As organizations increasingly embrace artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, cloud computing and digital transformation, women engineers are playing a growing role in shaping not only technology solutions but also the strategic direction of innovation. On the occasion of International Women in Engineering Day, technology leaders across industries highlighted the evolving contributions of women in engineering and emphasized the need to move beyond representation toward leadership and influence.
According to Janaki Yarlagadda, Chairman, Blue Cloud Softech Solutions Limited, the conversation around women in engineering must now focus on impact and decision-making.
“The conversation around women in engineering must move beyond participation to influence. Today, women engineers are not only building technology, they are shaping product roadmaps, leading innovation, and influencing the strategic decisions that determine how technology creates value. At BCSSL, women play a critical role across our integrated technology ecosystem, bringing technical expertise, leadership, and fresh perspectives to complex challenges in AI, cybersecurity, healthcare, and digital transformation. As the theme #EngineeringIntelligence highlights, the future of engineering will depend as much on judgment, collaboration, and responsible innovation as it does on technical capability, and women are helping lead that evolution.”
This sentiment is echoed by Anuradha Natarajan, Head of Technology Strategy and Engineering Operations, Altimetrik, who believes that while significant progress has been made in increasing women’s participation across STEM and technology, the next phase of growth must focus on enabling women to influence technology strategy and lead the development of intelligent systems.
“India’s engineering ecosystem has made significant strides in advancing women’s participation across STEM and technology. Today, women are not only contributing to innovation but are increasingly leading critical initiatives across AI, digital engineering, cloud, cybersecurity, and product development. Their growing presence in these fields reflects a positive shift in the industry and highlights the value that diverse perspectives bring to solving complex business and technology challenges.”
Drawing on more than two decades of experience in engineering and technology, Natarajan noted that the opportunities available to women in STEM have evolved considerably, but added that greater emphasis is now needed on leadership and decision-making: “Having spent over 25 years in engineering and technology, I have witnessed firsthand how the opportunities available to women in STEM have evolved. While this progress is encouraging, I believe the next chapter is about more than representation. As AI reshapes industries and creates new possibilities, we must enable more women to influence technology strategy, lead high-impact engineering programs, and shape the intelligent systems that will define our future. Engineering has always been about solving problems and driving innovation, and diverse perspectives will be essential to ensuring that the technologies we build are innovative, inclusive, and meaningful.”
She further highlighted the role organizations must play in creating pathways for advancement: “As industry leaders, we have a responsibility to create environments where women can continuously learn, grow, and advance into leadership roles. At Altimetrik, we are focused on building that foundation through initiatives such as WINGS, MentHERup, and Rebound, which provide mentorship, career development, and learning opportunities for women at different stages of their professional journeys. As we celebrate International Women in Engineering Day, it is important to recognize that the future of engineering will be shaped not only by advances in AI, but also by the diversity of talent behind them.”
The growing influence of women is particularly evident in fast-evolving fields such as cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, where diverse perspectives are becoming increasingly critical to addressing complex challenges. Jyolsna Elangovan, Vice President of Engineering and Head of Applications, Data Science & Gen AI Portfolio at Securonix, said women are making significant contributions across both traditional and emerging engineering disciplines.
“The representation of women in engineering has grown steadily over the past few decades, with women making significant contributions across both traditional and emerging disciplines. Today, women engineers are helping shape the future of AI and cybersecurity, driving innovation while taking on critical technical and leadership roles.” She noted that in cybersecurity, where threats continue to grow in scale and sophistication, women are helping organizations build more resilient and responsible technologies. “In cybersecurity, where threats continue to evolve in scale, complexity, and sophistication, women are at the forefront of solving complex challenges, building responsible technologies, and developing solutions that help organizations stay resilient while safeguarding communities.”
Elangovan added that organizations must continue investing in skill development to prepare women engineers for emerging opportunities: “On this International Women in Engineering Day, Securonix proudly celebrates the achievements and contributions of women engineers around the world. We remain committed to fostering an environment where innovation, accountability, and data-driven decision-making thrive. To help our women engineers stay ahead in an ever-changing technology landscape, we invest in continuous learning and professional development across AI, cloud, and cybersecurity domains. By combining advanced technical skills with exposure to real-world challenges, we empower them to lead with confidence, respond effectively to emerging cyber threats, and create lasting impact across industries worldwide.”
While participation has improved significantly, industry leaders point out that women remain underrepresented in senior technology leadership roles. According to Swetha Srivastava, Delivery Head – Analytics and AI, Inspira Enterprise, the rise of AI presents a unique opportunity to create a more inclusive future for engineering leadership.
“Although the number of women has significantly grown in the engineering workforce, they remain underrepresented in technology leadership. With AI becoming mainstream, the leadership mindset will become AI-first, further data-driven, and agile in the coming days. Organizations should nurture a more inclusive AI environment and create a level playing field for women in the industry. AI demands creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and ethical decision-making, skills that are inherent to women.”
She emphasized that greater investment in diversity and inclusion initiatives will be essential to ensuring that women have a stronger voice in shaping the future of AI and data-driven innovation: “On this International Women in Engineering Day, we at Inspira celebrate women engineers who are leveraging data and AI to deliver innovative solutions to the world’s complex challenges and establish a secure and resilient digital ecosystem. My vision is to see representation of women in technology leadership to truly reflect how they are portrayed in the general population. This can be accomplished when more organizations launch initiatives that drive Inclusion and Diversity, supporting women in the AI and Data Analytics space. Inclusive workforces can inspire the next generation of women engineers to lead a safer digital future for all.”
Sakshi Jain, Director of Engineering for Continuous Delivery, Harness, said: “As AI accelerates software development, the definition of engineering is expanding. Engineering today is about building responsibly, creating systems that are resilient, transparent, and designed to operate in increasingly complex environments. This shift moves the focus beyond code, placing equal weight on decision-making, design, and how teams collaborate to deliver outcomes at scale. In this new reality, the ability to navigate complexity, balance trade-offs, and build with empathy becomes fundamental. These are not “soft” skills, but core strengths that determine how reliable, inclusive, and adaptable our systems are in practice. This is where the future of engineering is being defined, at the intersection of autonomy and accountability. The real challenge is not just accelerating output, but designing for long-term impact where systems can scale without compromising trust, quality, or control. As the industry evolves, representation becomes a critical part of this conversation. Diverse perspectives don’t just strengthen teams, but shape better systems by bringing in different ways of thinking about risk, users, and outcomes. Engineering intelligence, in its truest form, is not just about what we build, but how thoughtfully we build it and who gets to be part of that process.”
