Stats Incredible

Data is sexy, says demographic analyst and company director, Lailani Burra, and more young women should get involved.

Lailani’s career in demographics and data analysis began with an undergraduate marketing degree from Massey University. After a year lecturing there in the business studies department, she moved to London, where she worked for the data analysis company SPSS and the multinational software giant, IBM. She earned an MSc from London’s School of Economics and Political Science before moving to Melbourne and joining the demographic analysis company .id (informed decisions) in 2003.

Having become the demographic analysts of choice for more than 220 local councils in Australia, Lailani has now turned her attention back to New Zealand. She’s started with Wellington, where the city council has used her company’s services to launch the country’s first online community profile and estimate how its population will change between now and 2031.

Given her success, should more young women with career aspirations consider working in demographics and data analysis?

“Absolutely, we need more women,” Lailani said. “We’ve moved on from women feeling their career options are limited to fields like teaching or law. In today’s world, there’s too much data and not enough knowledge. People who know how to extract the story from the numbers are in demand. Data is very sexy.”

Lailani said that an urban planning or geography degree can be a good way into the industry.
“Passion and curiosity are the most important attributes for demographers. It’s a great profession for people who are curious about how places and people fit together and the patterns that emerge,” she explained.
“People think numbers can be dry and dull, but when you work in demographics, you see that they’re the story of people, places, and time. Being a demographic analyst is much more sociological than mathematical. It’s really focused on communities and patterns and change.”
Lailani pointed out that having a good grasp of data and the ability to draw conclusions from it can be empowering, particularly for young women who may feel insecure about their advice being taken seriously by decision makers.

“Once you’ve crunched the numbers, you’re in a position of power, because you’ve got the analysis and facts to give people the best possible advice. Our clients want to make the best possible decisions they can on how to invest in their communities, so they really value high quality analysis that’s built on a solid understanding of demographic patterns.”
“Having a strong, evidence-based case can stop planning getting co-opted by politics,” she added. “Making a solid prediction of what’s going to happen in the future based on trends and patterns gives you a lot more confidence in your decision making. It’s a field where you can make a real difference to the future shape of cities and communities.”

With New Zealand’s census taking place on 8 March this year, Lailani and .id’s founding director Ivan Motley will be visiting cities across New Zealand to explore how they can work with local councils to make sense of the data, and use it to decide on the areas where they can improve their residents’ quality of life.

“When I visited Wellington before Christmas, I was struck by the statistic that people walking and busing to work grew three times more rapidly than people driving to work between the last two censuses. That’s a big win for the planners. I don’t think any Australian city can boast a reversal like this, but it will be interesting to see if they are catching up when the next census figures come out.”

Steven Farry
www.id.com.au