Lack of Women in AI Could Undermine Inclusive Tech: Wendy Hall

By: WE staff | Monday, 23 February 2026

• Wendy Hall, computer scientist, says the absence of women in AI may impact the development of technology in an inclusive manner
• She highlighted the disparity in the number of women in AI and said that all the CEOs are male

Wendy Hall, one of the world’s top computer scientists, said the absence of women in the burgeoning artificial intelligence industry could be holding back the development of inclusive technology.

Wendy, a professor at the University of Southampton and celebrated for her work on web systems, highlighted the gender gap in the AI industry.

She said, "All the CEOs are men," and called the gender gap at a major AI conference in New Delhi this week "amazingly awful." Wendy said the industry is still very male-dominated, with a lack of recognition that 50 percent of the population is being left out of these key discussions.

Wendy also went on to say that gender bias "creeps through everything," as many in the industry do not take it into consideration when developing their products.

She spoke at the AI Impact Summit, where governments are meeting to share a vision for how to address the potential and risks of generative AI.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of India becoming a leader in artificial intelligence is dependent on advanced computing acting as an enabling force for inclusion and empowerment.

Wendy had done her academic research into the cause of the lack of women in computing in the late 1980s and spoke about the obstacles she encountered throughout her career through which she had to "be strong," have good mentors, and, multiple times, she said, "I wanted to quit."

Wendy has received multiple accolades throughout her career, most recently, in 2009, she was named a Dame; she also served as a senior advisor for artificial intelligence to both the British government and the United Nations.

She looks back at her first university job almost fifty years ago when an all-male panel of interviewers informed her she could not have the position because she was a woman. "I was to teach engineers mathematics and electronic engineering," said Wendy.