Dr. Sofia Ghacham, electrical engineer, ICT researcher, and founder of Women in AI Morocco, made the case that artificial intelligence cannot reach its full potential without the full participation of women — and that Morocco, despite its academic promise, still has significant ground to cover.
The path to AI advocacy of Ghacham, who made the statement in an interview with Aujourd’hui Le Maroc paper, runs through two decades of work in critical infrastructure: mobile networks and advanced railway systems. That grounding in high-stakes, large-scale engineering shaped a philosophy of technology that is unambiguously practical. “Useful innovation is innovation that genuinely improves existing systems and responds to real societal needs,” she explained in her interview, applying that same lens to AI. “AI is a powerful tool that must be designed and deployed responsibly, securely, and in service of economic and social development.”
The spark for Women in AI Morocco came during her participation in TechWomen, a U.S. State Department program connecting women leaders in STEM with Silicon Valley’s tech ecosystem. The experience revealed the transformative power of organized community, visible role models, and structured networks — none of which Ghacham felt were sufficiently present for women entering AI in Morocco. She founded the organization in 2025 as the country’s chapter of the international Women in AI network, with a three-part mission: raising awareness of AI opportunities among young talent, supporting women building careers in the field, and contributing to a more inclusive national AI ecosystem through cross-sector collaboration.
The need is clear, she argued. Morocco has strong female representation in scientific and engineering programs — but that presence thins significantly as careers advance, particularly in research, technology entrepreneurship, and AI leadership. “The challenge is to convert academic potential into stronger professional visibility,” she said, pointing to persistent stereotypes, scarce role models, and the absence of inclusive organizational policies as the structural barriers most in need of dismantling.
Her message to young Moroccan women considering AI is direct: set no limits. The field combines science, creativity, and problem-solving in ways that reward curiosity and collaboration as much as technical mastery. “The world of AI evolves very quickly, and those who know how to learn, collaborate, and innovate will have a key role to play in building the technologies of tomorrow.”
For Ghacham, inclusion is not a social obligation alongside the real work of AI development. It is the work. An ecosystem that excludes half its potential talent pool will produce technologies that are less representative, less equitable, and ultimately less competitive. “Integrating women fully into this ecosystem is not just a matter of equality,” she says. “It is an essential condition for building technologies that are fairer, more inclusive, and more representative of society.”
