Latest news with #womeninAI
Forbes
18-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The AI Gender Gap: Here's What It Will Take To Close It
What will it take to close the AI gender gap? Women are adopting generative AI technology at a significantly lower rate than men, creating an AI gender gap. Figures from the Survey of Consumer Expectations found that 50% of men use generative AI tools, compared to 37% of women, with privacy concerns and perceived opportunities and risks accounting for a quarter of the gender gap. Meanwhile, female-led AI startups are being left behind when it comes to investment capital despite an influx of finance, creating a gender gap where female-founded companies receive far less venture capital funding than male-founded ones. A study into venture capital (VC) investment in AI by sector, revealed only 0.7% (£72.9 million) of the total capital invested since 2010 (£10.5 billion) going towards female-led startups. Looking beyond the statistics, the reasons behind AI gender gap is quite nuanced. Women entrepreneurs are seen as more likely to pause and consider the impact of AI on authenticity, client relationships, and long-term brand integrity before making their move. Many will often delay AI adoption while they get to grips with it, while sticking with their old, more familiar practices. Livia Bernadini, CEO of Future Platforms believes it is less about access or ability, but rather about trust, confidence, and design. 'Many AI tools speak with overconfident certainty, often based on biased or incomplete data,' she says. 'For women, that tone can echo a long-standing frustration: systems that overlook them, voices that dominate without rigor.' She describes it as something akin to the dynamic highlighted in the Harvard Business Review, where 'incompetent, overconfident candidates, most of them men, get ahead' not because of ability, but because confidence is mistaken for competence. 'Many large language model outputs feel like dealing with an overconfident male colleague; you need to fact-check everything,' says Bernadini. 'That is improving, but the baked-in bias remains. This gap matters. In startups, it means fewer female founders are using AI to scale smarter, faster, and more efficiently. That slows innovation and sidelines inclusive thinking from day one.' Some female leaders are changing the game. Lyssa McGowan at Pets at Home uses AI as infrastructure, not trend. Claudia Nichols at SimplyHealth is using it to improve patient care across the U.K. 'Maybe that is the real unlock,' says Bernadini. 'When the goal is meaningful impact, women may feel more empowered to experiment and take smart risks. Could purpose be the push we have been waiting for?' Some women simply feel more comfortable using AI for specific tasks, such as writing, iteration, and editing, rather than as a strategic business partner for decision-making or even more complex strategic business integration. Samantha Addy, CEO of the Female Advisory Board (FAB), the U.K.'s first all-female peer advisory organization, says: 'While I've successfully integrated certain AI tools like ChatGPT into my workflow for enhanced productivity, I'm deeply concerned about AI's broader implications, particularly technologies such as avatar creation that raise serious questions about digital manipulation and consent. 'I recently facilitated an AI workshop with industry experts for our board members. Rather than building confidence, the session left participants feeling overwhelmed and increasingly apprehensive about AI's rapid advancement.' Yet, female-led start-ups are very innovative. The female founders that Alisa Sydow, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at ESCP Business School, works with are very curious about generative AI and its potential, but tend to be more reflective about why and how to use it. She says: 'Typically, they ask questions such as 'Will this enhance trust with my customers? Will it compromise data privacy?' Ethical blind spots, societal risks and a possible impact on their reputation are sometimes more front-of-mind than with their male counterparts. This can make the adoption and use of AI more human-centered. Female founders are good at considering various factors and weighing them against each other rather than focusing on being the fastest to market.' Rather than being a disadvantage, Sydow also questions whether this gender 'gap' among founders is simply a different timeline, one that leads to more sustainable, responsible innovation. 'Over time, as more female-led success stories emerge in AI, this gap may not only close, but it may also reshape what 'good' AI adoption looks like,' she says. In order to give more women real influence in AI, more women have to want to start an AI company. That's the view of fintech venture builder Sidri Poli, CMO at 0TO9 - Bank of Entrepreneurship. For that, she says, the whole ecosystem needs to work together: women need access to venture capital, better representation in STEM, and access to the private networks that are so often closed off. She says: 'There are more resources than ever for founders, from open-source tools to no-code AI platforms, but the challenge now is focus. With so many tools available, founders need to home in on the human element: solving real people's problems.' In terms of driving more women to embrace AI as part of their startup strategy the education system is crucial, as are universities that serve as incubators where career paths take shape and confidence is built. The ability to actively attract more women into STEM fields and support them in their first ventures can help transform the leaders of tomorrow. Mentors and role models also have an important role to play. Poli recalls how intimidating it felt to step into the startup world back in 2013, unsure if she belonged. 'It made all the difference to have someone believe in me early on, in this case, my ex-mentor from school,' she says. 'We also need to normalize and emphasize a give-back culture, not just for those lucky enough to get these kinds of opportunities, but for a generation of women in tech who can shift the balance to a more equal future.' Success also breeds success. As more women succeed, the benefit increases exponentially, especially when that success is visible, and the AI gender gap will close. 'Don't underestimate the power of inspiration and role models,' adds Poli. 'Lucy Guo is, as of 2025, the youngest female billionaire, due to her stake in Scale AI. That is a huge inspiration for many. The 'if she can, I can' attitude can take us farther than we think."
Zawya
17-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
RIT Dubai hosted graduation of NOMU Al Ghurair Women in AI program
Dubai, UAE: Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) of Dubai has hosted the graduation of the NOMU Al Ghurair Women in AI program, in collaboration with the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation (AGF) and the pioneering educational institution, ZAKA. The event recognised the achievements of 70 Emirati & Arab women who successfully completed the 20-week AI Certification program with ZAKA, which was established to increase the skills capacity in artificial intelligence and machine learning in the UAE. Organized by ZAKA Co-founder and Head of Partnerships, Larissa Abi Nakhle, the ceremony welcomed RIT Dubai President Dr. Yousef Al Assaf and Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation CEO Dr. Sonia Ben Jaafar. In her opening remarks, Dr. Ben Jaafar highlighted the Foundation's dedication to upskilling Emirati women and supporting their entry into the AI job market, empowering them to become leaders in the region's digital future. Addressing the graduates, Dr. Ben Jaafar said, 'You have stepped into a male-dominated field, and you did this boldly and fearlessly. You are the spark of a movement; a signal that the UAE's innovation economy will not be built by machines alone, it will be built by women like you. You are not just changing your future, you're shifting a global statistic.' Welcoming guests on behalf of RIT Dubai, Dr. Al Assaf provided an overview of the six centers that will be launching as the campus development continues, and invited the graduates to explore opportunities for collaboration with the university. Speaking about the importance of retaining human values in the advancement of technology, Dr. Al Assaf remarked, 'Smart machines are not replacing jobs, they are creating jobs, but we must remember that AI speaks to our emotions but does not have emotions; we need to make sure that the human element is integrated into the codes we develop in order to help people to lead a better life.' The event proceeded with the award of certificates to the cohort of students representing the UAE and other Arab nations. The graduation marked the culmination of a highly selective and challenging program that combined technology with job-readiness skills to prepare candidates for the future of work. The program was set in the context of anticipated expansion in the Middle East AI sector, with an expected annual growth rate ranging from 20 to 34 per cent, projecting a potential impact of $320 billion by 2030. As part of the program, students undertook an intensive 12-week curriculum, involving topics including data science, statistical modelling, neural networking and machine learning. The curriculum concluded with an eight-week capstone project, during which participants worked on a real-life assignment proposed by a partnering company, applying the skills they had learned during the course. This phase includes weekly mentorship sessions to guide participants through the project. Among the program's graduates was Reem Al Neyad, an alumna of Zayed University with a major in information technology, networking, and security. Reflecting on her experience, she said, 'I have always been interested in artificial intelligence; my senior project was a medical dispenser powered by AI. I wanted to build on my experience with Python and machine learning through this program, and it has enhanced my skills in this area. I can now apply this experience in the real world, and I am grateful for the opportunity provided by AGF and ZAKA.' During the ceremony, a keynote address was delivered by Dr. Aishah Al Yammahi, Strategic Advisor at Alef Education. The event concluded with presentations of some of the AI projects developed during the program, including BookBuddy AI, a bilingual support tool enabling children to develop a deeper understanding of language. About RIT Dubai Established in 2008, RIT Dubai is a not-for-profit global campus of the esteemed Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, one of the world's leading technological-focused universities with more than 185 years of history. RIT Dubai is now operating from phase one of its new $136 million state-of-the-art campus, which provides an interactive learning space set over 129,000 square meters. RIT Dubai offers highly valued Bachelor's and Master's degrees in business, psychology, media design, leadership, engineering, and computing. The curriculum offers students relevant work experience through an innovative cooperative education program, helping them stand out in today's highly competitive job market. RIT Dubai offers American degrees issued directly from the main campus in New York, and all of RIT's programs are accredited by the UAE Ministry. Students of RIT Dubai also have the unique opportunity to choose to study abroad at the main campus in New York or at one of its other global campuses.
