Invest in women: Powering AI for a better tomorrow

CONNECTED Women, a social impact startup, has trained more than 1,000 women across the Philippines as data annotation specialists in the artificial intelligence (AI) industry through its flagship program, Elevate AIDA.

Launched in partnership with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women— better known as UN Women — at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the program was initially designed for women whose household income was affected by the lockdowns caused by the global health crisis.

The program prioritized women from low-income and marginalized groups. These included single mothers, workers returning from overseas, housewives, disadvantaged youth and persons with disabilities.

Thanks to their training, participants are now ready to take on flexible, work-from-home jobs, including data annotation, which involves preparing the data needed to train computer vision applications such as self-driving cars or large language models like ChatGPT.

AIDA program partners take up the challenge

Since 2020, Connected Women has worked with its program partners from the private sector and local government units (LGUs) in sponsoring AIDA trainees, underscoring the important role of partnerships in driving digital inclusion programs. By the end of 2023, the program has trained 1,070 women in the country.

The first LGU to invest in the program was Isabela City in Basilan province. Through the pioneering leadership of Mayor Sitti Djalia “Dadah” Turabin-Hataman, the local government allocated its gender and development funding to train 83 women from its communities.

During the program’s graduation rites, Turabin-Hataman said, “It [was] high time for them (the women of Basilan), who have been traditionally viewed as beneficiaries, to [become] active participants in the digital economy.” The LGU is preparing its women to do just that through the program. In fact, between 2020 and 2023, four batches of Isabela City’s women have completed the program.

Connected Women is also working with the Aboitiz Group of Companies, which has so far invested in training 339 women. Aboitiz Chief Engagement Officer Sabin Aboitiz has voiced high hopes about the partnership and has pledged to support the startup by raising the number of women trained to 300,000 in the next three years.

This commitment is part of a bigger partnership between Connected Women, the Aboitiz Group and the government, led by the Department of Interior and Local Government and the Philippine Commission on Women. Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said during the signing of the memorandum of understanding on the matter: “I call on all local government units, from the governors [and] mayors [to village officials], to support the innovations of Connected Women, especially when it provides for the training of women.”

“Moving forward, let us always remember that our communities’ strengths lie in our united efforts and shared responsibility. When we support this project, we do not only support women, but we are empowering our nation, our country,” he added.

The Aboitiz Group, including Aboitiz Data Innovation and ScaleHub, joins a growing roster of partners and clients that are championing Connected Women’s vision to drive the inclusive workplace of the future.

Bringing in more women into the digital economy

Steph Lagasca, Connected Women’s head of training, said, “[S]urpassing 1,000 Elevate AIDA graduates is a … milestone. We began as newcomers to the AI field, but now we have a strong understanding of our industry contributions. We’ve enhanced our curriculum to maximize our trainees’ experience during the program. Our ongoing partnership with [the] LGU [of] Isabela [City] demonstrates our shared commitment to empowering women with 21st-century digital skills.”

The women of Basilan are a force to be reckoned with. Three of them live on Malamawi Island, where connectivity is a challenge. To participate in the training, they traveled by boat every day to the city center to use the computers of the Department of Information and Communications Technology’s Tech4ED Center.

After completing the program and on-the-job training, women can apply for projects with Connected Women and work from home as data annotation specialists. The company also provides free and unlimited upskilling for graduates.

Invest in women. Partner with us to upskill Filipino women for the future of work.

Connected Women is a Philippinesbased, socially responsible artificial intelligence and digital task outsourcing company that offers high-quality, affordable data services for businesses globally. We equip Filipino women with market-aligned skills and provide them with flexible, work-from-home job opportunities, creating a positive impact for them and their families. For more information, email at partnerships@connectedwomen.com.