What is the purpose of the GRAIN network?

  • Addressing the many gaps in AI and gender in sub-Saharan Africa. There is little or no disaggregated data on gender in general, and this lack is even more glaring in sub-Saharan Africa. There is a disparity between data on gender and Artificial Intelligence. This results in a biased assessment of society's needs.
  • Make up for the low representation of women in the Artificial Intelligence professions. They remain in the minority because they are not encouraged to enter this professional field.
  • Correcting bias and the reproduction of social inequalities in algorithms. Some algorithms are borderline sexist. In fact, it is the designers who create implicit biases in algorithmic systems. This leads us to think that sometimes Artificial Intelligence can generate problems in gender issues instead of providing solutions.
  • Contributing to the construction of frameworks for the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence and taking better account of AI and gender in governance.
  • Promote awareness of African contexts. Promote inclusion in Africa with our issues. For example, there is limited documentation on the harm caused by technology in our contexts.
  • Work towards pan-African collaboration on AI and gender inclusion. Today there is a lack of joint work between French-speaking and English-speaking Africa. And there is no organised group in Africa to galvanise inclusion and gender in Artificial Intelligence.
  • Encouraging multidisciplinary collaboration. Artificial Intelligence is a cross-border issue. There is a need to work together between those involved in gender and those involved in Artificial Intelligence. The issues are cross-cutting for these two fields. We also need multidisciplinary research to be tested in the African environment.
Gender is a cross-cutting issue that concerns us all.