s technological advancements powering AI increase, the chorus of warnings from women of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities continues to grow louder. From the denunciations of gender–based violence to irreversible environmental damage harming their communities, it’s worth asking this. Who are the women benefiting from today's innovations, and why?
While some women are reaping the benefits of the ongoing expansion of sophisticated technologies, for many women these technologies bring with them painful and even life–threatening implications. Studies have shown that the opposite ends of this spectrum of disadvantage and privilege are deeply tied to the intersections of these women’s identity. With the social order maintaining wealthy, white, cisgender, and heterosexual people at the top of the hierarchy, the further a woman’s identity is from this ideal, the more dangerous the outcomes of technological advances.
For Indigenous women leaders throughout the world, the ongoing extraction of natural resources from their communities is a direct threat to their very existence and the land itself. In the case of Brazil, the continued deforestation in the Amazon and ongoing issues after the 2015 Mariana dam collapse has come with various forms of gender–based violence, loss of food and water sources, and the loss of human, plant, and animal life. Similarly, the case of Apple vs. The Democratic Republic of Congo highlights the ways in which the disparities between white women of the Global North and Indigenous women in the Global South could not be more evident. While the wealthy, white women leaders at Apple receive accolades and generous salaries, Congolese women and girls who mine the cobalt needed for Apples devices are forced to endure the “rape capital of the world,” reproductive health issues, brutal child labor, and in many cases, death itself.
As we contemplate the ways in which we can mitigate the dangers of technological innovation aimed specifically at women and women leaders, acknowledging and addressing the longstanding inequalities among them is essential. Avoiding the redistribution of wealth, resources, and power from the Global North to the Global South will only further widen the gaps of inequity and access and exacerbate disasters and crises caused by climate change.
a global affairs media network
Making tech work for all women means looking to margins
Image via Adobe Stock.
September 10, 2025
Amid conversation about making sure emerging technologies work for rather than against women, we must remember that women who are also members of other disadvantaged groups are in great danger of being ignored and left behind, writes Bebel DeMoura Nilo.
A
s technological advancements powering AI increase, the chorus of warnings from women of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities continues to grow louder. From the denunciations of gender–based violence to irreversible environmental damage harming their communities, it’s worth asking this. Who are the women benefiting from today's innovations, and why?
While some women are reaping the benefits of the ongoing expansion of sophisticated technologies, for many women these technologies bring with them painful and even life–threatening implications. Studies have shown that the opposite ends of this spectrum of disadvantage and privilege are deeply tied to the intersections of these women’s identity. With the social order maintaining wealthy, white, cisgender, and heterosexual people at the top of the hierarchy, the further a woman’s identity is from this ideal, the more dangerous the outcomes of technological advances.
For Indigenous women leaders throughout the world, the ongoing extraction of natural resources from their communities is a direct threat to their very existence and the land itself. In the case of Brazil, the continued deforestation in the Amazon and ongoing issues after the 2015 Mariana dam collapse has come with various forms of gender–based violence, loss of food and water sources, and the loss of human, plant, and animal life. Similarly, the case of Apple vs. The Democratic Republic of Congo highlights the ways in which the disparities between white women of the Global North and Indigenous women in the Global South could not be more evident. While the wealthy, white women leaders at Apple receive accolades and generous salaries, Congolese women and girls who mine the cobalt needed for Apples devices are forced to endure the “rape capital of the world,” reproductive health issues, brutal child labor, and in many cases, death itself.
As we contemplate the ways in which we can mitigate the dangers of technological innovation aimed specifically at women and women leaders, acknowledging and addressing the longstanding inequalities among them is essential. Avoiding the redistribution of wealth, resources, and power from the Global North to the Global South will only further widen the gaps of inequity and access and exacerbate disasters and crises caused by climate change.
