10 Key Questions for Women in the AI Era

The theme of International Women’s Day 2026, "Give to Gain," puts the focus on collaboration and knowledge sharing, which have always guided me in my foresight career. Over the years I have communicated the idea that if women do not actively shape the future, we will simply be programmed into it as data points. This year on IWD2026, as Artificial Intelligence (AI) expands as an ambient presence in our homes, workplace, schools, and nurseries, the stakes for women have never been higher.

AI is not new nor is it any longer "emerging"; it is embedded. It manages our family schedules, filters our job applications, and even simulates human contact. This creates a paradox: technology offers the promise of reducing the "mental load" of women’s lives at the risk of digitizing old stereotypes and outdated assumptions.

To honor the spirit of Give to Gain #IWD2026, I am sharing a framework I developed for private audiences in my keynote "Women and AI,"  the 10 Key Questions for Women in the AI Era. These questions were designed to serve as a compass. They challenge us to look at our "Smart Homes" and ask if they are truly serving us or simply surveilling us. They force us to confront the "Glass Algorithm"—the invisible code that may be determining our career trajectories before we even step into an interview. 

As we celebrate the achievements of women globally, we must also examine our relationship with tech. Are we using AI to reclaim our time and creativity, or are we allowing it to define what a "productive" woman, mother, or professional looks like?

Join me in contemplating these essential inquiries for the world we have now. Whether you are a CEO navigating the automated economy, a mother balancing the "algorithmic village" of modern parenting, or a student entering a workforce redefined by synthetic intelligence, these questions can kickstart a meaningful conversation extending over the years ahead.

By engaging with these key questions, we do more than celebrate women; we claim our birthright as architects of a human-centric, equitable, safer tomorrow for future generations. In the spirit of giving to gain, here are some of the questions that will help us define our trajectory, rather than let it define us. 

10 Key Questions for Women in the AI Era

These questions are conversation prompts that I use as part of an interactive workshop. They are designed to help women navigate the shift into an AI era.

1. Identity: How much of my personal identity is being shaped by AI algorithms vs. my own choices?
2. Labor: Which of my daily "motherhood" or domestic tasks should I automate, and which are essential to human bonding?
3. Bias: How am I identifying and challenging the "feminine" stereotypes baked into my AI assistants?
4. Skills: What "human-only" skills do I need to cultivate to remain relevant in an AI-driven economy?
5. Privacy: Is my "Smart Home" acting as a helper or a surveillance tool (the "Big Mother" effect)?
6. Education: How do I prepare my children for a world where AI is their primary tutor and peer?
7. Wealth: How can I use AI to close the gender pay gap or manage family finances more equitably?
8. Well-being: Is AI improving my mental load, or is it creating a new "digital labor" expectation?
9. Ethics: What role do I play in demanding ethical standards for the AI used in my community?
10. Legacy: What kind of human-centric future am I building for the next generation of women?

As we navigate the road to 2030, the "future of women" is no longer a distant landscape we are waiting to arrive at; it is a moment we are currently inhabiting. Let’s embrace technology to become active architects of our own lives this International Women’s Day.

Bonus Content: The Future of Women

A lightly annotated bibliography of some of the foresight research and writing I’ve done on topics related to women's lives and experiences. 

"Looking to Alternative Futures for Signals of Gender Equality" (2019): A Medium article analyzing scenarios for US families in 2025 through the lens of feminist theory and social norms.

"Exploring the Future of Infant Feeding" (2015): Published in the Journal of Futures Studies, this academic article uses scenarios about breastfeeding to explore the future of gender roles, parenting, and female autonomy over labor.

"US Families 2025: In search of future families"(2008): A research paper identifying the evolution of male and female roles within family structures.

"Lotus Life: Will the advent of artificial child-bearing give birth to a new culture?"(2018): A speculative fiction story and essay exploring the implications of artificial womb technology. 

"AI in the Future of Gender Equality with Alex Whittington" (2024): An episode of the Informing Choices Mini-Pod discussing the role of AI in the gender equality economy. 

Seeking Delphi Podcast (2018): An interview featuring views on the potential gender-specific effects of artificial intelligence on women.

"The Future Isn’t Waiting: Shaping Tomorrow" (2025): A YouTube interview discussing work and life as a top woman futurist.

Image: Unsplash