Diversity in Data

Diversity in Data topic

Sarah Daniel

Data Science & AI Fellow 2025-2026
Political Science

Sarah Daniel is a PhD candidate in Political Science, specializing in urban politics in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a particular focus on East Africa. Her research examines how neighborhood communities organize for collective action to improve service delivery, reduce inequality, and enhance political representation.

Jose Aguilar

Data Science & AI Fellow 2025-2026
Berkeley Graduate School of Education

Jose R. Aguilar is currently a PhD student in the Policy, Politics, and Leadership program at UC Berkeley’s School of Education. His research utilizes natural language processing, machine learning, and social network analysis to investigate how institutional discourse, algorithmic decision-making, and education policy influence postsecondary access and equity for marginalized students. Before Berkeley, Jose earned his M.A. in Urban Education from Loyola Marymount University and dual B.A./B.S.A. degrees in Government, Latina/o Studies, and Computer Science from the University of...

Armaan Hiranandani

Data Science & AI Fellow 2025-2026
School of Information

Armaan Hiranandani is a Master’s student in Data Science at UC Berkeley, where he also earned his B.S. in Industrial Engineering & Operations Research. Born and raised in Dubai, Armaan recently completed a software engineering internship at Netflix, working on the machine learning platform team. His interests include building scalable AI systems and applying data science to solve real-world problems.

Abby O'Neill

Data Science & AI Fellow 2025-2026
Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (EECS)

I'm a PhD student in Berkeley AI Research (BAIR). My research interests include interpretability, robotics, computer vision, AI for the environment, and education, though the list keeps growing and probably needs some pruning. I'm a little nervous, but mostly hopeful about the future we're building and about the role data plays in shaping it.

Teaching Data Science as a Tool for Empowerment

February 18, 2025
Elijah Mercer
by Elijah Mercer. Data literacy is a powerful tool for empowerment, especially for historically marginalized communities. Through Data Cafecito at Roadmap to Peace and helping teach Data 4AC at UC Berkeley, Elijah Mercer helps bridge the gap between data, advocacy, and justice. Data Cafecito fosters culturally responsive data practices for Latinx-serving organizations, while Data 4AC challenges students to critically analyze data’s role in systemic inequities. Drawing from his experience in education, Mercer uses interactive teaching methods to make data accessible and meaningful. By centering storytelling and community-driven insights, he aims to equip individuals with the skills to use data for social change.

Why Data Disaggregation Matters: Exploring the Diversity of Asian American Economic Outcomes Using Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) Data

February 11, 2025
Taesoo Song
by Taesoo Song. Asian Americans are often overlooked in discussions of racial inequality due to their high average socioeconomic attainment. Many academic and policy researchers treat Asians as a single racial category in their analysis. However, this broad categorization can mask significant within-group disparities, leaving many disadvantaged individuals without access to vital resources and policy support. Song emphasizes the importance of data disaggregation in revealing Asian American inequalities, particularly in areas like income and homeownership, and demonstrates how breaking down these categories can lead to more targeted and effective policy solutions.

Digitizing Inclusion: FinTech’s Promise and Pitfalls in the Global South

April 22, 2025
Victoria Hollingshead
by Victoria Hollingshead. FinTech promises to revolutionize financial inclusion by harnessing data science to reach populations historically excluded from formal financial systems. By analyzing digital footprints, mobile payments, and behavioral data, startups and financial institutions have the potential to improve customer-lender interactions and revolutionize screening and monitoring techniques. While FinTech shows promise of enabling financial access, it also raises critical questions: how do we implement financial inclusion without reproducing the structures of the past? And more rhetorically, can financiers be the arbiters of financial inclusion, if their intrinsic role is to stratify and exclude?

The Creation of Bad Students: AI Detection for Non-Native English Speakers

January 21, 2025
Valeria Ramírez Castañeda
by Valeria Ramírez Castañeda. This blog explores how AI detection tools in academia perpetuate surveillance and punishment, disproportionately penalizing non-native English speakers (NNES). It critiques the rigid, culturally biased notions of originality and intellectual property, highlighting how NNES rely on AI to navigate the dominance of English in academic settings. Current educational practices often label AI use as dishonest, ignoring its potential to reduce global inequities. The post argues for a shift from punitive measures to integrate AIs as a tool for inclusivity, fostering diverse perspectives. By embracing AI, academia can prioritize collaboration and creativity over control and discipline.

Human-Centered Design for Migrant Rights

October 29, 2024
Victoria Hollingshead
by Victoria Hollingshead. In honor of the 2024 International Day of Care and Support, Victoria Hollingshead shares her recent work with the Center for Migrant Advocacy’s Direct Assistance Program and their innovative approach to supporting Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) using generative AI. OFWs, especially female domestic workers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), are vulnerable to exploitation from foreign employers and recruitment agencies while having limited access to legal support. Using a design thinking framework, Victoria and CMA’s Direct Assistance team co-designed a proof of concept to enhance the legal and contract literacy among OFWs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a top destination country. This project shows promise in leveraging emerging technologies to empower OFWs, enhancing the Philippines' reputation as a migrant champion and supporting the nation's broader push for digital transformation.

The Case for Including Disability in Social Science Demographics

October 15, 2024
Jane (Mango) Angar
by Mango Jane Angar. As we celebrate Disability Awareness Month at the D-Lab alongside the UC Berkeley scholarly community, how can we, as social scientists, individually promote accessibility and inclusion? To advance accessibility, we should focus on addressing the barriers faced by individuals with disabilities, using our research to provide insights for effective policy recommendations. Although most of us do not focus on disability-related issues, including disability as a demographic characteristic in our data collection can greatly enhance our understanding of diverse populations and improve the comprehensiveness of our analyses. This small step can contribute to broader efforts toward inclusion and social equity.