Women today are taking on many roles in technology around AI, from building robots to developing machine learning models in healthcare, to actively contributing to AI research. We are lucky to live in a region where there are no barriers for women to work and progress in careers where what matters most is your knowledge and skills. The impact of AI on several aspects of our daily lives is far reaching, and existing bias in AI models impacting women and minority groups has been widely reported and is a real concern.
Bias is often the result of training the models using inadequate datasets where women and minority groups were underrepresented. In healthcare, this could make AI tools less effective at diagnosing disease in women patients. In robotics, not having women on the design team may result in robots that women find more difficult to engage with physically, and communication may also be affected. In banking, this could lead to an AI-based decision declining a woman’s application for a loan, while in careers, it could mean eliminating a woman as a candidate applying for a job. A September 2025 UNESCO publication “Tackling Gender Bias and Harms in Artificial Intelligence (AI)” states that 58% of young women and girls have been victims of online harassment. That same publication mentions that only 30% of AI professionals are women. However, data from the Gulf region and the wider MENA region suggest that in Higher Education, women are performing very well in STEM subjects and from my own personal experience, women are pursuing studies in AI, even when they come from a background such as medicine or engineering.
Looking to the past, Dr June McCarroll, who, after a near collision in her Model T Ford in 1917, had the idea of painting a white line in the middle of the road to create separate lanes. The National Hall of Fame lists Mary Anderson as the inventor of windscreen wipers, making driving in the rain safer. And Whitten Brothers Automotive lists Margaret Wilcox as the inventor of an automotive heating system that makes it more comfortable to drive in the cold. The impact of AI on society is not comparable to that of the automobile, but those examples from history show that women can and will bring valuable contributions to technology. In AI, women can bring a much-needed perspective that highlights equity, safety and security in technology-producing systems that are safe, reliable and fair for all.