History

Over the last 25 years, the percentage of women in tech has changed only marginally. Some areas have improved slightly, others have declined, and the overall picture is one of slow, frustratingly incremental progress. This discrepancy has been amplified by a tendency to omit major accomplishments of women in developing technology, and the key roles they have played and continue to fill today.

The involvement of women in AI is critical because their presence brings questions of fairness, care, and trust that profit‑driven systems are designed to ignore. Across disciplines, women have consistently challenged the field to consider not just what technology can do, but what it should do and who it should serve.

The future of AI depends on whether we allow a homogeneous group to race unchecked toward artificial general intelligence, or whether we heed the voices of women who have championed ethics from the start. That choice will determine whether AI entrenches humanity’s baser instincts of bias, inequality, and ethical failure — or fulfills its promise of a better future for all.

This page lists women in AI throughout history - in research, in implementation, and in applications. We plan to publish a snapshot of this list in our upcoming book and will continue to evolve the list here after the book is published. Please use this form to suggest women to add to the list.

Comment here to share what info you’d like to see included for each woman in the list, or with any other suggestions!

A running list of profiles for women in AI can be found at shewritesai.substack.com/s/herstory