The <A+> Alliance: Affirmative Action for Algorithms
The Lunch That Launched a Movement
A modest working lunch in 2017 convened in collaboration with the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) Women’s Rights Division became a watershed moment for AI equality. Twenty-one OHCHR officers and lawyers gathered in our offices, signaling urgent interest in technology’s human rights implications.
The Exchange That Defined Our Mission
After hearing EPFL Professor Elisa Celis’ research on algorithmic bias, another Mathematics Professor declared: “Thank God there are none of these issues in our math! Our math is neutral!”
Celis’ response crystallized our purpose:
“Professor, who picks the x and who picks the y in an equation ? Anytime there is an equation there is a human hand in the question. And that hand has a point of view.”
This exchange revealed a fundamental truth: even seemingly objective systems carry embedded values. Algorithms aren’t neutral arbiters—they reflect their creators’ choices, priorities, and blind spots.
We Shape Our Tools, Thereafter Our Tools Shape Us
Our subsequent 2018 position paper argued: “Bias is inherent in human life, and therefore in the human data that informs machine learning…
We can either seize this moment to correct bias in the digital realm, as we tackle bias in the analog world, or condemn ourselves to old bias hardwired into the future century of AI.”
From Concept to Global Alliance
Via Professor Celis, we delivered a keynote at Women in Data Science Zürich 2019, catalyzing our transition from dialogue to declaration. Our landmark Call to Action became the foundation of the <A+> Alliance—a coalition advocating for laws, regulations, and norms that embed gender equality and strengthen democracy in emerging technological systems.
The <A+> Framework
We advocated for an Affirmative Action for Algorithms (<A+>) structured around:
- Accountability: Frameworks for algorithmic transparency
- Inclusion: Women’s participation in all stages of AI development from decisions, development to deployment
- Cooperation: International collaboration grounded in human rights
In 2020, the <A+> Alliance was recognized as a Fast Company 2020 World Changing Idea in Data and AI, was a runner up for the WSIS World Summit on the Information Society Awards for International and Regional Cooperation, and chosen as a civil society leader of the Generation Equality Action Coalition on Technology and Innovation for Gender Equality. In 2021, the <A+> Alliance was selected as an official project of the Paris Peace Forum.
In 2025, we joined forces with Code For Africa to co-lead our global coalition advancing gender equality in AI and new emerging technology. This partnership unites Women at the Table’s expertise in feminist governance with Code for Africa’s groundbreaking technical leadership in civic technology, creating a formidable team to drive our work in advocating for Inclusive Algorithms.
See more on our continuing work in the multilateral impact section.