This session, titled "From Boom to Bust: Global and Historical Trends in Gender Disparity in Tech," aims to shed light on the perplexing gender equality paradox in STEM: seemingly paradoxically, the more gender-equal a country, the higher the gender gap in tech fields. Additionally, despite significant societal advances in gender equality since the 1980s, the representation of women in tech has markedly declined. We will explore historical and global trends, cultural shifts, and systemic barriers that may have contributed to this decline, providing a platform for discussion and deeper understanding of the forces at play.
As powerful women in AI, we now have the opportunity to influence hiring practices and shape the future of the tech industry. This talk will highlight actionable strategies that we can implement to address gender disparity. From creating mentorship programs to fostering inclusive workplace cultures, we will discuss how women in AI can leverage their positions to drive meaningful change. Join us as we unravel the complexities of gender disparity in tech and chart a course toward a more inclusive and equitable future.
Elnaz Shafaei, Ph.D., is a Research Scientist at DeepL, focusing on the development of advanced Automatic Speech Recognition models. She also contributes to hiring research scientists and advocates for raising awareness of gender issues in the hiring process. Elnaz earned her doctorate from the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, where her dissertation explored learning with shallow networks for auditory comprehension. During her time there, she also taught courses on spoken word recognition, probability theory, and psycholinguistics. She holds a Master’s degree in Computational Linguistics and a Bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering.
Combining her skills in programming, machine learning, and natural language processing with a deep understanding of cognitive and computational linguistics, Elnaz advances the field of AI and language technology. She has presented her research at numerous international conferences and has co-organized significant scientific events. Additionally, she has developed several linguistic analysis software packages and supervised various student research projects.
