[2025 Women Leaders Forum] Chairperson Moon Aeri: "AI for All Must Be Designed by Women"

Only 15.3% of AI Professionals in Korea Are Women
Citing Career Interruptions and Caregiving as Key Factors
"Data-Driven, Gender-Sensitive Policies Are Needed"

"In the digital future, women must not remain passive users-they need to become designers. This is the fastest way to create 'artificial intelligence for all,' not just for a select few."

Moon Aeri, Chairperson of the Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Women in Science, Technology and Engineering, is giving a lecture on the theme "Great Transformation in Science and Technology: The Era of Artificial Intelligence and Female Talent" at the "2025 Women Leaders Forum" hosted by The Asia Business Daily at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, on November 6, 2025. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

Moon Aeri, Chairperson of the Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Women in Science, Technology and Engineering (WISET), made this statement at the "2025 Women Leaders Forum" hosted by The Asia Business Daily on November 6. At the forum, held at Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul, Chairperson Moon delivered a lecture on "Women, AI, and the Future of Scientific Leadership."

She stated, "To achieve the goal of becoming a global leader in AI, it is necessary to increase female representation in the AI field," adding, "Women need to ensure that bias does not deepen by bringing diverse perspectives and backgrounds." According to research by WISET, women account for only 24% of engineering majors in Korea, and just 15.3% of the domestic AI workforce.

In this context, Chairperson Moon cited the following as causes: career interruptions among women, limited access to digital education, and the unequal burden of caregiving responsibilities. She pointed out, "Career breaks among women are worsening due to childbirth and childcare after the age of 30," and emphasized, "There is also a significant societal issue in which women disproportionately shoulder the weight of caregiving."

Moon Aeri, Chairperson of the Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Women in Science, Technology and Engineering, is giving a lecture on the theme "Great Transformation in Science and Technology: The Era of Artificial Intelligence and Female Talent" at the "2025 Women Leaders Forum" hosted by The Asia Business Daily at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, on November 6, 2025. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

She particularly noted that, to overcome the current situation of declining economic growth rates and the serious issue of low birth rates, it is necessary to close the gender gap and increase women's participation in economic activities.

Chairperson Moon suggested, "According to reports by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and PwC, closing the gender gap is expected to lead to economic growth," and added, "The more actively women participate in the digital economy, the more inclusive innovation is promoted, problem-solving approaches become more diverse, and social influence expands, ultimately leading to economic growth."

She also pointed out, "After career interruptions, women are unable to recover the expertise they built up during their undergraduate and graduate studies," and explained, "WISET, together with the Ministry of Science and ICT, provides support for female talent at every stage of the life cycle." She further emphasized, "More efforts are needed from organizations that help women with existing careers to re-enter or return to the workforce."

She argued that gender-sensitive policies are needed, such as making it mandatory to produce gender-segregated data across the entire science and technology sector. In addition, she stressed the importance of closing the digital gender gap, expanding women's participation in emerging technology fields, and strengthening global partnerships and regional cooperation for the sustainable development of future industries.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.