Tech Explained: Women in AI and technology leadership highlight growth, strategy and systemic change – Intelligent CIO Middle East in Simple Terms

Technology leaders from across the industry share insights on career growth, AI leadership and the structural changes needed to improve representation and influence for women in technology.

Raluca Rusu, CEO, R Systems Europe

“I’ve had a long journey at R Systems, starting as a software engineer and progressing through technical roles, project management, middle management and eventually into C-level leadership. Each stage shaped me in different ways and taught me lessons that I still carry with me today.

Three lessons, in particular, have strongly shaped my career – and I suspect many women in technology are learning them as well:
• You are responsible for your own growth. Challenges will always exist. The difference lies in how you choose to respond to them. You can either see them as obstacles and complain, or treat them as opportunities to learn, stretch yourself and evolve. Growth rarely happens in comfort.
• Business value matters. Organizations exist to create value for customers. While companies have responsibilities toward all stakeholders, if you do not deliver real, tangible value to customers, there is no sustainable business. Staying focused on impact, outcomes and measurable contribution is essential at every level – especially in executive roles.
• Relationships are fundamental. Building strong relationships with colleagues, teams and customers is not optional; it is critical. Leadership is not about authority, but about enabling others to succeed. Often, the most valuable contribution you can make is helping people achieve goals they may not even have clearly articulated yet. Listening deeply, understanding motivations and supporting others’ success creates trust – and trust drives performance.

To women aspiring to executive roles in technology, I would say this: believe in your ability to grow beyond your current role. I encourage you to invest in both technical depth and business acumen, focus on delivering meaningful impact and making it visible, invest in authentic relationships and build networks across functions and geographies. Leadership is not a title – it is a continuous commitment to learning, delivering value and empowering others.

I’ve spent my technology career in Eastern Europe, where there is a strong educational foundation that supports women to prepare for engineering and mathematics degrees. That means that, most of the time, there is enough pipeline to reach the middle management layer. Women are often the backbone of operations, delivery and project management. The challenge is often shifting from the person who makes the delivery happen to the person who sets the strategy. To make this shift, women need greater exposure to boardroom-level interactions to experience the required mindset change, as well as better access to senior leadership – often still male-dominated – who can sponsor and mentor them. They also need to invest more in personal branding to clearly demonstrate their impact and capabilities.

While technical fields have historically been male-dominated, the challenge of reaching leadership levels in the technology industry in 2026 still stems from deeply interconnected structural and cultural barriers – not a lack of capability. I am beginning to see a shift from awareness campaigns to more meaningful structural change – from asking women to adapt their behavior to asking organizations to rethink their operating systems. At the same time, however, there is a counter current to contend with, as the pendulum swings back following the post-2020 DEI surge. Even so, there is a meaningful silver lining: leadership practices continue to evolve from compliance to conviction – a shift I am hopeful will only strengthen in the years ahead.”

Dr Samiksha Mishra, Director of AI, R Systems

“AI is shaping the future of every industry and, like many women in highly technical environments, I have faced moments when credibility needed to be repeatedly earned through delivery and depth. In research-driven spaces, the expectations are high and scrutiny is rigorous. However, I was fortunate to receive strong academic and institutional support early in my journey.

Establishing credibility ultimately came not from defending expertise, but from consistently delivering scalable, governed solutions.”

Just as we emphasize representative and unbiased datasets to improve accuracy and fairness, the same principle applies to the teams designing those models. When training data lacks diversity, outcomes become skewed. When development teams lack diverse perspectives, important edge cases, user behaviors and contextual risks can be overlooked during design and validation.”

When access is paired with strategic sponsorship, client-facing exposure and measurable delivery ownership, women are not just participants in AI transformation but leaders driving it.

As someone with a PhD in AI and nearly 17 years of experience in the core AI domain, I’ve learned that moving from academic or purely technical roles into strategic AI leadership requires a shift in mindset. Deep technical knowledge is a strong foundation, but leadership in AI demands the ability to translate research into scalable, production-ready systems that solve real business problems.”

Cynthia Overby, Director Strategic Security Solutions, zCOE at Rocket Software

“Change starts with education and is strengthened by visibility. It is crucial that women see where they fit in the technology industry, which will only happen through early exposure, mentorship and structured support.”

Michelle King, Senior Director of Sales, the Americas at Index Engines

“In my experience, the strongest cyber resilience doesn’t come from technology alone – it comes from people who understand the business impact and move quickly together.”

Stephanie Higgins, Chief Privacy and Data Ethics Officer, Cognizant

“AI is quickly supporting decision-making that shapes women’s lives, from hiring and promotions to credit approvals and the content they see online. As AI learns from existing data, it can entrench existing bias.”

Keeley Crockett, IEEE member and Professor in Computational Intelligence, Manchester Metropolitan University

“Creating psychologically safe cultures – where women’s expertise is heard, credited and valued – is essential for retention and long-term career progression.”

Shanthi Rajan, CEO, Linarc

“Rapid technology adoption – from scheduling and cost management to field collaboration, data analytics and AI-driven insights – is reshaping how projects are delivered. This shift creates a powerful moment to tap into the vast and growing pool of women in STEM.”

Suneetha Upplapatti, Enterprise Transformation Leader, WaveMaker

“Throughout my career, I’ve seen that people are the true pillar behind every success. Every transformation I’ve led reinforced the same truth: technology enables, but people deliver.

When leaders expand trust, provide visibility, open access to opportunities and invest in people’s growth, results compound.”

 Karina Flynn, People Partner Director, Zadara

“International Women’s Day is an opportunity to look beyond the metrics that so often define women’s success and instead honor women for who they are. Many of us were raised by women whose strength was not measured in titles or accolades, but in endurance, courage, and vision. They fought for access to education, financial independence, and opportunity. Because of them, we have doors open that once seemed unreachable.

Yet with expanded opportunity has come expanded expectation. Today, women are often measured by degrees earned, promotions secured, families raised, appearances maintained, and countless other visible benchmarks. The pressure to be exceptional in every dimension can quietly turn strength into perfectionism.

This International Women’s Day, we must move beyond celebrating accomplishments and ask why so many accomplished women still question their worth.  A woman’s worth is not a checklist, nor does it rise or fall with productivity. Strength can mean setting boundaries, prioritizing mental health, choosing a different path, or allowing space for reinvention. True progress will come when women are recognized not only for what they achieve, but for who they are, without needing to prove they are enough.” 

Ana-Maria Badulescu, VP of AI Labs, Precisely

“International Women’s Day is an opportunity to honour how far women in tech have come and reflect on the work that remains, particularly as AI adoption shapes the way businesses operate. During my career in software development and data management, I have witnessed how diverse perspectives strengthen both our technology and our teams, by ensuring representation and trusted outcomes. 

“The future of AI and data innovation is dependent on the diversity of the voices shaping it. With AI becoming embedded across every sector, we have a responsibility to make AI truly reflective of the society it serves. We must act now if we want AI to be a force for equity and innovation, rather than exclusion, and that begins with diversity amongst those who work on the technology itself. When we create space for more women – and for people of all backgrounds and experiences – we build technology that is stronger, more creative, more equitable, and ultimately more impactful.”