India AI Summit 2026: Policy makers, women leaders discuss AI’s role in economic growth
AI must be used responsibly to safeguard women’s dignity, says NCW chief
Women leaders, tech experts, policy makers, among others, descended on India–AI Impact Summit 2026 in the national capital on Monday to deliberate upon “AI and economic power: A roadmap for women-led prosperity”.
Discussions ranged from empowering women in AI through education, mentorship, and increased representation, as only 22% of AI professionals worldwide are women.
Vijaya Rahatkar, chairperson, National Commission for Women (NCW), advocated cautious and intelligent use of AI in view of recent instances of misuse of such tools on social media against the integrity of women.
"AI and women's security is a poignant and complex matter. As a society, we need to accept the fact that technology has become a part and parcel of our lives. This technology will only advance and may get complicated in the future. So we, especially women, need to brace ourselves from the wrath of technology and also embrace the opportunities technology offers. Having said that, the country should also embolden law enforcement agencies in taking strict action against crimes against women," she said.
The summit also talked about 'AI by HER' Global Impact Challenge, a flagship initiative in partnership with NITI Aayog’s Women Entrepreneurship Platform. This challenge identifies and showcases women-led AI solutions that solve real-world problems.
AI by HER is a global innovation challenge inviting women technologists to demonstrate AI solutions tackling large-scale or novel real-world public challenges. Focused on inclusive innovation and global impact, this initiative promotes gender equity and Global South innovation and aims to showcase scalable AI-for-good applications.
Leveraging AI in animation, gaming, and digital content creation to increase women's participation in new-age industries was also discussed at the conclave.
"India’s female labour force participation has historically lagged that of men; consequently, women remain under-represented in high-value technology roles. Globally, women constitute less than a third of AI professionals. In India, they make up roughly one-fifth of the digital workforce and an even smaller share in AI research, advanced technical roles, and leadership positions. When women are absent from design teams and decision-making tables, the technologies built reflect narrower perspectives,” cyber-security specialist Brijesh Singh said.
Nitish Pathak, CEO and founder, Cyber Defentech, said much of today’s mainstream AI has been trained predominantly on Western, English-language, male-dominated datasets.
"These knowledge systems often under-represent women’s experiences, unpaid care work, informal labour, caste realities, and rural economies—all central to India’s social fabric. When such models are deployed without contextual correction, they reproduce skewed assumptions," he said.
