Women in AI

The thematic working group on Women in AI addresses a critical need at the intersection of gender equality and digital transformation in Europe. Artificial Intelligence is one of the most transformative technologies of our time, yet women remain significantly underrepresented in its development, deployment, and governance.

As part of the European Digital Innovation Hubs, this working group will contribute to building a more inclusive, skilled and innovative AI ecosystem. By empowering women across AI disciplines and applications, we strengthen Europe’s competitiveness, innovation capacity, and commitment to human centric technology.

The working group aims to increase women’s participation and leadership in AI across sectors and value chains, foster inclusive innovation ecosystems where diverse perspectives shape AI technologies and their applications, and address systemic barriers in education, entrepreneurship and employment. It also promotes European excellence in ethical and responsible AI with gender-balanced representation, while encouraging collaboration among EDIHs, startups, academia and public institutions to share knowledge, resources and best practices.

To achieve these objectives, the working group will identify and disseminate successful initiatives supporting women in AI, organise thematic events such as roundtables, hackathons, webinars and networking activities, and engage with policymakers to promote inclusive AI policy frameworks aligned with EU values. Additional activities include mentorship programmes, AI training bootcamps and partnerships with educational institutions, as well as support for women-led AI entrepreneurship through access to funding networks, incubation opportunities and cross-border collaboration. The group will support the generation of data-driven insights and recommendations to better understand progress and remaining gaps in women’s participation in AI across Europe.

The thematic focus spans sectors of high societal and strategic importance for the EU and EEA, including cybersecurity, healthcare and life sciences, public services and governance, finance and fintech, education and EdTech, and sustainability and GreenTech, alongside key technological areas such as responsible and ethical AI, natural language processing, human-AI interaction and design, AI skills development, women-led AI entrepreneurship and creative AI.

Acting as a collaborative platform within the EDIH network, the Women in AI Thematic Working Group supports a European AI transformation driven by diverse voices and delivering equitable and sustainable outcomes, directly contributing to the Digital Europe Programme’s goals of strengthening digital capacity, inclusion and innovation.