Artificial intelligence (AI) must be used to create more opportunities for women, particularly those living in rural communities who continue to face barriers to information, digital skills and economic opportunities.
This was the message from Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) Chief Director: Products and Platforms, Zanele Mngadi, during the third annual Women in Media and Communications Panel Discussion hosted by the GCIS and Tshwane University of Technology (TUT).
The discussion took place on Wednesday as part of Women's Month under the theme “Coded for Equality: Women, AI and the New Media Landscape”.
Government, academia, media and industry representatives attended the event to discuss women's representation and influence as AI increasingly changes how information is created, distributed and consumed.
Using AI To Support Women In Rural Communities
Mngadi said discussions about artificial intelligence should go beyond how AI could affect women's careers.
She argued that greater attention should be given to how AI can improve access to information and services for women who remain underserved by the digital economy.
“How can we use these tools to make information more accessible to a woman in a rural village – in her own language and through a platform she can access?
“How can we connect her more effectively to information about healthcare, education, agricultural support, business opportunities, government services or protection from gender-based violence?” Mngadi asked.
According to Mngadi, technology becomes more meaningful when women from all communities, including rural areas, are able to have their voices and experiences represented.
“And how do we ensure that her voice and lived experience are present in the stories we tell and the information environment we are building? That, for me, is where technology becomes more meaningful,” she said.
She added that women working in journalism and communications are particularly well placed to use AI to expand access to reliable information.
“In the hands of women journalists and communicators, AI can become a powerful tool for inclusion, enabling us to deliver credible and useful information further, faster, in more languages and in forms that speak to the realities of women wherever they live,” she said.
Women Need Influence Over AI And Technology
The keynote speaker, Gauteng Film Commission CEO Tumi Lebaka, challenged women to look beyond representation in the technology and media sectors.
She said meaningful transformation requires women to have influence over resources, decision-making and intellectual property.
“Equality cannot depend on women becoming better at surviving unequal systems. And we therefore have to participate in redesigning systems themselves,” Lebaka said.
Lebaka warned that existing inequalities could be reproduced through emerging technologies if women are not involved in developing and shaping AI.
“So, if we are to train tomorrow's technology on yesterday's world, we could teach the future yesterday's prejudices,” she said.
She encouraged women to move beyond simply being users of AI and to pursue roles as developers, researchers, policymakers, regulators, entrepreneurs, investors and owners.
Lebaka compared the need for women to participate in AI development with the historic struggle for representation in the media industry.
“Now there is another room we need to enter. That room is the algorithm room, because increasingly the algorithm is becoming another lens,” she said.
Algorithms increasingly influence the content people see, the voices that are amplified and perceptions around beauty, leadership and success.
According to research cited during her keynote, women make up only 22% of AI professionals globally, highlighting the need for greater female participation in the development of artificial intelligence.
Lebaka said representation must also translate into economic opportunities and ownership.
“Representation without economic participation is an incomplete transformation. Because as women, we are fine getting a seat at the table, but now it's time for ownership,” Lebaka said.
Developing AI Skills Among Women
The panel discussion also explored the skills women need to participate in the changing media and technology landscape.
TUT Multimedia Journalism Lecturer, Online Editor and Researcher Sholain Govender-Bateman said coding should be introduced to students from their first year of study, including students in the humanities.
She said journalists need enough technical knowledge to use AI tools effectively within a South African context. This includes understanding whether the data used by AI reflects the experiences of local communities.
“Firstly, we need to speak about on first year level, introducing basic coding, even if you are a humanities student,” Govender-Bateman said.
She added that coding skills could help journalists tell stories about women and communities in ways that promote equality.
Business leader and communication and advertising specialist Mathe Okaba also encouraged women to become more involved in spaces where decisions about AI and technology are made.
“Let's stop being left behind as women. Let's put up our hands and step up and be part of it, influence it…Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty. Be passionate when you get in there. I think in shaping the media landscape, we need to just put up our hands and say, I am there and you'll be counted,” Okaba said.
The panel also included City of Tshwane Councillor Liaison and Stakeholder Relations representative Makhanani Ngobeni, SABC journalist and reporter Patricia Visagie, and Professor of Marketing, Communications and Leadership Prof Vinessa Naidoo.
The speakers examined the opportunities and risks associated with AI in journalism and communications, including bias, ethics, representation, inclusivity, skills development and career pathways.
Bridging South Africa's Digital Divide
Mngadi said government also has a responsibility to ensure women benefit from technological advances.
Through SA Connect, government is working to expand broadband connectivity and community Wi-Fi, particularly in underserved communities.
The National Digital and Future Skills Strategy is also aimed at equipping South Africans with the skills required to participate in the digital economy.
Mngadi said women must have a voice at every level of the technology ecosystem.
“Technology is not automatically neutral. AI learns from data generated by societies with their own histories, inequalities and biases. If those biases are embedded in the data, technology can reproduce and amplify them,” Mngadi said.
She also highlighted the growing threat posed by AI-generated misinformation and disinformation.
As fake text, images, audio and video become increasingly convincing and easier to produce, credibility and public trust are becoming more important.
The GCIS is strengthening its response to misinformation, including work towards developing a government fact-checking capability to proactively identify and debunk deepfakes and false information.
AI Must Benefit Women Beyond The Workplace
The Women in Media and Communications Panel Discussion forms part of the broader partnership between the GCIS and TUT, which aims to bring government, academia and the media together to prepare young professionals for a rapidly changing communications environment.
Mngadi said the success of technological transformation should not only be measured by the number of women working in newsrooms, universities, communications departments or technology companies.
Instead, the impact should also be measured by whether women's participation and influence in these industries improves the lives of women more broadly.
“Our measure of progress cannot simply be how many women are present in our newsrooms, communications departments, universities or technology companies.
“It must also be how much influence women have over where these industries are going, and whether that influence improves the lives of women beyond those rooms,” she said.
As South Africa marks 70 years since the historic Women's March of 1956, Mngadi said the fight for gender equality must now extend into the digital age.
“Women cannot wait for the digital revolution to deliver equality. We must help shape it and use our access to technology to open doors for other women. Our challenge is to ensure that the glass ceiling of yesterday does not become the algorithm of tomorrow,” she said.
