For ten years, Women at the Table has sparked systems change by redesigning the tables where decisions shape our world, not just adding seats.
Our coalitions have transformed global trade policy that once ignored women, revolutionized male-centered technical standards, and fought to embed human rights in the algorithms shaping our future.
By targeting the powerful levers of economy, governance, and technology, we’ve built networks that transcend boundaries—placing gender equality permanently at the heart of systems change.
Our coalitions
W@TT: TEN YEARS sparking systems change
Our conviction: gender equality must be the beating heart of any new ecosystem—not an à la carte option. By uniting diverse expertise across disciplines, we create collaboration models that transcend boundaries.
In 2015, we conceived and co-founded the International Gender Champions (IGC) in our first month of operation, establishing its panel parity pledge with the US Ambassador and the Director General of the UN Office at Geneva (UNOG).
Before 2017, the word “woman” had never appeared in any official GATT or WTO documents—a striking omission in institutions governing global commerce. Trade was considered officially “gender-neutral,” and therefore an off limits topic for discussion or research, despite evidence that this neutrality masked substantial inequalities.
For ten years, we’ve worked on transforming how standards are created worldwide, challenging the fundamental assumption that technical specifications are gender-neutral.
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 2020, via the <A+> Alliance, we established the Feminist AI Research Network (f<a+i>r) to move beyond identifying problems to building solutions. We defined Feminist AI as “artificial intelligence harnessed to deliver equality outcomes, designed with inclusion at the core, creating proactive correction of inequities.”
The Gender Gap App (g-app), ideated with international organizations in Geneva, and architected by Thoughtworks, is our groundbreaking open-source tool that transforms how organizations understand participation dynamics. Unlike conventional analytics, g-app reveals the critical gaps between attendance and actual influence through explainable AI visualizations:
The AI & Equality Toolbox doesn’t just identify problems—it creates solutions. When a student writes code that checks for gender bias in a hiring algorithm, when a researcher builds a data collection practice that includes marginalized communities, when a professor restructures their computer science curriculum around human rights principles—these are concrete steps toward a more just technological future.
The AI & Equality Community represents Women at the Table’s commitment to building a vibrant global network that bridges disciplinary divides to ensure artificial intelligence advances human rights and gender equality. This multidisciplinary community connects technical experts, policymakers, social scientists, and advocates who share a vision of an inclusive AI future.
The urgency of W@TT’s mission cannot be overstated. AI systems are rapidly transforming every aspect of society, yet they risk embedding and amplifying existing biases
As we mark our tenth anniversary, we remain committed to building practical applications that center community needs. Our work has proven that AI can work for all—not just the privileged few.
Join us in creating new tools to transform old systems.