The Future of AI Will Be Shaped by Holistic Thinkers: How Women Are Building Global Tech

As the worldwide race to build artificial intelligence (AI) systems accelerates, most headlines focus on breakthroughs, massive investments, and intense geopolitical competition. Beneath that high‑profile noise, however, a quieter transformation is reshaping the technology labour market. More women are stepping into senior engineering and leadership positions, and their influence is beginning to steer how AI systems are conceived, constructed, and delivered at scale.

In India, large technology firms are expanding the reach of their AI platforms, creating products that serve millions of users across continents. At the same time, the share of women in India’s overall technology workforce is inching upward. Recent data from Foundit shows that women now constitute roughly 32% of the technology workforce, a rise from 29% a year ago. Participation in emerging‑technology roles has also climbed, with women accounting for about 31% of hires in those fast‑growing areas.

Despite these advances, a stark imbalance persists in AI‑focused roles, where women represent only about 20% of the workforce. It is within this uneven landscape that a new generation of women leaders is emerging, ready to shape the future of AI.

Evolution of Women’s Representation in Leadership

Women’s representation in Indian leadership has moved from minimal participation to a modest but steady increase. Government reservations of 33% to 50% for local bodies, combined with corporate diversity programmes, have created a foundation for progress, according to a KPMG analysis.

In technology specifically, the climb is gradual and uneven. Women hold roughly 14% to 19% of senior positions in AI‑related fields, even though they make up more than 30% of the entry‑level technology workforce. India boasts one of the world’s largest pools of female STEM graduates—about 43% of all STEM deGrees—but a “broken pipeline” continues to impede advancement, resulting in a 64% gender gap in AI leadership, as documented in the Women in Technology report, *Rethinking Opportunity, Equity & the Future of Work: The Evolving Landscape for Women in Technology in the Age of AI*.

Swetha Shankar, Director of Software Development at Amazon, Bengaluru, emphasized the importance of deep technical expertise combined with leadership opportunities. Swetha Shankar noted, “There has been encouraging progress over the years, particularly as more women build deep expertise across engineering, cloud, and AI‑driven technologies. Strengthening representation in leadership roles requires a sustained focus on building strong talent pipelines and creating opportunities for women to lead complex technical initiatives.” Swetha Shankar added that at Amazon, engineers frequently work on systems that run at massive scale—from customer‑facing platforms to machine‑learning services—allowing them to develop both technical depth and leadership capability over time.

Meaningful change is driven not only by recruitment but also by ongoing investment in career development. Companies are increasingly concentrating on leadership pipelines, targeted skill‑building, and inclusive workplace policies. Visibility also matters: more women leaders are now shaping product decisions and mentoring the next generation of talent.

A recent Coursera study, *One Year Later: The Gender Gap in Generative AI*, reported that nearly 33.5% of women learners in India enrolled in generative‑AI courses over the past year. Women’s participation in those courses rose by a modest 2.2 percentage points, and women outperformed men in course completion rates by three percentage points.

Women Engineers Contributing to Global Platforms

Women engineers in India are no longer confined to isolated subsystems; they are now integral contributors to platforms that operate across continents. From AI‑powered recommendation engines to cloud infrastructure, teams based in Bengaluru are building solutions that must adapt to diverse markets, languages, and user behaviours.

Shankar explained, “Women engineers work on platforms that operate at a global scale, ensuring our solutions are robust, inclusive, and effective across varied market contexts. They are at the forefront of exploring and implementing cutting‑edge AI technologies, launching features that serve not just regional markets but customers worldwide. Through internal hackathons and innovation programmes, women engineers consistently emerge as winners and leaders, driving features that span multiple international markets. In one of my teams, women’s perspectives on fashion innovation have been instrumental in creating customer value and competitive advantage. Their insights help us better understand and serve diverse customer needs across different markets. Building global platforms requires strong collaboration and diverse perspectives, and engineers across teams contribute to ensuring these systems work seamlessly for customers everywhere.”

This global exposure is reshaping engineering roles. Women engineers are now tasked with designing systems that are scalable, inclusive, and sensitive to regional contexts—whether optimizing algorithms for different markets or guaranteeing seamless product performance across geographies.

Beyond consumer‑facing applications, women engineers are leading the design of B2B SaaS experiences and AI‑enabled automation, focusing on user‑friendly and equitable solutions.

The Power of Mentorship, Representation, and Workplace Culture

Mentorship and representation are critical accelerators for career advancement. In large organisations, access to senior leaders—especially women in leadership—can significantly influence career trajectories.

Shankar highlighted, “These are foundational elements that drive women’s career progression in large companies, and they have improved significantly over the last few years. Amazon, Bengaluru, consciously recognises the importance of these elements and has made systematic changes at the grassroots level. When organisations focus on creating strong mentorship networks and encourage engineers to take ownership of complex projects, it helps individuals build both confidence and technical leadership. It has been imperative for us to grow women in senior roles and especially in technical leadership.”

Shankar also noted that engineers routinely tackle challenging problems, ranging from scaling distributed systems to integrating machine‑learning capabilities into customer experiences. This continuous exposure fosters both learning and impact, as engineers contribute to technology that serves millions of users.

Workplace culture plays an equally vital role. Environments that promote collaboration, flexible work arrangements, and continuous learning tend to retain more women. Visible representation at the top creates a ripple effect, making leadership roles appear more attainable.

Shankar recalled a pivotal piece of advice from a mentor: “The only bad choice is the one that is not made.” This statement has helped Shankar shape an assertive global leadership style.

Drivers Behind Growth in AI and Machine Learning

The surge in AI and machine‑learning demand is opening new pathways for specialised skill acquisition. Increased access to online learning, industry certifications, and structured training programmes is gradually lowering entry barriers for women.

At the same time, companies are actively investing in reskilling initiatives to transition engineers into AI‑focused roles.

Data from the Press Information Bureau indicates that AI‑related job postings in South Asia have more than doubled, rising from 2.9% to 6.5% of total postings. Demand for AI skills is expanding at a rate 75% faster than roles outside the AI domain.

Women’s participation in the sector is steadily improving. Women now account for roughly one‑third of technology roles in India and represent about 20% of enrolments in AI and machine‑learning programmes, a sharp increase from a previous 5% level.

The 2025 Women in Technology report highlights stronger gender representation within India’s global capability centers (GCCs), where women hold 16% to 17% of the nearly 6,500 total leadership positions. Nonetheless, a significant gap remains, with representation dropping by about 40% from entry‑level to senior leadership.

Gitanjali Bhutani, Director of Software Development at Amazon, Bengaluru, explained, “In the past, people have specialised in areas like AI and machine learning later in their careers, and we know that as we go up the ladder, the representation of women in more senior roles is still lower. However, just like all of us in the industry have joined hands to improve women’s representation at all levels, we are now focused on building stronger pathways that encourage more engineers, including women, to explore these specialisations early in their careers. This includes enabling access to learning resources, hands‑on projects, and mentorship. These measures are already helping engineers at all levels now experiment and build with AI, way earlier than they have ever done with any new technology in the past.”

Strategies for Experienced Professionals to Strengthen AI Careers

For seasoned professionals, transitioning into AI typically requires a blend of technical upskilling and practical exposure. Building a solid foundation in data science, machine‑learning frameworks, and problem‑solving is essential.

Gitanjali Bhutani stated, “AI is one of the fastest evolving areas in technology, and professionals looking to build careers in this space benefit from continuously strengthening both their technical foundations and their ability to apply AI to real‑world problems. To gain expertise in AI, it is important to get hands‑on experience and ensure you are solving problems directly with AI, rather than merely learning from the experience of others.”

Gitanjali Bhutani added that holistic system thinking is increasingly valuable: “Now more than ever, there is a need for people who understand systems holistically and can visualise and build extensible systems as AI evolves. So, work hard on strengthening your system‑design knowledge, as well as machine‑learning fundamentals, to understand how these systems work and how they can be optimised for your use case. Finally, stay curious and open to learning.”

Guidance for Young Girls and Women Entering Technology

For young women considering a technology career, the most important message is that the field extends far beyond traditional coding roles. Today’s opportunities span product design, data science, AI research, and platform engineering.

Early exposure to STEM in India is crucial for narrowing the gender gap in AI/ML. Hands‑on experiences with coding and robotics help dismantle stereotypes and spark lasting interest. According to a United Nations Development Programme report, mentorship and visible female role models boost confidence, counteract societal biases, and provide clear pathways for girls to pursue technical careers.

Gitanjali Bhutani encouraged, “Technology today offers an opportunity to build solutions that can impact millions of people across the world. For young girls considering careers in this field, curiosity, problem‑solving, and a willingness to learn continuously are often the most important starting points. There are also many initiatives designed to help young women explore opportunities in technology… With the right support systems and opportunities to learn, young women today can play a powerful role in shaping the future of innovation.”

Why Big Tech Companies Are Investing in Women Engineers

For global technology corporations, diversity is no longer a peripheral social goal; it is a core business imperative. Diverse teams consistently deliver better, more inclusive products—a critical factor in AI, where bias and fairness are central concerns.

Payal Gupta, Director of Software Development at Amazon, Bengaluru, explained, “Solving complex problems requires diverse perspectives and experiences. When you build products and platforms used by millions of people across different markets, diverse teams help ensure the technology reflects a broader set of ideas and user needs. Women engineers today are contributing across some of the most advanced areas of technology—from large‑scale distributed systems to AI‑powered customer experiences. AI capabilities are increasingly powering features such as personalised recommendations and conversational shopping tools, which help customers discover products and make informed choices. Building these kinds of intelligent systems requires diverse thinking. That’s why companies continue to invest in strong and inclusive engineering talent pipelines.”

Investing in women engineers also addresses talent shortages in high‑demand areas like AI and cloud computing. As competition for skilled professionals intensifies, expanding the talent pool becomes essential.

Impact of Women Leaders on System Design and Change

Women leaders are increasingly influencing how technology is designed, built, and consumed by injecting diverse perspectives into decision‑making processes. This often results in more user‑centric products that consider a broader range of needs.

In AI, ethical considerations are taking centre stage, and diversity helps surface blind spots and reduce biases in systems. While leadership styles vary, inclusive and collaborative approaches are frequently highlighted as strengths that women leaders bring to the table.

Payal Gupta remarked, “Technology today touches almost every aspect of how people live, shop, communicate, and access services. When leadership teams building these systems bring diverse experiences and perspectives, it helps ensure that the solutions are more thoughtful and inclusive. Women leaders contribute significantly by bringing different viewpoints to system design, product thinking, and team collaboration. This is particularly valuable when the goal is deep customer‑centricity, understanding not just what customers say they want, but also anticipating needs across different contexts and use cases. In areas like AI and large‑scale platforms, these perspectives help teams build solutions that are intuitive, reliable, and relevant for global audiences. Ultimately, strong technology leadership is about building diverse teams that can solve complex problems and deliver meaningful innovation.”

Bridging the Gap Between Participation and Representation

Closing the gap requires a multi‑layered strategy. Hiring more women is only the first step; retaining and promoting them is equally vital.

Payal Gupta emphasized, “Accelerating women’s participation and representation requires sustained investment across the entire talent pipeline. This means not just hiring talent, but actively building environments where women can thrive, take on complex challenges, and step into leadership roles. Programmes like Amazon WoW (Women of the World) help connect women engineering students with mentors, learning opportunities, and industry exposure early in their careers, helping them build strong foundations in technology. Equally important is creating environments where people can take ownership of challenging projects and develop both technical depth and leadership skills. Over time, these efforts help strengthen leadership pipelines and ensure more women can grow into senior technical and management roles.”

The Future Influence of Women Leaders on AI

As more women ascend to leadership positions, their impact on AI’s trajectory will become increasingly pronounced. From establishing ethical standards to influencing product design, their contributions will shape not only engineering outcomes but also the broader direction of technology.

Payal Gupta concluded, “AI is rapidly transforming industries. The future of AI will be shaped by leaders who can think holistically about how these systems work in practice, not just the technical architecture, but how they perform across different use cases, markets, and customer needs. It is not about men or women; it is about how we are all increasingly driving these conversations and building AI systems that are both powerful and practical. The systems being built today will influence how people interact with technology for years to come, and every leader should bring the perspectives needed to ensure these systems are designed and deployed thoughtfully.”

India’s role in the global AI ecosystem continues to expand, and women are becoming an essential part of that story. While the numbers still reveal a gap, the trajectory points toward gradual but meaningful change.