Women founders, investors and technology professionals will gather in Singapore on Oct. 6 for EmpowHER in AI, an industry event focused on increasing women’s participation and leadership in artificial intelligence.
The gathering comes as women remain underrepresented across the global AI workforce and particularly in leadership roles, despite signs that the gender gap in AI talent is beginning to narrow.
EmpowHER in AI describes itself as a community connecting women founders, operators and innovators working in artificial intelligence. Its Singapore event will combine panel discussions, fireside conversations and networking between technology professionals, entrepreneurs and investors.
The event is powered by Times of AI, with The Gignomist serving as an official media partner.
Why Women in AI Leadership Remains an Industry Issue
The event’s focus reflects a persistent imbalance in the technology sector.
According to UNESCO research on women’s leadership, women make up about 30% of AI professionals globally, with representation falling further at leadership levels.
The imbalance matters because decisions about how AI systems are developed, deployed and governed increasingly affect employment, financial services, healthcare, education and other parts of society.
AI systems can also reproduce existing inequalities when the data, development process or deployment environment contains bias.
Gignomist has previously reported on research finding gender disparities in AI-assisted hiring, illustrating why representation in AI is not only a workforce question but also an issue for how automated systems are designed and evaluated.
Signs of Progress — but Leadership Gaps Remain
There are indications that women’s participation in AI is improving.
A World Economic Forum and LinkedIn analysis published in 2025 found that the gender gap among AI talent narrowed in 74 of the 75 economies examined between 2018 and 2025.
Women’s participation in the broader technology workforce had also risen to nearly one-third.
But the same World Economic Forum analysis found persistent losses of female talent across the career pipeline, with men remaining overrepresented at every career stage and particularly in senior STEM positions.
More recent UNESCO research released in July 2026 highlighted similar issues across South Asia. Women were represented in AI research but were substantially less likely to occupy primary authorship positions associated with research leadership.
Those disparities help explain why professional networks and events increasingly focus not only on getting more women into technology, but on improving access to leadership, investment and entrepreneurial opportunities.
What EmpowHER in AI Plans for Singapore
EmpowHER in AI is scheduled for Oct. 6 in Singapore as an in-person networking and knowledge-sharing event.
Organizers say the program will bring together women working across AI, entrepreneurship, investment and emerging technologies.
The initiative’s previous programming has included discussions about responsible AI, women’s career paths, entrepreneurship and leadership. Its community model is designed around maintaining professional connections beyond individual events rather than functioning solely as a conference series.
The Singapore gathering is expected to include panel discussions, fireside conversations and networking.
Its target audience includes AI professionals, startup founders, entrepreneurs, investors, product and technology leaders and people beginning careers in emerging technology.
AI and Web3 Communities Are Increasingly Overlapping
EmpowHER in AI also has links to the Web3 ecosystem, reflecting the overlap between startup communities working across artificial intelligence, blockchain and decentralized technologies.
That intersection is visible in Singapore’s technology-event calendar, where AI and Web3 gatherings increasingly attract overlapping groups of founders, investors and developers.
The connection also creates broader questions about representation in emerging technology industries. Gignomist has examined how AI and Web3 technologies are converging across digital infrastructure and business models, areas where the companies and standards being developed today could shape future digital markets.
For initiatives such as EmpowHER in AI, the objective is to ensure women participate not only as users of those technologies but as founders, investors, technical professionals and decision-makers.
Singapore Offers a Strategic Setting
Singapore has established itself as an important Asian hub for technology companies, startups, investors and international industry events.
That environment gives communities such as EmpowHER in AI access to participants working across different markets and technology sectors.
But the longer-term measure of success for women-in-technology initiatives will extend beyond event attendance.
The underlying challenge is whether more women can enter AI careers, remain in the industry’s talent pipeline, secure funding for technology businesses and advance into positions where they influence how artificial intelligence is built and deployed.
The evidence suggests some progress is occurring. The continuing leadership gap shows there is considerably further to go.
EmpowHER in AI’s Singapore gathering takes place Oct. 6, 2026.
