Celebrating International Day of Women and Girls in Science
To celebrate the UN International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2025, we are proud to share the reflections of experts on AI and Data Science who spoke at our AI for Net Zero Conference last December. They talked to us about the women who have inspired them to pursue their scientific research.
Jessica Symons, Vision Lab
Jess is Director of Visioning Lab, an R&D consultancy developing products and services using emerging technologies to tackle social and environmental issues. She took part in our panel discussion on the Wednesday, ‘Should we Trust AI for Net Zero?‘ Here are her inspiring words:
Get inspired and make an AI startup! I was inspired to work in IT by my mother. She was a systems analyst in the 1970s and 80s when computers were the size of a room and programming was feeding punch cards into a machine.
My mother gave me the courage to believe that someone like me could have something to say, that it was relevant and important to the topic.
When I speak at conferences and participate on panels, like I did at the AI4NetZero conference, I channel that incredible self-belief that she had. It calms me and helps me focus on what I want to communicate rather than how I look or sound.
Women are underrepresented in AI and I was motivated to develop a new AI product because of this.
My company Visioning Lab has recently launched Ontology Maker, an AI-enabled process for making multilingual glossaries and controlled vocabularies for projects and teams. It is designed to help people communicate better – something women specialise in.
I encourage women and girls to learn about Generative AI and think of products and services that can be developed using AI. At the moment, there is lots of noise about the technology but less about its practical application.
Play around with ChatGPT and then get a startup going!!
Emily Robinson, Interdisciplinary Researcher
Emily is an interdisciplinary researcher on intersection of computational social and political data science. She also took part in the panel session ‘Should we Trust AI for Net Zero?’ and here is what she said:
Participating in the conference was a great opportunity, not only because of the engaging discussions but also due to the fantastic representation of women in the fields of science and technology. I had the privilege of appearing on the panel ‘Should We Trust AI for Net Zero?’ alongside three women, whose work I deeply admire. Each panellist brought diverse yet critical experiences to the discussion, and their varied perspectives created a fascinating lens through which we explored the challenges and opportunities of leveraging AI to address sustainability goals.
The person who has most inspired my academic and research career is Professor Sarah Hartley, who won me over to the social sciences of technology when I attended her responsible innovation and ethics lectures. Later, as a postgraduate with Sarah as my supervisor, I had the privilege of supporting her seminars, which showed me first-hand how truly thought-provoking and energising lecturing can be. I saw how undergraduate students, after just one of Sarah’s lectures, were already thinking more critically and becoming passionate about how technology is developed and who it serves. That experience left me with a desire to inspire others in the same way. Sarah’s research is equally thought-provoking, and her ability to continually apply her skills in new and rapidly evolving areas has been a constant source of inspiration for where my own research could take me.
Rachel McInnes: Met Office and Co-Director of JCEEI
Rachel took part in our panel discussion: ‘Beyond Academia – Delivering AI for Net Zero’. Here are her reflections:
I had the pleasure of participating in the panel discussion ‘Beyond Academia: Delivering AI for Net Zero’ at the AI4Net Zero Conference. It was an incredible opportunity to highlight the exciting applied data science projects at the Met Office and the Joint Centre for Environmental Intelligence (JCEEI).
One of the key issues we face in data science is the lack of female and non-binary representation in leadership roles. At the Met Office, my colleagues and I are committed to addressing this imbalance. By sharing our work at the conference, I hope to inspire early-career professionals and demonstrate the impact of female leadership in this field.
Personally, it was also a fantastic chance to connect with other female and non-binary leaders and learn about their exciting science. When asked to mention women who have influenced my career, I am grateful to Prof Lindsay Fletcher and Prof Sheila Rowan from Glasgow University. They nurtured my love of physics and taught me to code, shaping my career path.
