stranger to the lack of diversity within the engineering and tech industries. As an undergrad in India, she experienced a severe lack of female representation in the engineering classroom. Post undergrad, Sreyoshi pursued higher education at Virginia Tech where she noticed an even greater lack of diversity, not only from a gender standpoint, but cultural as well. These experiences led her to a PhD in Engineering Education, with a goal of learning more about these under-representations and what can be done differently to promote inclusion.                                                                                

Bio:
Dr. Sreyoshi Bhaduri is an Engineering Educator and People Researcher. As a Research Scientist at Amazon, Sreyoshi's work leverages organizational data to generate insights for decisions impacting global talent management. Her research interests include employing innovative, ethical and inclusive mixed-methods research approaches using AI to uncover insights about the 21st century workforce. Prior to her current role Sreyoshi led Global People Research at McGraw Hill. Sreyoshi also maintains close ties with academia and consults on several National Science Foundation funded research projects in the engineering education realm. An advocate and an ally, Sreyoshi is passionate about improving belonging among women in STEM and Engineering. She also serves as Senator at the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) - a not for profit organization with over 42,000 global members and the world’s largest advocate and catalyst for change for women in engineering and technology.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?
“I know this superpower may be one that many folks hope to magically acquire, but I would LOVE to be able to travel across time. I'd be most interested in experiencing first-hand how technologies evolved and how society evolved along-side. As a research scientist, it fascinates me no end knowing how people adapted to technological advancements. My grandparents' generation, for instance, excelled at lifelong learning. Born in the 1930s they went from writing letters to now being entirely comfortable facetiming across continents. To be able to study, see, and experience this phenomenal growth first-hand would be exciting and would definitely make me feel super powerful. :)”☯

What advice would you give your younger self? What advice would you ignore?
‍“If I could share one piece of advice with my younger self, it would be to cherish the time idling and loitering and exploring and getting lost. I would let the younger me know that time spent ideating, contemplating, or dreaming is neither time lost nor procrastinated, but rather, the momentum gained and investment made. I would also encourage myself to read more (more fiction specifically). Finally, I would recommend a younger me to be more proactive about knowing the works of, reaching out to, and citing women (authors and researchers and scientists and engineers).”

What is your favorite quote or saying that captures your mission?
“There is a Sanskrit saying oft-repeated by my mother, which ends as – विद्याधनं सर्वधन प्रधानम् ॥ Roughly translated, the saying encapsulates the sentiment that what you have learned, through experiences or education, is never in vain. In fact, education and lifelong learning should always be among one's most prized possessions. One's learnings cannot be stolen from them nor will it ever be a burden. It will only increase even when shared. I urge young girls and women interested in STEM to collect as much learning as they can – through courses, internships, projects, volunteering. They should explore interests and pursue a wide range of opportunities to find what they love. They should resist being siloed by seeking out multi-disciplinary projects with diverse individuals so they can contribute their unique perspectives and voices. I urge them to persist and to be the best that they can. Finally, they should learn to be an ally for others. Investing time and effort in building friendships, finding community and strengthening networks will help them not only bounce back when they fall but propel them further and further.”

Learn more about her impact and get in touch through her website.

You can also find Sreyoshi on Instagram & Twitter.

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