On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2026, Tech Achieve Media speaks with Vibha Singh, Program Manager – AI at Toaster, about the realities women continue to face in the technology ecosystem. From the hidden cost of excluding women from technical decision-making to the risks of bias being encoded into artificial intelligence systems, Singh offers a candid perspective on power, representation, and leadership in tech. In this interview, she challenges comfortable narratives around diversity and explains why the future of AI must be shaped by women who are willing to question the system, and change it.
Also read – International Women’s Day: Driving Change, Breaking Barriers, and Accelerating Progress
TAM: What part of the tech ecosystem still underestimates women, and what’s the real cost?
Vibha Singh: Women are still underestimated when it comes to real technical authority. We’re trusted to execute, not to decide. The cost is products and AI systems built without lived context, and that damage scales fast.
TAM: If women dominated tech leadership, what would change first and why?
Vibha Singh: The culture. Immediately. Less ego, less posturing, more listening. When decision-making changes, better products follow.
TAM: Is AI amplifying gender bias or correcting it?
Vibha Singh: Mostly amplifying it. AI reflects who builds it, and right now, bias is being automated, not solved.
TAM: The most uncomfortable truth about diversity in tech?
Vibha Singh: Diversity is celebrated until it starts changing outcomes. Representation is fine. Power makes people uncomfortable.
TAM: What should young women unlearn before entering tech in 2026?
Vibha Singh: Unlearn the need to be liked. If you’re challenging bad systems, you’re not here to be comfortable, you’re here to be right.
