Today, women play pivotal roles in artificial intelligence, from designing robots and developing machine learning models for the medical field to actively contributing to advanced research. This is an encouraging sign that we live in an area where there are fewer obstacles, more opportunities for women, and where abilities are measured primarily on the basis of knowledge and skills above all else.
But concerns have been raised that some AI models increasingly used have embedded biases that could harm women and minorities. This requires increased awareness and deliberate action to ensure the creation of more just and inclusive technologies.
AI bias
Bias in AI systems often stems from training models based on imbalanced datasets that do not adequately represent women and minority groups. In healthcare, this disparity can impair diagnostic accuracy for female patients and reduce the effectiveness of AI-powered medical tools.
In robotics, women are underrepresented within design teams, resulting in systems where physical differences and diverse interaction styles are overlooked, which can impact usability and communication.
Bias in AI systems often stems from training models based on imbalanced datasets that do not adequately represent women and minority groups.
Bias can also surface in the banking sector through automated systems that unfairly deny women’s loan applications. It can also surface in recruitment processes where algorithmic filtering removes qualified candidates from shortlists.
Dealing with bias
A UNESCO report published in September 2025, “Tackling Gender Bias and Victimization in Artificial Intelligence,” found that 58 percent of young women and girls have experienced online harassment. The same report notes that only 30% of AI professionals are women.
At the same time, data from the Gulf and the broader Middle East and North Africa region shows that women are outperforming in higher education, particularly in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). My own observation is that more women are pursuing research in artificial intelligence, even if they come from fields such as medicine or engineering.
Looking back, there are many examples of women’s innovations and inventions that changed everyday life.
In the field of automotive history, it’s worth noting that June McCarroll came up with the idea of drawing a white line down the middle of the road to create separate lanes after narrowly avoiding a collision in her Ford Model T in 1917.
Mary Anderson is recognized in the National Inventors Hall of Fame as the inventor of the windshield wiper, which made driving in the rain safer. Margaret Wilcox is credited with the Wheaton brothers as the inventor of an automobile heating system that made driving in cold weather more comfortable.
Women provide critical perspectives that prioritize the development of equity, safety, and security technologies, and help ensure systems are safe, reliable, and fair for everyone.
While the social impact of AI may not directly match that of the automobile, these historical examples show that women have made and will continue to make significant contributions to technological advances.
In the field of AI, women provide critical perspectives that prioritize equity, safety, and security within technology development systems and help ensure that such systems are safe, reliable, and fair for everyone.
Hind Zantou He is Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science at Heriot-Watt University Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
