Women Shaping the Future of AI at EPAM

The International Women in AI Day is an opportunity to recognize the women who are not only participating in the evolution of artificial intelligence, but actively deciding how it should be built, governed and applied.

At EPAM, that work takes many forms. It includes rethinking how engineering teams operate, making complex AI systems safe and reliable and also using AI to simplify everyday experiences for employees. These perspectives show that shaping AI requires more than one kind of expertise: it calls for technical depth, business understanding, curiosity, judgment and the confidence to challenge established ways of working.

In this article, Maryna Didkovska, Donna Rufo and Jalaja Muthuraj share lessons from three areas of AI transformation. Together, their stories illustrate why women’s voices need to be present wherever the future of AI is being defined.

What business problem were you trying to solve with Grace Helper, and what did you learn from introducing AI into a real employee workflow?

We were receiving the same questions repeatedly. Employees had to search through knowledge base articles to understand which information applied to them, or contact our teams and wait for an answer. The information already existed, but people struggled to find it. Grace was created to make this information immediate, accessible and conversational. It wasn't to replace our teams, but to free them from repetitive questions so they could focus on work that genuinely requires human expertise.

Before launching Grace, we tested it extensively in a beta environment and reviewed the answers it provided. When something was incorrect, we went back to our knowledge base and adjusted the content so the assistant could understand it better. That process taught us to focus on solving the problem correctly rather than quickly. AI still requires people to monitor it, improve it and make sure the employee experience remains accurate and useful.

As a leader driving AI-enabled transformation outside a traditional engineering function, what opportunities do you see for women in non-tech fields, such as, for example, travel, finance, HR or operations?

There are opportunities in every function. Start by looking honestly at your day: what do you do repeatedly, what would you like to do less of and which lower-value activities could be handled differently?

You don’t need to wait for someone else to define the opportunity. Learn, experiment and collaborate across teams. AI gives people with deep functional expertise a new way to solve problems, and it can help break down silos in the process.

What practical steps can organizations take to help more women contribute to and lead AI-powered transformation?

AI needs to become a visible topic within women’s professional communities, through talks, learning sessions and practical examples. Women leaders should also have access to external education and industry events, while individuals can take initiative through self-directed learning.

Partnership matters too. Women can champion one another, build networks around a shared interest in AI and create opportunities to learn and succeed together. Organizations then need to recognize and amplify the solutions women create. There are many women doing excellent work in AI, and that work should be visible to leadership and across the company.

Grace itself is a good example: the team that stepped forward to build it was entirely women. They brought different opinions about what Grace should do, worked through those ideas together and created something valuable for employees and the business.

Looking five years ahead, what progress would show that women have an equal voice in shaping AI?

The real measure will not simply be how many women work in AI, but how much influence they have. Are women helping decide what AI should do, how it should be used and what success should look like? They should have an equal voice from the beginning, from identifying the business problem to designing the solution and measuring its impact.

That progress will not happen by itself. Women need to raise their hands, be present in the room, understand the issues deeply and support one another. It is not only about participation. It is about having a meaningful role in shaping how AI changes our work.

To mark Women in AI Day, how would you complete this sentence: “The future of AI needs more women because…

…diverse perspectives lead to better questions, better solutions and more responsible ways of applying technology. The decisions we make about AI today will shape everyone’s future and women need an equal voice in those decisions.

How is AI changing Quality Engineering and what distinguishes EPAM’s approach to AI?

AI is changing not only what we build, but also how we define and evaluate quality. With traditional systems, we could compare requirements with predictable results. AI systems are not deterministic, so we need to look beyond the final output and examine the entire implementation path: which tools the system selected, which actions it took and what risks could emerge along the way.

For EPAM, the differentiator is our engineering DNA, strong architectural perspective and commitment to quality. We are flexible when it comes to tools because tools will continue to change. What matters is our ability to build AI systems that are reliable, safe and responsible.

What opportunities does the growth of AI create for women who are already in technology, as well as those considering entering the field?

AI creates a significant window of opportunity. This new way of working requires people who can understand the business problem, hold the big picture and the details simultaneously, connect requirements to architecture and tasks and verify that what was built still solves the original need.

Technology can help women with implementation, but understanding the real problem and validating the result requires critical thinking. Women who bring that ability to move between the macro and micro levels play an important role. If you understand the problem that needs to be solved, there is space for you in this market.

What can leaders and organizations do in practical terms to remove barriers for women in AI?

Leaders play an important role in creating an environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing ideas, asking questions and offering a different perspective. That kind of trust grows when people know their contributions will be heard and considered.

When someone on your team feels comfortable offering a different perspective on your idea, it can be a sign that you’ve built trust and made room for open discussion. Organizations can bring that same openness to how they look at representation. Numbers matter, particularly in leadership and among the experts given visibility. When the numbers show a significant imbalance, they offer an opportunity to look more closely at the practices and assumptions that may be shaping it.

I am especially grateful to my former manager, Adam Auerbach, who built a team where everyone had the opportunity to contribute and felt comfortable speaking up. Leadership was never defined by gender; people were trusted, supported and given room to grow. The many exceptional women now leading across the organization are a testament to the inclusive environment he created.

Many highly capable women will wait until they feel completely ready before pursuing a new role or sharing an idea. What would you say to someone holding herself back?

If you have an idea, share it, and be prepared to test it or implement it. An idea becomes more credible when you take responsibility for what happens next. A ‘no’ may simply mean that you shared it with the wrong person or at the wrong time.

It also helps to build a trusted group of people with whom you can share an early, imperfect idea, brainstorm and improve it. Confidence is not knowing everything. It is the willingness to keep learning and to solve the problem. Be proactive, propose a way forward and try again.

To mark Women in AI Day, how would you complete this sentence: “The future of AI needs more women because…

…We cannot build unbiased AI while remaining biased ourselves.

What is the main focus of your work today, and how is agentic AI changing Quality Engineering?

My focus is on making Quality Engineering workflows more agentic. Traditionally, test automation was based on deterministic scripts: we understood what needed to be validated and wrote a script to perform that validation. Agentic AI allows us to go beyond those predefined steps by adding greater autonomy and intelligence to the workflow.

This transformation also changes what we expect from Quality Engineering professionals. AI tools should no longer be treated simply as assistants that respond to prompts. We need to evaluate their outputs, because they may not always produce precise, relevant or accurate results.

What opportunities does AI create for women already working in Quality Engineering and for those entering the field?

Quality Engineering has continually evolved, from manual validation to test automation, robotic process automation and now AI-enabled testing. Each transition has required people to learn new capabilities, and this one creates opportunities to move into emerging roles such as AI-native engineering and agentic automation engineering.

For experienced professionals, the opportunity lies in combining domain knowledge with new AI capabilities to elevate their existing profile. Practical implementation is what turns familiarity with technology into an engineering skill.

For those entering the field, AI-enabled testing means they can start with these skills from day one rather than retrofitting them later.

What has been the most difficult part of growing as a woman in engineering leadership?

The challenge has been finding enough time for continuous learning while also delivering projects, mentoring the team and progressing as a leader. When I joined EPAM, I came in as an Engineering Manager, but I was strongly interested in developing AI solutions. I asked for opportunities to work on Agentic AI, even when many clients were still hesitant to introduce AI into their workflows.

Those early opportunities were often pilots, and the technology was new enough that there was not always an established support system. I had to learn while implementing and then help others adopt what I learned. Over time, I became more deliberate about protecting time for my own development while continuing to deliver and mentor others.

I really want to thank my manager, Srinivas Labhani, who recognizes our strengths and creates opportunities for us to grow and share our expertise. The opportunities are there, including for women in India, but we must be willing to step forward, let go of the fear of failure and make the most of it. 

Many highly capable women wait until they feel completely ready before pursuing a new opportunity. What would you say to someone holding herself back?

Wanting to understand a system completely before moving forward is natural, but the expectation of perfection can prevent us from taking opportunities. In the AI era, be ready to fail and be ready to use that failure as part of the learning process.

What practical steps can organizations take to help more women grow into technical leadership roles?

Women need interactive meetups, practical learning sessions and leadership connections where they can exchange ideas and learn from others’ experiences.

It is valuable to hear women leaders share not only their own journeys, but also the contributions and success stories of their teams. Practical conversations about navigating difficult situations, building careers and balancing competing responsibilities can provide support that a standard technical curriculum often does not.

To mark Women in AI Day, how would you complete this sentence: “The future of AI needs more women because…

…Women bring valuable experience in managing complex, interconnected systems, balancing different needs and anticipating risks. Those perspectives can help us build more thoughtful and resilient AI solutions. 

Building a more responsible, inclusive and innovative future requires more diverse voices at every stage.  When women have the space to create, lead and influence how technology evolves, AI becomes stronger and more representative of the world it serves.

Want to help shape that future? Visit our Careers page and explore opportunities to join EPAM.