The future is female. It’s a phrase that was coined in the 1970s. So, 50 years later, does this mean the present is female?
It’s undoubtedly more female than it used to be. More women are shaping the world than ever before. But when it comes to tech, design, manufacturing, venture capital, and a whole lot more, we’re still lagging behind our male counterparts.
While we’re taking big steps forward in some places around the world – including the UAE, we’re heading quickly backward in others. According to a 2024 SDG Gender Index study, gender equality is stalling or going backward for one billion women and girls globally. The report cites a ‘dismal’ lack of progress – with not one country on track for equality.
It’s hardly feel-good reading. But I believe these statistics shouldn’t leave us depressed and downhearted, but instead make us look at what’s in our power to achieve and change. How can we lift other women and make paths easier to tread? How can we identify and break through glass ceilings? And how can we encourage women to forge careers in traditionally male-dominated spaces – like tech?
When we look to future industries—at technology and its implications across sectors—women mustn’t be just passengers but firmly in the driving seat. If men are the only ones designing products, systems, and services, the outputs will not necessarily function in a way that suits or responds to women’s needs.
Ever asked a man to hang a mirror and found it was placed too high to see your reflection? Well, the same happens when women are not part of the production process. Our wants, our needs, and our bodies are ignored. Not through malice or misogyny but simply through lack of awareness, lack of lived experience, and lack of diversity.
It may be a cliché, but representation matters. We’re lucky to live in a country that is driving change, embracing women leaders, and creating spaces that welcome female entrepreneurs. We have a chance to sit in the driving seat.
Let’s not waste this opportunity. We don’t even need the future to be female. We just need a future where women matter.
