We’re witnessing an important moment in tech with the rise of artificial intelligence, automation and machine learning disrupting any and every industry, sector and way of working we’ve ever known.

Women have been historically underrepresented in STEM fields and there's been a gender gap in tech from the beginning. But in 2025, that's finally changing with women on the forefront of innovation in key technologies shaping the future, like AI, cloud technology, data analytics and security.

Although women make up just 28% of the workforce in STEM, the proportion of women in tech has gradually been on the rise since 2016, according to the World Economic Forum. And at the world's leading tech companies like Google, Meta, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft, women make up between 29% - 45% of the workforce.

So although the road ahead is long, we are walking along with strides of pride. Here’s a roundup of trailblazing women imagining and innovating the future of technology.

1. Manasi Sharma, principal engineering manager at Microsoft

As a full stack engineer, member of Forbes’ technology council and dedicated advocate of diversity and inclusion in tech, Manasi Sharma is setting an example to empower more women in her field.

She leads innovation for data-intensive web applications and microservices as well as enhancing productivity in meetings and AI in enterprise systems.

“Leading the development of the Microsoft Teams platform, I helped drive extensibility and improve collaboration for millions of users,” Sharma said in an interview. “This required balancing technical complexity with user experience, marking a pivotal moment in my leadership journey.”

“Empowerment has driven me to create environments where teams feel confident to innovate and take ownership. By fostering trust and autonomy, I’ve seen individuals and projects thrive, reinforcing my belief that empowering others is key to both personal and collective success,” she said.

2. Layla Shaikley, co-founder of Wise Systems

After building robots at NASA and studying architecture at MIT, Layla Shaikley co-founded a last mile AI and autonomous delivery startup. As a proud Muslim-American, she speaks openly about the careers of thought-leaders and visionaries in the Muslim community on her podcast Muslims Doing Things. “I am a believer that ease of use predicts product adoption,” Shaikley writes on her LinkedIn. In an interview with CNN tech, when asked what she would tell her 18 year old self, Shaikley said: “Overreach. Always. In architecture school, I spent a semester designing habitats for Mars. A mentor urged me to apply to an internship at NASA. He urged me to overreach, though I was at a huge disadvantage without an aero/astro background. I got the internship – and it was the experience that pivoted my career and future toward tech.”

3. Brigitte West, product director at DrDoctor

Brigitte West is leading the charge to apply AI in healthcare, making the NHS more cost effective, efficient, productive and ultimately stronger for patients. As an executive director at a growing healthtech startup, West’s Smart Centre project aims to eliminate instances of ‘did not attend’ for the NHS, a problem which costs UK taxpayers £1 billion each year. 

"The transformative potential of AI for the NHS extends far beyond advanced diagnostics or treatment plans,” West tells AllBright.

“The real game-changer lies in the operational efficiencies AI can deliver, especially in tackling persistent challenges like missed appointments. By identifying patterns in patient behaviour and predicting no-shows, AI can enable proactive and personalised interventions, ensuring fewer empty slots and more timely care for patients," she said.

4. Sylvia Acevedo, rocket scientist

Hailing from New Mexico, Sylvia Acevedo built her career at organisations like NASA, Apple, Dell and IBM and she served as CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA. Named by Forbes as one of the top women in tech and an award winning cybersecurity leader, Acevedo now serves on the boards of Qualcomm and Credo Technologies.

“The world is being recreated around technology, and women and those of diverse backgrounds need to have the skills, confidence, and access to be part of the world that we are creating,” Acevedo said in an interview. “From autonomous vehicles to advances in medicine and more, the world is becoming more reliant on technology, and we need more people to understand its impact on our lives.”

5. Magda Jary, cloud and AI skilling expert

Earning her stripes at Google over 16 years, most recently as the global head of cloud credentials and certifications, Magda Jary built and scaled the company’s portfolio of industry leading cloud and AI credentials offers and go-to-market initiatives, growing the credential ecosystem from zero to more than two million.

Recognised as one of the top 10 women in cloud computing, Jary now teaches and speaks about AI driven workforces. “What excites me most is sharing the transformative power of learning and AI to unlock human potential worldwide,” she writes on her LinkedIn.