Women must be ‘active architects’ in digital future

The rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) has prompted South African women to play an active role in shaping the country's digital future. This call to action formed the cornerstone of the three-day 2026 Women in Tech digital skills training initiative, which kicked off at the Huawei South Africa campus in Johannesburg.

The training program, designed to bridge the gender gap in the AI sector, aimed to empower women by providing them with the necessary skills to contribute to the development of the local AI economy.

According to LinkedIn data from Stanford University's AI Index Report, women constitute only 30.5% of AI professionals globally, with a stark male-dominated majority at 69.5%. While precise AI talent statistics within South Africa are limited, it is evident that women have historically been underrepresented in the local Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector, making up approximately 23% of the workforce.

This disparity is evident in the Job Market Trends Report by Pnet, which revealed that women represented around 32% of professionals listing AI skills on their profiles, reflecting a three-year increase from 25%.

In her keynote address, Nonkqubela Jordan-Dyani, director-general of the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT), emphasized the importance of women's involvement in the AI economy. She stressed that women must not merely be invited into the AI economy after it has been built, but must actively help construct it from the ground up.

Jordan-Dyani argued that an AI economy that excludes women will not reach its full potential, as a digital economy that includes women is not only more equitable but also stronger, more innovative, more competitive, and more resilient.

The Women in Tech programme, initiated in 2021, serves as a platform for women entrepreneurs, innovators, educators, community leaders, and problem-solvers to develop technologies that are inclusive and responsive to real-world challenges. The program aims to provide participants with the opportunity to experiment with unfamiliar technologies, ask questions, challenge assumptions, and network.

Christina Naidoo, COO of Huawei South Africa, highlighted the potential of AI to revolutionize small businesses, enabling them to better understand customers, improve marketing, analyze information faster, forecast demand, and automate labor-intensive tasks. Cloud computing and 5G connectivity, she noted, facilitate work, trade, and customer service from virtually anywhere, providing South African women entrepreneurs with a unique chance to shape the technology wave from the start.