AI leadership needs emotional intelligence, and more women at the table

When we founded AIBUILD in late 2017, I was building a startup while finishing postgraduate study. It was intense and every day required ruthless prioritisation and decisions under pressure.

But that period shaped everything about how I lead today. I learned quickly that leadership isn't about authority, but clarity and trust. When everyone is stretched thin, and in AI teams, they often are, what matters most is whether people feel supported and know what they're working towards. 

As a woman founder in tech, I care deeply about creating an environment where people actually want to work, where opportunities go to those with potential, not just those with the biggest presence. 

When I think about International Women's Day in the context of tech and AI, I don't think only about celebration, but structure; something impactful that sets the foundation for women to be seen and to flourish.

The biggest structural barrier I see currently across tech and the wider workforce is the gap between competence and visibility. Many talented women wait until they feel fully ready before stepping forward, but meanwhile, many workplace structures reward those who speak first, regardless of whether they deliver consistently. 

This is often an area that many tech companies fall into, reacting only to what's been put in front of them, rather than seeing quality work and dedication achieve a measurable impact from someone who may be less likely to be vocal.

Without intentional support, exceptional women remain invisible.

This is why structural support matters. At AIBUILD, this means more than encouragement, but deliberately creating visibility and pathways for recognition. For example, we actively encourage female team members to represent us externally, lead technical conversations and take credit for their work. Many hesitate at first, but when trust is real and expectations are clear, they always excel, and feel proud to have done so - just as much as we are. 

We've ensured they lead stakeholder conversations, not just contribute slides, and in several cases, those same team members have gone on to run major engagements confidently, simply because clients wanted them to after nailing the brief.

This is especially true for those who typically prefer to stay behind the scenes or don't have the loudest voice in the room; there's always an opportunity to be visible, knowledgeable, and part of a team that will support your expertise and ideas. 

International Women's Day shouldn't just be a moment of recognition, but a reminder to change how decisions are made inside our companies.

I have seen how easily capable women stay quiet while less prepared voices step forward. I have seen how often confidence is rewarded before contribution.

This pattern doesn't just affect careers, but also the quality of leadership shaping critical technology.

When we veered AIBUILD towards work that actually mattered to us, it happened because people spoke honestly and were heard, but that only works when leadership creates space for it.

If we want better AI and a more diverse tech sector in Australia, we need better decision-making environments, and that means making sure the women already doing the work are visible, backed and trusted to lead, and not just invited to participate or trusted to decide.