Women In Engineering

𝐈𝐟 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐈, 𝐀𝐈 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧. “Hey Siri.” “Hey Alexa.” “Hey …” 🤔 Ever noticed how the voice that answers tends to be female? Not only does this reinforce outdated secretarial stereotypes, it is ironic for another reason. The majority of people behind future-critical AI systems are men. Today, only about 12% of global AI researchers are women (Source: UNESCO). AI is already reshaping how we work, learn, innovate, and solve some of the world’s biggest challenges. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐀𝐈? This International Women’s Day is a reminder that ensuring women have a strong voice in the development, deployment, and governance of AI is a responsibility we all share: 👉 It starts with inspiring more girls to explore STEM and technology. 👉It continues with opening pathways into AI careers through education, development, and opportunity. 👉It requires diverse voices helping design and govern the systems shaping our future. The future of AI should be built by all of us, and work for all of us. 🙌 #IWD26

AI systems built without women's voices miss half the world and actively distort reality for everyone. On International Women's Day - and every day - this truth demands our attention. After more than two decades working at the intersection of technological innovation and human rights, I've observed a consistent pattern: systems designed without inclusive input inevitably encode the inequalities of the world we have today, incorporating biases in data, algorithms, and even policy. Building technology that works requires our shared participation as the foundation of effective innovation. The data is sobering: women represent only 30% of the AI workforce and a mere 12% of AI research and development positions according to UNESCO's Gender and AI Outlook. This absence shapes the technology itself. And a UNESCO study on Large Language Models (LLMs) found persistent gender biases - where female names were disproportionately linked to domestic roles, while male names were associated with leadership and executive careers. UNESCO's @women4EthicalAI initiative, led by the visionary and inspiring Gabriela Ramos and Dr. Alessandra Sala, is fighting this pattern by developing frameworks for non-discriminatory AI and pushing for gender equity in technology leadership. Their work extends the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI, a powerful global standard centering human rights in AI governance. Today's decision is whether AI will transform our world into one that replicates today's inequities or helps us build something better. Examine your AI teams and processes today. Where are the gaps in representation affecting your outcomes? Document these blind spots, set measurable inclusion targets, and build accountability systems that outlast good intentions. The technology we create reflects who creates it - and gives us a path to a better world. #InternationalWomensDay #AI #GenderBias #EthicalAI #WomenInAI #UNESCO #ArtificialIntelligence The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation Mariagrazia Squicciarini Miriam Vogel Vivian Schiller Karen Gill Mary Rodriguez, MBA Erika Quada Mathilde Barge Gwen Hotaling Yolanda Botti-Lodovico

𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯-𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥? Yes. Without thinking twice, yes! The world was not designed for women. Not in the cars we drive. Not in the phones we hold. Not even in the way we plan cities. For decades, the gold-standard crash-test dummy was modelled on a 5′9″, 171-lb male body. The global average woman, at about 5′3″ and 137 lb, is far smaller - yet safety tests still rely on male defaults, putting women at greater risk in real-world crashes. This means that:  1. Women are 17% more likely to die and  2. 47% more likely to be seriously injured in a crash     All because the ergonomics weren’t designed with them in mind. Also, as per the WEF report, it’s shocking but only 5% of R&D funding in the healthcare sector is spent on women’s health needs globally, despite women making up 50% of the population. From medicines to AI, a lot of products and services were tested and trained on males.  It’s a pattern in how the world is built. Male is the default. Products, systems, and policies that are less safe, less effective, and less accessible for women. In India, women didn’t have equal property rights until the Hindu Succession Act of 1956, and it was only in 2005 that daughters were given equal inheritance rights as sons.   Globally, women are expected to control $5 trillion in assets in the near future. For the first time in history, women are becoming primary decision-makers for major financial choices. And yet, most products and services still treat women as an afterthought. Women influence over 80% of global consumer spending, yet while they’ve been relentlessly marketed to, they’ve rarely been truly designed for. Femtech is often misunderstood as “women-only” products. But in reality, it’s about intentional design for women’s needs, whether that’s a wealth management app tailored for first-time female investors, healthcare platforms reimagining maternal care, or everyday products built for different body types and lifestyles. This harsh reality points to a larger opportunity: • Move beyond token pink packaging and actually solve for women’s lived realities. • Build personalised, curated experiences that reflect women’s independence and decision-making power. • Rethink how we design, from finance to transport to healthcare.    As Caroline Criado Perez wrote in the book Invisible Women: “When we exclude half of humanity from the design process, we also lose half of the potential solutions.” The question lingers: Will the next decade of innovation still make women adapt to the world, or will we finally design a world that adapts to women? Video Source: World Economic Forum #Innovation #Startup #Women 

New BMJ Global Health Commentary: Governing Health Systems With a Gender Lens I’m pleased to share a new BMJ Global Health commentary, written with my colleagues Aya Thabet and Anna Cocozza, on a topic that urgently needs attention: How health system governance can close—or widen—the women’s health gap. Women around the world experience, on average, nine additional years of poor health compared with men. This disparity is not just a clinical issue. It is a governance issue. For decades, health systems have relied on a narrow definition of women’s health, focusing predominantly on maternal and reproductive care. This has left significant gaps in areas such as chronic disease, mental health, menopause, autoimmune conditions, gender-based violence, and more. Our article argues that governance itself must change if we want health systems to deliver for women. Using the WHO’s Six Governance Behaviours framework, we examine how governments, regulators, and purchasers can integrate a gender lens into the rules, incentives, and decision-making processes that shape health systems. Here are some of the key insights: 1. Deliver strategy with measurable commitments Clear definitions, dedicated budgets, and accountability mechanisms across both the public and private sectors must back equity goals. 2. Build understanding through sex-disaggregated data If systems don’t collect it, they can’t govern it. Mandatory sex-disaggregated data and transparency are essential to closing gaps. 3. Enable stakeholders by aligning incentives Financing arrangements—particularly strategic purchasing—can reward equitable, women-centred care rather than perpetuating neglect. 4. Align structures through gender-responsive regulation Licensing, training, essential medicines lists, and facility standards must explicitly reflect women’s health needs across the life course. 5. Foster relations with meaningful partnerships Women’s organisations, professional associations, and patient groups are indispensable partners in designing governance arrangements that work. 6. Nurture trust with strong accountability systems Women must have access to safe, responsive grievance and redress mechanisms—and regulators must consistently enforce protections. Why this matters Health systems are not gender-neutral. Without intentional design, the rules and incentives that govern them will continue to reproduce inequalities. By applying a gender lens to governance, we can reposition women’s health as a core system priority, not a side issue—and build accountability for equitable, respectful, high-quality care. Governing Health Systems With a Gender Lens BMJ Global Health – Clarke, Thabet & Cocozza https://lnkd.in/dwXNka4a Join the conversation #WomensHealth #GenderEquity #HealthSystems #GlobalHealth #HealthGovernance #HealthPolicy #UniversalHealthCoverage #UHC #DigitalHealth #HealthReform #HealthEquity #Accountability #Regulation #StrategicPurchasing #BMJGlobalHealth

“It’s not only a question of fairness. It’s a question of quality.” Ms Lidia Brito said during her opening address. This message resonated strongly with me during the International Day of Women and Girls in Science discussions at UNESCO HQ— because the data is clear: gender balance is not a social luxury; it’s a performance driver. Multiple global studies confirm it: • McKinsey found companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams are 25% more likely to outperform on profitability. • BCG showed that companies with diverse leadership generate 19% higher innovation revenue. • Deloitte reports that inclusive teams make better decisions up to 87% of the time. And the impact goes far beyond boardrooms. When women are underrepresented in research, the quality of science itself suffers: • Emmanuelle Valentin-Fouchs from Sanofi reported that women are often diagnosed up to 4 years later than men for several diseases because clinical data has historically been male-biased. • In car crashes, women are significantly more likely to be seriously injured or killed — partly because crash-test dummies were long modeled on male bodies. These are not abstract inequalities. They are design flaws in systems built without full representation. Gender balance is not about optics. It is about accuracy. It is about excellence. It is about building a world that works — for everyone. #EveryVoiceInScience #WomenInScience #Leadership #DiversityDrivesInnovation #Inclusion #STEM #EvidenceBasedLeadership

When we say “apply a gender lens to everything,” this is exactly what we mean. For over a century, many everyday inventions were designed by men, for men, and women simply adapted, often at a cost to their comfort, safety, and health. The redesigned speculum is a perfect example. After more than 150 years, women engineers finally asked a simple but radical question: What if women’s bodies and experiences actually mattered in medical design? And the speculum is not alone. Inventions originally not designed with women in mind: • Car seat belts – modeled on the “average male body,” increasing injury risk for women and pregnant people • Car crash test dummies – long based almost entirely on male bodies • Smartphones – larger sizes that strain smaller hands • Voice recognition systems – struggle more with women’s voices • Office temperatures – calibrated to male metabolic rates • Personal protective equipment (PPE) – often ill-fitting for women • Medications & drug dosages – tested primarily on men • Tools and machinery – designed for male grip strength and height And here is a critical fact many people still don’t know: 👉 Women were largely excluded from clinical research until 1993. Yet women metabolize drugs differently, experience different side effects, and respond differently to treatments. Still, medicine was labeled “neutral.” It wasn’t. And yes, this goes beyond medicine. Even road and transport design carries gender bias. Without applying a gender lens: • Roads prioritize private cars over public transport • Routes ignore caregiving travel patterns (school, market, home, hospital) • Pedestrian safety, lighting, and crossings, used more by women are undervalued In Ghana, this means some road designs systematically disadvantage women, especially those who walk, carry loads, use public transport, or move with children. I’ll write more about this when I get the time, but this is the heart of the matter: Design is never neutral. Policy is never neutral. Research is never neutral. If gender is ignored, inequality is designed in. #academia #phdjourney #genderlens #womeninacademia #scicom

Göttingen, Germany. 1930. A young woman stands before her doctoral committee, nerves coiled tight in her chest. She's about to defend her thesis on quantum mechanics. Across the table sit three men who will, in the coming years, win Nobel Prizes. Max Born. James Franck. Adolf Windaus. The intellectual firepower in that room could have crushed most candidates. But Maria Goeppert Mayer walked out with her doctorate. Then she married an American chemist and moved to the United States, expecting opportunity. What she found instead was a system designed to keep brilliant women in the shadows. For thirty years, she worked without pay or proper titles. At Johns Hopkins, they refused to hire her because of anti-nepotism rules. At Columbia in the 1940s, she "volunteered" her expertise, even covering classes for Enrico Fermi himself. Imagine that. Teaching for a future Nobel laureate. For free. After the war, Argonne National Laboratory brought her on board to work in nuclear physics. There was just one problem: she knew almost nothing about the field. But Goeppert Mayer had spent decades being underestimated, and she'd learned something valuable. When the world expects nothing from you, you're free to surprise them. Within two years, she cracked one of physics' most stubborn puzzles. Why do certain numbers of protons and neutrons create extraordinarily stable atomic nuclei? Her shell model explained it elegantly, revolutionizing our understanding of nuclear structure. In 1963, the call came from Stockholm. Maria Goeppert Mayer had won the Nobel Prize in Physics, becoming only the second woman ever to receive it. The committee that once included three laureates had produced a fourth. She'd defended her thesis in front of Nobel Prize winners. Then she became one herself, despite a system that tried to make her invisible for three decades. Image Credit to Nobel Foundation (Wikimedia Commons) (Restored & Colorized)

I came across a story recently that moved me deeply. In 1930, Ayyalasomayajula Lalitha was married at 15, widowed at 18, and left to raise her son alone. But instead of letting her story be written by circumstance, she quietly rewrote it. With her father’s support, she enrolled in engineering, a field almost no Indian woman dared to enter at the time, and became the country’s first woman engineering graduate in 1943. She helped design the power lines for the Bhakra Nangal Dam, one of independent India’s most iconic infrastructure projects. Though old customs prevented her from travelling as a widow, she continued to innovate from her desk. She designed systems, solved problems and helped power entire grids. She never asked to be seen. She just did the work. And yet, in 1964, she represented India at the first International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists in New York. I found her story quietly powerful. A reminder that creating something meaningful does not always need noise. It requires courage, clarity and imagination. And above all, it calls for belief. Belief that we too can shape a better future, even when the odds are not in our favour.

EMMY NOETHER'S THEOREM AND HER CONTRIBUTIONS Emmy Noether is one of the most important mathematicians in modern history, yet for decades she was denied titles, salaries, and recognition because she was a woman. Born in Germany in 1882, she entered a field that barely allowed women to sit in classrooms, much less produce groundbreaking research. She worked for years without pay, lecturing under male colleagues’ names and fighting for every scrap of legitimacy. Her brilliance was impossible to contain. In 1915, while Einstein was finalizing general relativity, Noether solved one of the deepest puzzles in physics. Her result, known today as Noether’s Theorem, revealed a profound truth: every symmetry in the universe corresponds to a conservation law. Conservation of energy, momentum, charge, angular momentum. All of it flows from the symmetries she uncovered. Physicists now consider it one of the most elegant and foundational ideas in science. Einstein openly praised her, calling her “the most significant creative mathematical genius” of their time. Yet universities refused to treat her as an equal. She was barred from promotions, pushed aside during hiring decisions, and eventually forced out of Germany by the Nazi regime because she was Jewish. Noether continued her work in the United States until her death in 1935, mentoring students who would shape 20th-century physics. Her ideas still guide everything from particle physics to quantum field theory to the structure of the universe itself. Emmy Noether didn’t just influence mathematics. She revealed the architecture of reality. Her mind changed science forever, long before the world was ready to honor her.

She discovered a particle before the world… but the world forgot her name. Bibha Choudhuri — one of India’s earliest women physicists — should have been taught in classrooms, celebrated in science museums, and remembered among the pioneers of modern physics. Instead, history quietly erased her from the spotlight. In 1939, while working with D. M. Bose, Bibha Choudhuri used a cloud chamber to study cosmic rays. What she observed was remarkable: clear experimental evidence of a new subatomic particle. It was the kind of breakthrough that, with proper backing and recognition, could have placed her on the road to a Nobel Prize. But she lived in an era when women in science were rarely celebrated — often sidelined, overlooked, or written out altogether. When similar findings were later reported by researchers abroad, they were welcomed with global acclaim. Bibha’s work was not. Yet, she never stopped. She moved to England and worked with Nobel laureate Patrick Blackett, contributing data that quietly shaped the foundations of early particle physics. Even there, recognition remained limited, her role largely understated. Bibha eventually returned to India, continued her research for decades, published significant scientific work — and still remained largely invisible in her own country. What makes her story unforgettable is not just the brilliance of her discovery, but the grace with which she carried herself. No bitterness. No demands for credit. Only a lifelong devotion to science. Today, as India slowly begins to remember her, one truth becomes undeniable: Bibha Choudhuri wasn’t forgotten because she lacked greatness — she was forgotten because the world wasn’t ready to acknowledge a woman who was far ahead of her time. Her legacy is no longer silent. https://lnkd.in/gJDpgh3v