Gender mainstreaming in AI
Photo Credit: Feepik
Overview
In six countries spanning Anglophone and Francophone East Africa, gender-disaggregated data the kind needed to build AI systems that work for everyone is scarce, inconsistently collected, and rarely centred in policy decisions. Women and girls remain underrepresented in the datasets that shape digital economies, leaving AI systems that reflect and reinforce existing power imbalances rather than challenging them.
This project tackles that gap head-on. By examining power dynamics in the AI ecosystem through a gender lens, the research maps the structural barriers preventing inclusive data creation across the region and explores concrete approaches to overcome them. Crucially, it bridges Anglophone and Francophone nations, fostering rare cross-regional cooperation and shared learning on AI inclusion that transcends language divides.
The impact is already taking shape. Evidence-based insights from the research are challenging entrenched power imbalances within the regional digital ecosystem, equipping advocates and policymakers with the tools to demand more representative data practices. By prioritising the voices most often excluded from technology, the project is laying the groundwork for AI governance and digital policy across East Africa that is not only more inclusive but more just.