In New Delhi, the air is still buzzing with artificial intelligence (AI) chatter after the landmark India AI Impact Summit 2026. Touted as the largest gathering for the developing world, it drew government officials, tech executives, and investors. Yet women from major tech companies and large industries were largely absent. Amid the persistent challenges faced by female leaders in the male-dominated sector, the summit was both a glimpse of India’s AI ambitions and a reminder of who remains on the sidelines.
Wendy Hall, professor at the University of Southampton, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the fast-growing artificial intelligence sector risks undermining inclusive technology pledges because of a persistent gender imbalance. Known for her pioneering web systems research, she described India’s AI leadership as “amazingly awful” in terms of gender diversity.
“All the CEOs are men. It’s totally male-dominated, and they just don’t get the fact that this means that 50 per cent of the population is effectively not included in the conversations,” she told AFP. The 73-year-old academic highlighted that gender bias is deeply embedded in AI systems, which are trained on vast datasets showing societal stereotypes.
Despite growing opportunities in India’s AI ecosystem, women continue to face significant hurdles in the industry. Few pursue computer science and related fields, while those who do often encounter limited mentorship, unequal access to funding, and underrepresentation in major companies and conferences. The male-dominated culture, coupled with systemic biases in both organisations and AI tools, has led many women to drop out or avoid senior roles, limiting diversity in decision-making and innovation.
Climbing The AI Ladder Against The Odds
A 2024 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) study found that large language models more often described women in domestic roles, while men were linked to words such as “salary” and “career”. Hall noted that women are also disproportionately affected by harmful AI applications. She cited the controversy over Elon Musk’s Grok AI tool, which many countries banned after it generated sexualised deepfakes of real people, mostly women, in skimpy clothing.
Addressing the Tata AI Sakhi Initiative, former Union Minister Smriti Irani recently described AI as a powerful ally in advancing women’s empowerment. She said technology today can play the role of a trusted guide, adding, “Like Lord Krishna was for Arjuna, there’s no better saarthi for women than AI.”
She emphasised that when harnessed responsibly, AI has the potential to widen access to knowledge, opportunity, and economic participation for women across communities. Irani called for collaboration between industry, policymakers, and civil society to ensure that innovation remains inclusive, helping women navigate challenges and seize emerging opportunities.
Despite global initiatives to mitigate these biases, women continue to face systemic barriers in the AI field. Hall said that few women pursue computer science studies, and those who do often leave senior roles due to a lack of mentorship, funding inequities, and the prevalence of an “alpha male world”. Women-led startups frequently struggle to secure investment compared with male-led ventures, she added.
A Kalaari Capital report revealed that women make up just one in five professionals in India’s AI and machine learning (ML) workforce, occupying around 84,000 positions, a number roughly 20 per cent of the workforce. This number could increase to 340,000 by 2027, driven by greater access to AI education, flexible learning options, and rising industry demand. However, the report warned that a higher headcount does not guarantee equal influence. Women continue to be concentrated in data-focused roles such as engineering and analytics, while remaining underrepresented in core model development, product design, and leadership positions.
Young Women Show Interest, Face Obstacles
Notably, Hall drew on her decades-long career to illustrate the challenges women face in technology. She recalled that at her first university interview nearly 50 years ago, an all-male panel rejected her, claiming she could not control a classroom of male engineering students. Since then, she has written extensively on gender inequality in computing, served as an adviser to the British government and the United Nations on AI, and was made a dame in 2009.
“The wonderful thing about this conference is the young people here,” Hall said, showing on the AI Impact Summit. “There are a lot of young women here from India and they’re all abuzz with the opportunities," she added in an interview with APF. However, Hall warned that the overall situation has “not really improved that much” since she began her career and that in AI, gender disparity is “getting worse”. She called for conscious efforts to ensure that women are not sidelined in shaping the future of AI.
According to research by the City of London Corporation, women working in technology and financial services face a higher risk of job displacement due to the growing adoption of AI and automation compared with their male colleagues. The report also found that experienced women are often sidelined by inflexible hiring practices, limiting their opportunities in digital roles.
The research added that the “mid-career” women, those with at least five years’ experience, are frequently overlooked in sectors where they are already underrepresented. Automated or rigid CV screening often fails to account for career breaks related to caregiving or only narrowly evaluates professional experience, creating structural barriers for female applicants.
Speaking at a BW Businessworld summit, experts last year said that India’s expanding use of AI across business, hiring, education, and social services risks reinforcing existing social and gender inequalities unless stronger governance and human oversight are implemented.
Shreya Krishnan, Managing Director, [color=var(--WDS-content-external-link)]AnitaB.Org India, said that women have borne a disproportionate share of job losses linked to automation. “The maximum number of jobs lost in the last 10 years has been the impact on women,” she said, adding that wage penalties and caregiving burdens embedded in datasets risk being amplified by automated decision-making.
Meanwhile, the AI Impact Summit, attended by dozens of governments and global tech leaders, aims to discuss both the promises and pitfalls of generative AI. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that advanced computing systems “must become a medium for inclusion and empowerment.” Yet Hall highlighted a striking example at the summit, where a group photo of prominent tech executives included 13 men and only one woman, Joelle Pineau, the chief AI officer at Cohere.
Notably, tech giants have pledged hundreds of billions of dollars toward Indian AI initiatives. Global investment in AI is surging, with hyperscalers including Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and Alphabet projecting capital expenditure of up to USD 700 billion this year alone.
Indian firms also announced major plans, with Reliance reportedly committing USD 110 billion for data centres and infrastructure, and Adani outlining a USD 100 billion AI data centre buildout over the next decade. Microsoft said it aims to invest USD 50 billion in AI in the Global South by 2030, while OpenAI and chipmaker AMD announced partnerships with the Tata Group to develop AI capabilities.
Meanwhile, as AI continues to expand across sectors in India, Hall said the male-dominated culture threatens to exclude women from key conversations and decision-making. She urged governments and industry to actively support women entering and thriving in AI, to ensure technology serves the entire population. |
