GSMA CMO Lara Dewar Addresses Women Leaders at WSIS and AI for Good Summits
On the side lines of the WSIS+20 2026 Forum and AI for Good 2026 Global Summit in Geneva, GSMA Chief Marketing Officer Lara Dewar joined women ministers, regulators and technology leaders from around the world for the invitation-only Network of Women (NoW) Ministers and Leaders in ICT Breakfast, hosted by ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin.
The Network of Women Ministers and Leaders in ICT has become an increasingly important platform for advancing women’s leadership across the digital ecosystem. The previous two editions, held during the WSIS+20 Forum High-Level Events in 2024 and 2025, created a vibrant space for women ministers and senior leaders to connect, share experiences and collectively shape the future of gender-inclusive digital transformation. Building on that success, the initiative’s third edition reflected a growing recognition that women must be at the centre of discussions shaping the future of digital transformation and artificial intelligence.
Against this backdrop, participants gathered for an intergenerational leadership dialogue focused on the opportunities and responsibilities that come with leading through a period of profound technological change. Addressing the session, Lara reflected on what motivates her work in digital transformation and the importance of ensuring that new technologies are developed inclusively:
“What really drives me in digital transformation is the opportunity to leave the next generation a better, more inclusive industry than the one I experienced. Technology doesn’t develop in a vacuum – it reflects the people and systems that build it. And when you have a technology as transformative as AI, we must all have a hand in shaping what it learns and how it behaves. Because if we’re not careful, we risk taking the bias of the world I’ve grown up in and scaling it through technology. This is a huge challenge, and I don’t underestimate how difficult it will be. But it’s one we have to get right. At times like this, I often come back to something someone said to me earlier in my career: Be like water. You don’t have to fight every obstacle head-on; you just need to find a way through.”
As AI continues to reshape economies, industries and societies, conversations such as these are becoming increasingly important. Ensuring that the technologies of tomorrow reflect the diversity of the people they serve will require governments, international organisations and industry leaders to work together to address existing inequalities and create new opportunities. The message emerging from Geneva was clear: inclusive leadership is not only essential to achieving gender equality in the digital age—it is fundamental to building better technology. As Lara highlighted, the challenge of ensuring AI works for everyone may be complex, but it is one that leaders across sectors must work together to get right.
