Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the way we work, learn, govern and innovate. It is creating extraordinary opportunities, while also forcing us to confront important questions about fairness, trust and inclusion.
Today, women make up less than 30 per cent of the global AI workforce, and only about 15 per cent occupy leadership positions in the field.
This worrying trend extends to national information and communication technology (ICT) ministers and heads of ICT regulators, where women hold 20 and 23 per cent of positions, respectively.
Statistics like these tell us whose experiences, perspectives and ideas are helping shape the technologies that increasingly shape all of us.
If AI is to serve all of humanity, then 100 per cent of humanity must be fully represented in designing, governing and deploying it.
Invisible luggage
Leadership for the AI age was a key theme at our latest Network of Women Ministers and Leaders in ICT breakfast organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) during Geneva Digital Week.
Sarah Toms, representing the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), spoke about the invisible “luggage” people carry when they enter spaces where they have long been underrepresented – the assumptions, unconscious bias, pressure to prove themselves, and feeling that they do not quite belong.
Many women in technology – and leaders from underrepresented communities – know the hesitation before raising your hand; the extra preparation before every meeting; the awareness you may be judged as a representative of an entire group.
Too many women still carry that burden. But leadership is not about asking them to carry it more gracefully. Leadership is about creating institutions, cultures and opportunities where fewer people carry such luggage at all.
That is the future we should all be working towards.
From networking to action
What encouraged me most was the determination to move forward. More than 200 women – ministers, regulators, ambassadors, private-sector leaders, academics, United Nations partners and young leaders – had come together to discuss one of the defining questions of our time: how do we ensure that AI works for everyone?
A year after we launched the Network of Women Ministers and Leaders in ICT, participants identified ways to make gender-responsive AI a reality – from strengthening standards and procurement frameworks to improving accountability, investing in leadership, expanding mentoring opportunities and embedding gender considerations throughout the AI lifecycle.
People already shaping digital policy and innovation expressed practical commitments to work together and remove barriers.
Leadership across generations
Experienced ministers, senior executives and ambassadors shared the stage with young women leaders, with ideas flowing in both directions and questions creating opportunities for learning.
That intergenerational dialogue reminded me that leadership is about bridge building – not about one generation replacing another. Every young woman who found the confidence to speak could become the mentor, innovator or policymaker who inspires someone else tomorrow.
That is how lasting change happens.
Play videos from the session
Looking towards the future
During a Network of Women gathering held in the margins of this year’s ITU Council, I challenged our membership to strive for 50 per cent women’s participation at the upcoming Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-26). I called for this because inclusive leadership produces stronger institutions, better decisions and more innovative solutions.
That principle should guide every conversation about AI, digital transformation and global digital cooperation.
As Noura Khalifa Al Suwaidi, Secretary-General of the General Women’s Union in the United Arab Emirates, reminded us: “We are championing a global movement where women stand as pioneers, shaping a more inclusive, innovative, and sustainable digital world.”
The momentum is there. Our task now is to turn it into measurable action, open more doors, create more opportunities, and support the next generation.
Every woman and girl – regardless of where she comes from – needs to know that she belongs in the digital future and among those shaping it.
Because when women lead, technology serves everyone better, everywhere.
To join the Network of Women Ministers and Leaders in ICT, contact nowleaders@itu.int
Source: https://www.itu.int/hub/2026/08/transforming-womens-leadership-into-action-in-the-ai-era/
