TechShe Sparks: Women Rocking Deep Tech

  Designing Tech That Thinks Before It Feels We talk a lot about empathy in design. About soft edges, human touchpoints, and emotional intelligence in UX. But here’s a bold counter-question: What if sometimes, what tech needs isn’t more feeling — but more function? In a digital world obsessed with “making things feel human,” we risk forgetting that logic is part of what makes us human, too. The capacity to structure, prioritise, and optimise systems — that’s not cold. It’s clarity. 🧩 The Power of Precision Systems built on logic don’t lack heart — they have discipline. Good systems don’t just respond to emotion; they anticipate it through intelligent structure. The best tech products — from scalable AI frameworks to simple productivity apps — rely on systems that self-correct and process complexity through order . This is where rational empathy comes in: the ability to care through clarity. It’s the designer who knows that reducing one unnecessary click saves frustration. It...

  We’ve built a world obsessed with precision. With metrics. With the clean, comforting illusion that logic will save us. But here’s the glitch: A system that ignores emotion is a system destined to fail. We talk about “optimisation” as if it’s the same thing as improvement. We measure engagement, but not empathy. We design for clarity, but not for care. Somewhere between the spreadsheet and the server room, we lost the plot — and the pulse. ⚙️ The Myth of the Perfect System Tech loves the myth of neutrality. Lines of code don’t discriminate, right? But every algorithm, every dashboard, every automated “solution” reflects the people who built it. And right now, those systems are built for logic — not for life. In our obsession with control, we’ve created ecosystems that can compute complexity, but can’t comprehend emotion. AI can mimic empathy, but it can’t feel it. UX can predict frustration, but not prevent burnout. When we strip emotion from systems, we strip away conte...

  There’s a glitch in the system — and it’s not just technical. It’s emotional. We live in an age where Gen Z de-stresses with baby pacifiers. Where scientists confirm parental favouritism. Where women with ADHD are told they’re just lazy. This isn’t just cultural noise. It’s emotional misinformation. And it’s costing women in tech more than we realise. 🧠 When Feelings Are Filtered Out In deep tech, we’re trained to optimise, automate, and abstract. But somewhere along the way, we started filtering out the human signal — the burnout, the bias, the brilliance that doesn’t shout. Women are still being told to “toughen up” in rooms they built. Still being overlooked for promotions because they “don’t speak up enough.” Still being gaslit by systems that weren’t designed with them in mind. And if you’ve ever felt like you had to code your emotions out of your CV , you’re not imagining it — You’re surviving it. ⚠️ Warning of Inaction If we don’t challenge this emotional erasu...

  Tech loves a clean answer. A metric to measure it. A dashboard to display it. But here’s the paradox: the more precise we become, the more blind we often are. In a world run by algorithms, optimisation, and “move fast and automate everything” culture, logic has become our religion — and data our deity. Yet, for all its power, logic alone keeps leading us into the same messy human problems: bias, burnout, and systems that look efficient but feel empty. It’s time we asked the forbidden question: What if the problem with tech isn’t that it’s irrational — but that it’s too rational ? ⚙️ The Cult of Calculation The modern tech industry runs on precision. We A/B test empathy. We quantify attention. We chase “engagement” as if the human mind were a spreadsheet cell waiting to be optimised. It’s elegant, sure. But it’s also deeply fragile. Because life doesn’t obey linear equations. And neither do people. When every decision is filtered through the logic of efficiency, ethics bec...

  Empowering Women in Deep Tech From Tunis to the lab bench to the cloud—these women aren’t just decoding molecules. They’re decoding bias , access , and who gets to innovate . Let’s talk about the kind of brilliance that doesn’t always make headlines: Women in Tunisia using AI to accelerate drug discovery, reduce clinical trial costs, and democratize access to life-saving treatments. They’re not waiting for permission. They’re building platforms that predict protein interactions, simulate compound efficacy, and challenge the pharmaceutical status quo. 💡 Why Tunisia? Why Now? A rising hub for biotech and AI convergence Strong STEM education pipeline with women leading the charge Global partnerships with ethical research labs and open-source data communities These founders are blending: North African resilience Global scientific rigour Feminist tech ethics And they’re doing it with fewer resources, more grit, and a whole lot of strategic brilliance. 🧠 What Makes Their AI Differ...

  Empowering Women in Deep Tech, Inspired by UNDP, SGInnovate, WIDTech, and the unstoppable rise of women-led climate tech. What happens when women lead in deep tech? They don’t just build satellites. They build systems of care, accountability, and climate justice—from orbit. This week, we spotlight Nairobi’s women-led satellite innovation teams—where climate tech meets cosmic ambition. These aren’t just engineers. They’re ecosystem architects, data storytellers, and guardians of the planet. 🌍 Why Satellite Innovation Matters Tracks deforestation, droughts, and urban heat islands in real time Supports climate-resilient agriculture and disaster response Powers ethical AI models with locally sourced, high-integrity data And when women lead these missions? They ask different questions. They design for communities, not just corporations. They build tech that sees everyone —not just the profitable few. 💡 From Nairobi to the Stars: Feminist Tech in Orbit Let’s be clear: this isn’t “...

  A love letter to the tech we almost didn’t have — and the women who dared to speak anyway. Let’s play a little game of “What if?” What if your Wi-Fi just... didn’t exist? What if GPS were still a military secret? What if your Bluetooth earbuds were just overpriced plastic earrings? Now imagine this: It’s the 1940s. Hollywood is glitz, glamour, and a whole lot of men telling women to “stick to the script.”  Enter Hedy Lamarr — a stunning actress with a mind sharper than any diamond on the red carpet.  While the world swooned over her beauty, she was busy inventing a frequency-hopping system to help the Allies win World War II. Yes, you read that right. While others were perfecting their eyeliner, Hedy was perfecting encrypted communication. But here’s the kicker: nobody listened. Her invention was shelved.  Ignored.  Dismissed. Because she was “just an actress.” Because she was a woman. Because brilliance wrapped in lipstick was too much for the patriarchy to ...

  In the quiet hum of algorithms and the pulse of innovation, a new kind of power is rising—one that doesn’t just disrupt industries but rewrites the very narratives of who gets to belong in tech. Deep tech—AI, blockchain, biotech, quantum computing—is often described with words like complex , cutting-edge , or disruptive .  But beneath the jargon, there’s something more revolutionary at play: possibility .  When aligned with purpose, these tools become more than technologies. They become vessels for equity, amplifiers of justice, and engines of inclusion. And nowhere is that possibility more urgent—or more inspiring—than in the pursuit of gender equality . 🌐 Why Gender Equality Needs Deep Tech We know the statistics. Women are underrepresented in STEM, underfunded in entrepreneurship, and underestimated in boardrooms. The UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 (Gender Equality) reminds us that systemic change is not optional—it’s essential. This is where deep tech steps in....

  Last week, we explored what deep tech is — and why women belong in it. This week, we’re spotlighting two global forces working to make that vision real: UNDP and SGInnovate. These organizations aren’t just talking about gender equity in tech — they’re building programs, funding startups, and reshaping ecosystems to make it happen. 🔬 Why Deep Tech Needs Gender Equity Deep tech isn’t just about innovation — it’s about solving humanity’s biggest challenges. From climate modeling to biotech, from quantum encryption to ethical AI, these technologies shape the systems we live in. And if women aren’t part of designing those systems, we risk reinforcing the same biases we’re trying to dismantle. 🌐 UNDP: Driving Inclusive Innovation The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been vocal about the need to close the gender gap in science and technology. Through initiatives like the Gender Equality Seal, STEM4ALL , and Women Innovators in Climate Tech , UNDP is: • Funding women-l...