As women in tech know more than most, Artificial Intelligence is transforming industries at an unprecedented pace.
One consequence of this tech-led revolution is that the corresponding regulation around AI must be clear.
What is the EU AI Act?
In recognition of this need for clarity around the perceived rights and wrongs of AI, the EU has introduced the EU AI Act.
It’s the first comprehensive legal framework for Artificial Intelligence.
Don't let the first two letters of the EU AI Act throw you off
The UK is no longer a member of the European Union.
But this legislation is very much worth the time of women in tech in the UK, because the EU AI Act will shape how AI is developed, deployed, and used — creating both challenges and opportunities, writes Abigail Lee and Marina Danielyan of digital and information law firm Gerrish Legal.
Lawyers telling techies about AI?! We realise we might be preaching to the converted…
Women are already at the forefront of AI innovation, driving ethical, inclusive, and impactful advancements in technology.
While women currently represent only 25% of the global tech workforce, they represent a healthier proportion of 32.2% in the EU’s high-tech sectors.
Women in AI jobs, AI-related roles, or whose tech skills are transferable to AI (C# or Java experts can easily upskill to AI mainstay Python), have a unique opportunity to influence this evolving legal landscape.
How being EU AI Act-savvy will help women in tech: top three ways
Central to at least participating in the AI legal landscape, by being compliant, is a good working knowledge of the EU AI Act.
Such know-how about the EU AI Act should:
- help you navigate your AI compliance or a client’s or employer’s AI compliance;
- help you advocate for ‘ethical AI’ and;
- support any tech leadership role that requires you to innovate responsibly.
EU AI Act Guide: A woman in tech’s introduction
The EU AI Act is not a one-size-fits-all rulebook!
The act categorises AI systems based on AI’s role and how much potential harm it poses, with different obligations for each level.
The breakdown is below.
EU AI Act: Four categories
In short, the EU AI Act has four fundamental categories:
- Unacceptable Risk AI: Banned in the EU. This includes manipulative AI or anything that violates fundamental rights.
- High-Risk AI: Allowed, BUT with strict rules for AI in critical areas like healthcare, hiring, and self-driving cars. If you’re a woman in tech working in these areas, expect strict rules on data governance, transparency, and human oversight.
- Limited Risk AI: Requires disclosure. If it’s a chatbot or AI content-generator, users need to know about AI’s role.
- Low-Risk AI: Minimum regulation. Common AI – spam filters, for example.
Obligations under the EU AI Act are determined by the level of risk (as delineated above), and the role of the AI system (i.e. providers, deployers, importers or distributors).
High-Risk AI systems generate the most bandwidth, interest-wise
High-Risk AI systems often have the most obligations to comply with, including conducting conformity assessments before market entry; retaining logs for at least six months, displaying importer details on the system packaging or documentation, and ensuring storage and transport do not affect compliance.
The EU's Artificial Intelligence rules: sector impact assessment
The EU AI Act will significantly impact sectors where AI plays a critical role — many of which have strong female leadership, including HR, healthcare, finance, and ethical AI governance.
Women in these fields are already shaping AI’s future.
Four ‘hot’ areas of AI (development and law) for women in tech
And women will continue to do so in the years to come, too, specifically in or around:
- Leadership: Women in tech have a unique opportunity to influence AI development in critical areas and ensure AI systems are fair, inclusive, and address diverse needs, especially as women are the primary users of healthcare and caregiving services.
- Ethical Practices: Ensuring high-quality data practices, eliminating bias, and promoting transparency are core pillars of the AI Act. Women leading in these areas are setting industry standards and will invariably have come up against bias and the importance of transparency in the tech workplaces.
- Expertise: There is a growing need for AI professionals skilled in ethics and compliance, making ethics an area with substantial opportunities for growth for women. Studies have reportedly already shown that women tend to have higher ethical standards than men, ranging from negotiation and acting in good faith to being less likely to rationalise unethical conduct.
- Equality: The EU AI Act emphasises fairness and non-discrimination, creating a legal framework to address biases in AI systems — something women in tech have long advocated for.
Questions to ask AI solution providers: six for starters
To comply with the EU AI Act, it’s important to ask questions of AI solution providers, vendors, or consulting firms that your organisation or employer might work with when integrating AI into their own business.
We’ve come up with six such questions.
These six are meant for women in tech at companies partnering with such external AI providers to ask, to ensure the provider’s offering or services demonstrate EU AI Act compliance.
- How is AI risk assessed, and what measures are in place to mitigate bias?
- How diverse is the training data, and how is it audited for fairness?
(N.B. In this context, ‘Training Data’ refers to the datasets used to develop and refine AI models. It is crucial not to overlook this area because AI systems learn patterns and make decisions based on the dataset. If the data is biased or unrepresentative, the AI system may inherit and amplify those biases. So this question aims to ensure that AI systems are trained on diverse and fairly audited datasets to promote i) fairness and ii) inclusivity — two issues that we find women in tech instinctively know the importance of).
- Is the AI model explainable and transparent in its decision-making?
- How is human oversight structured, and does it include diverse voices?
- What security and compliance measures are implemented?
- How are gender impacts and inclusion considered in AI development?
These six aren’t queries to only fire at external AI providers.
In fact, if you’re a woman in tech and your own employer (or end-client if you’re an IT contractor) is actively using AI, internally, in their processes, projects and programmes, then similar questions to those listed above should be asked.
Again, your objective is to ensure compliance with the EU AI Act is being taken seriously.
The EU AI Act is more than just an act!
Be under no illusion, the EU AI Act is not just a regulatory framework — it’s a transformational moment for the AI industry.
And as mentioned at the top, don’t be fooled into thinking that as it’s ‘EU,’ the ‘EU AI Act’ does not affect women in tech working in the UK. In fact, given that many UK-based companies work with EU markets, and as AI governance is becoming increasingly global, understanding the EU AI Act is important for almost anyone in tech.
However, it’s women in tech in particular who are uniquely positioned to drive changes being introduced by Artificial Intelligence, lead ethical AI initiatives, and push for accountability.
A final 'know-before-you-go' (code or lead): Impact of EU AI Act on the UK
To reiterate, while the EU AI Act directly applies to entities within the European Union, its implications reach beyond EU borders, including in the UK.
And given that many UK-based companies operate internationally and maintain business relationships with EU organisations, the UK’s AI ecosystem will inevitably be influenced by the EU’s regulatory framework.
Moreover, the EU AI act establishes foundational principles that set a precedent for global AI governance, meaning that UK businesses developing or deploying AI solutions will need to align with its provisions, particularly around risk management, transparency, and fairness.
For women working in AI in the UK, this regulatory shift offers an opportunity to actively contribute to the global conversation on ethical AI and compliance.
As AI ethics and governance increasingly become critical areas of expertise, UK-based women in AI can leverage the EU AI Act to shape policy discussions, implement best practices, and advocate for more inclusive, accountable AI systems.
The act’s focus on mitigating bias and ensuring transparency not only presents challenges but also provides a clear framework for UK professionals to lead by example, driving ethical innovation across borders. Ultimately, while the EU AI Act may not directly govern the UK, its influence will be felt in the UK’s evolving AI landscape, giving women in AI the chance to shape the future of technology on both a national and international scale.
Need more on the law and Artificial Intelligence?
For tailored and practical guidance on EU AI Act compliance, reach out to a trusted, trained, and tech-savvy legal advisory.
Gerrish Legal
Gerrish Legal is a digital commercial law firm based in London, Stockholm and Paris. Gerrish Legal gives contractors the trusted legal support they need to run their business in all areas of commerical, contract, intellectual property and data protection law. Unlike traditional law firms, we follow your legal matter from A to Z. From the moment contractors partner with us, they can rest assured their legal needs will be looked after with the utmost care. We stay on top of the latest trends, embrace innovation, and provide flexible legal advice in accordance with our contractors’ budgets and deadlines.
