Leadership in Statistics and Data Science: Planning for Inclusive Excellence is a collection of articles from experts on inclusive leadership in statistics and data science. The book is split into nine parts, each one emphasizing a different aspect of leadership. Some articles in the book are rather personal, particularly in Part IX. In contrast, others are focused on presenting data and study results supporting their arguments (such as the articles in parts I, II, and VI, for instance). Most chapters end with a summary of science-based action items that the authors propose organizations or leaders implement. I found this particular aspect of each chapter to be very compelling.
Some chapters have more overlap than others, which is unavoidable when creating a collection of articles such as this one. However, overall, I found the structuring of this book and the articles within it to be a very compelling read. I admire the work that the editor put into organizing the articles in this book. As it is, a reader can pick up this collection and focus only on a particular topic of interest as each article is fully self- contained.
Each chapter is written by a subject matter expert, and the entire list of authors is very diverse. Part I of the book includes two articles that summarize the main goals and give reasons for why the topic of this book is vital for Statistics and Data Science. Parts II and III of this book focus on leaders in the field sharing their stories and practical tips. One comment is that I found the figures in the third article of Part II challenging to read. Larger font sizes would be appreciated. I did not find too many topical differences between Parts II and Part III, other than articles in Part III focus more on human connection and neuroscience.
Part IV deals with industry and government organizations, whereas part V focuses on academia specifically. I enjoyed the contrast between the articles in these two parts. A suggestion would be to change the title of part IV to “Connecting within Academe” to emphasize the parallel between these two parts even more. One more suggestion here. These were the first parts of the book where I noticed some odd in-line citations. For instance, on lines 17–19 and p. 156, there is a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt and a citation given with a link to a Forbes article. The citation is included simply as a URL link. There should be a better way to include references to web articles, and indeed, other articles in this collection have referenced webpage sources more neatly. I would suggest the editor go through the articles and check for more consistency in the citations. Since many articles link to web pages and surveys, I would suggest compiling all more relevant links in a downloadable pdf that could accompany this collection.
Part VI, “Arguing for Full Inclusion” had, in my opinion, some of the best-articulated articles in the entire collection, and I particularly enjoyed reading Allan R. Sampson’s contribution. Part VII is about stories we tell with data, and Part VIII includes stories of a few successful leaders who overcame adversity. Parts VI, VII, and VIII feel different and more personal than the rest of this collection in a good way. The book ends with a very forward-looking Part IX on “Leading the Profession.”
Overall, I found this collection of essays to be insightful and detailed. I enjoyed all the actionable steps laid out in the chapters and the more personal stories. I commend the editor for a robust collection of essays.
University of Washington, Seattle, WA
[email protected]