Women in AI Working Group

Driving practical, inclusive AI adoption through leadership, evidence, and shared action

Why This Group Exists

As AI becomes embedded in decisions, systems, and services across sectors, there is a real risk of reinforcing structural inequalities unless we act deliberately. From hiring tools and credit assessments to healthcare pathways and content platforms, too many systems are being deployed without sufficient scrutiny of who they serve, what assumptions they make, or whose voices are missing.


This group was created to change that.


It brings together senior leaders from across the UKAI network who are driving practical action on inclusion, accountability, and representation in AI. Members are not only advocating for change, but they are also shaping how inclusive design, governance, and leadership actually happen in practice. They are influencing procurement, contributing to internal playbooks, advising on industry standards, and bringing lived experience into technical and strategic decisions.

This is not a support group. It is a strategic working group built to surface challenges, identify gaps, co-develop practical tools, and ensure equity is reflected in how AI is built and adopted across the UK.

Working Group Members

Zahra Shah

Zahra Shah

Chair, Women in AI Working Group

Claire Roberts

Claire Roberts

Founder & AI Transformation Lead, Full Fathom Five

 

How the Group Works

The group meets quarterly for structured, in-person working sessions, supplemented by regular virtual sessions, peer exchanges, and content reviews.


Members contribute to UKAI’s wider programme by:

  • Shaping roundtable topics and discussion guides

  • Participating in fireside conversations and dinners

  • Co-authoring outputs and contributing to cross-group insights

  • Feeding into UKAI’s national policy response and strategic positioning on inclusive AI

What the Group Delivers

The group drives a purposeful stream of activity across the year, designed to support members in leading real change inside their organisations and across the wider ecosystem. Every part of the programme is built to be practical, collaborative, and grounded in lived experience.

Members take part in:

Focused roundtables
that address critical issues such as inclusive model development, internal governance, vendor accountability, and representation in product, policy, and procurement decisions. These sessions are designed for open exchange and shared learning under the Chatham House Rule.

Candid fireside conversations
with influential voices across government, industry, research, and society. These discussions create space to speak plainly about what is working, what is missing, and how to drive more meaningful progress on equity in AI.

Collaborative tools and frameworks
co-developed by members, from bias audit approaches and inclusive recruitment checklists to procurement guidance and internal impact metrics. These outputs are shaped by what members need to drive change in practice.

Strategic engagement across UKAI
ensuring that inclusion and equity are not siloed but embedded in wider policy discussions, sector roundtables, and working group outputs across the network.

Every activity is grounded in what members are doing on the ground. This is a working group focused on delivery, giving members a trusted space to compare approaches, pressure-test thinking, and contribute to the tools and conversations that shape AI adoption across the UK.

What the Group Is Working On

This year’s programme is shaped directly by what members are trying to deliver inside their organisations. The focus is on real outcomes that embed inclusion into the systems, structures, and decisions where it matters most. Current areas of work include:

  • Making equity part of day-to-day product and engineering decisions, not just policy statements
  • Developing inclusive leadership models and practical approaches to team design, recruitment, and retention
  • Building internal AI playbooks that integrate fairness, representation, and accountability into core development workflows
  • Creating procurement and vendor evaluation frameworks that include equity, ethical assurance, and social impact criteria
  • Aligning inclusive AI efforts with broader organisational governance, risk, and performance objectives
  • Surfacing and supporting underrepresented talent across the AI and data lifecycle, from early careers to senior leadership

Outputs include practical guidance notes, internal templates, shared case studies, strategic briefings, and inputs into UKAI’s wider policy work. All content is co-developed with members and focused on action, not theory.

How to Get Involved

The group is open to UKAI members actively driving inclusive AI in their organisations. If you are building better systems, shaping equitable teams, or working to embed accountability into AI delivery, we would love to involve you.


To request membership or nominate a colleague, contact Stephen Moore, Director of Membership and Engagement.