• Artificial Intelligence is penetrating every walk of life, fundamentally changing the way people associate, work, and think.
• AI can transform societies and improve the quality of life of people. But, it can also threaten privacy with invasive applications, and disrupt human rights.
• The impact of AI on societies largely depends on the motives and minds behind the technology.
• So, in today’s era, it is very important to have equitable participation of diverse people, especially women, to make AI holistic and beneficial for everyone. 

The current state of Women in the AI field

• Women are under-represented in the field of AI.
• Women make up only 22 % of the AI workforce.
• AI systems that are designed without considering the experiences and needs of diverse populations can continue discrimination and inequality.
• Gender-blind AI designs are leading to unfair credit scoring for women.
• Biased AI-recruiting tools have automatically filtered out job applications from women.
• Biased AI systems can exacerbate existing gaps in the workforce and even harm under-represented communities.
• 14 % of STEM jobs in India go to women.
• 81 % of women in STEM face gender bias during performance evaluations during their careers.
• Tech giants like Google and Facebook have only 10-15 % of AI specialists as women.
• Only 13.83 % of AI research publications are authored by women.

Need for women’s inclusion in AI

• AI industry can have a positive impact on society only when it is inclusive and adopts gender-sensitive approaches.
• This is possible when women participate in all stages of AI development and deployment.
• Because of Less representation of women in the AI field, it causes gender pay gap and limits career growth in the field of AI.

Efforts undertaken for inclusion of women in AI industry

• Some governments and international organizations have initiated programs to improve the participation of women in AI, starting from education and research to employment and entrepreneurship.
• KIRAN scheme:
• To address various issues related to women scientists.
• Aims to provide opportunities in research, technology development/demonstration, self-employment, etc.
• National Strategy for AI of India:
• It focuses on inclusiveness and promotes the idea of #AIFORALL.
• Under this program, Telangana aims to train 1,00,000 students, with a focus on girls from vulnerable backgrounds in AI and Data Science and has trained more than 5,000 girls.
• Rural women in Telangana are being trained and employed in three rural data annotation centres in the State.
• The government promoted We-Hub, which acts as an accelerator for women entrepreneurs in Hyderabad that has trained more than 700 girls aged 13 to 17 in Data Science and AI.
• Due to these efforts, today 43 % of STEM graduates produced in India are women which is higher than in most advanced economies.

Looking forward

• Use social media or ad campaigns to change mindsets
• It can raise awareness and promote the positive representation of women in AI.
• Governments and educational institutions should invest in and execute programs that boost the participation of women in AI.
• Programs like skills development programs in AI designed for women, scholarships, research grants, and internships.
• The private sector should promote leadership positions for women in AI.
• It will help in:
• Having an equal number of women participating in panel discussions
• Ending the gender pay gap
• Provide mentorship and networking opportunities
• prioritizing recruitment of young women from diverse backgrounds in AI roles
• Invest in entrepreneurship and research led by women in AI
• Promoting AI competencies among girls and women
• Facilitating women from multidisciplinary backgrounds to participate in the AI revolution.
• Promote women’s participation in non-technical roles in AI such as those in regulation, ethics, governance, communication, and management.

Currently, AI is trending worldwide with its AI bots, and much new AI-related technologies. So, we can say that AI is currently a rising star in India. This field has a huge scope for a better future for India as well as employment. And now with the G20 presidency and spotlight on Nari Shakti, India is best positioned to drive international cooperation and shape the global policy on advancing gender equality in AI.