Bridging the gap: Women in AI and the challenges to inclusion

According to a report published by the World Economic Forum in 2022, in the field of AI, only 22 per cent of professionals are women, and only 18 per cent of authors at leading AI conferences are women.

At Facebook, the report says, the AI research staff comprises 15 per cent women. The figure stands at 10 per cent at Google.

Underrepresentation of women

There are several reasons for the gender gap in science and technology.

Seema Ramachandra, who heads Cloud Customer Engineering at Google focusing on Data Analytics and AI, says lack of awareness about the plethora of roles that exist within the field of AI is one of the reasons behind underrepresentation of women. Secondly, even though girls perform well academically in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) courses, they find it challenging to pursue a career in this field since it is male-dominated. Finally, what it really takes for women to thrive in this field is a community of other women in AI that they can look up to as their role models, she says.

Mamta Aggarwal Rajnayak, VP and Head of AiDa (Enterprise AI-ML Products & Platform) at American Express, says a significant gender gap has persisted throughout the years at all levels of STEM disciplines all over the world because women are advised to take up “easy career” options.

“As per a UN report, women still account for only 28 per cent of Engineering graduates and 40 per cent of graduates in Computer Science and Informatics. This gap eventually widens as girls get ready to join the workforce. Even today, despite having a solid STEM degree with strong grades, they are advised and encouraged to take up easier career options than contributing to niche and upcoming areas like AI&ML,” says Rajnayak.

According to a report by the World Bank, women make up less than a third of the world’s workforce in technology-related fields. Women make up 35 per cent of employees in STEM in the US. In India, women make up only 14 per cent of the total workforce in STEM fields in India, according to a report by the National Science Foundation.

Susan Sly, founder and CEO of The Pause Technologies, says the underrepresentation of women remains a critical challenge that underscores a broader issue of gender equity in technology.

“One of the most critical problem areas is venture capital. The funding environment for women-led ventures, particularly in the AI and technology sectors, starkly illustrates the systemic barriers to equity. Women’s pitches to venture capitalists achieve a success rate of less than 2.5%, a figure that declines further for women of color. This is despite compelling evidence that businesses led by women are not only viable but tend to be more profitable,” she says, adding that such statistics are a clarion call for a fundamental reevaluation of how funding is allocated and the criteria that guide these decisions.

“Until we address the inequities in the funding landscape, making it more accessible and equitable for women entrepreneurs, the representation of women in AI will continue to lag. It is imperative for women founders, who are uniquely positioned to understand and navigate these challenges, to support and elevate women in AI,” Susan says.

Mentorship, community-building, continuous learning

However, despite the challenges, women are optimistic about the opportunities and future for them in the field of AI.

Ramachandra says there are a few key enablers that can help women carve a career for themselves in this field. These include mentorship of women employees by organisations, building communities around AI, the need to introduce conscious unbiased initiatives during the hiring process, and sensitisation of managers to ensure that the job descriptions are gender-neutral.

Geetha Manjunath, founder, CEO and CTO of NIRAMAI Health Analytix, is of the opinion that more women need to take STEM streams in education to increase the talent pool.

Manjunath, who has led the company to develop a breakthrough AI solution for detecting early stage breast cancer in a non-invasive radiation-free manner, says that women have been dropping out of these streams due to several reasons, including marriage, family responsibilities and pregnancy. Geetha says that AI is an evolving domain and there is a need to always learn and be up-to-date about emerging technology.

‘Long road to cover’

For Ramachandra, who had prior experience in data analytics, a career in AI was quite a logical progression. She also chose this field because of its ability to create an impact in the world in a meaningful way.

Rajnayak, meanwhile, says that although data and analytics wasn’t called AI when they started their careers, it is very much a subset of AI. “Here I get to leverage what I studied in Mathematics and Statistics, interact with machines through coding, generate insights from the data through these tools and then create AI products to serve the needs of my users. Continuous advancement in the field never lets the excitement die and there are tons of opportunities to innovate, contribute to my organisation and to the AI industry. What else can one ask from their field of work,” she says.

“The women in AI (knowingly or unknowingly) are playing role models and mentors for girls aspiring to join the field. Organisations are realising the benefits of having a diverse workforce, resulting in conscious efforts towards narrowing the gender gaps. Several upskilling and reskilling resources availability is helping dropped out women in coming back to the workforce in the exponentially growing AI field. Though we are far better than where we were a decade back, there is still a long road to cover,” says Rajnayak.