Daring to Lead More Women to Have a Seat at the Table
by Rosalind Hudnell, Vice President, Worldwide Corporate Affairs, Intel Corporation and President, Intel Foundation
This story was originally published on LinkedIn.
The next generation of leaders must have more women and it has to start with those of us who are here right now! Daring to lead against headwinds, obstacles, hurdles, and real bias we confront daily is our reality and it’s exhausting. That’s why forums, such as the Women’s Forum for Economy and Society Global Meeting in Paris, are so important. It’s where we can come to refuel and reenergize. It’s where we are reminded of why it is important that we continue to work so hard for the next generation. It also should be a place where we find the path to bolder intervention to level the playing the field and develop solutions to increase the number of women in the technology pipeline.
We need more women taking part in the artificial intelligence revolution. The future of artificial intelligence can’t truly be intelligent if women — all types of women — are not at the core of its development. This still means we have to connect women globally to the power of technology in ways that don’t just inspire them to use the latest devices, but motivates them to create new experiences through technology and design innovative new solutions. Technology is a force for positive social impact that can open doors to a wealth of health, financial, and educational resources that can dramatically expand opportunities and improve the lives of many women. Ultimately, technology should be used to create more opportunities, spread diverse ideas, and generate more realized potential for everyone, but especially for women. Providing women with both opportunities and access to technology will boost their income and their income potential, empower them and their families, and increase their sense of equity.
So many of us have spent our careers working to get our seat at the table, as well as pulling up a chair for others to have a seat as well. However, the data shows we still have work to do to close the global pay gap and ensure women are fully participating in the economy, on boards, and in the C-suite. It’s time to be more daring. It’s time that we take the seats we have earned to not just politely usher in those coming up behind us to take their seat but quite frankly to transform the entire table.
