By Yvonne Gill, Executive Director, Tech Women New Zealand
Last week I had the privilege of representing Tech Women New Zealand and Tech New Zealand at the APEC Tech for Good Workshop in Shenzhen, China. A huge thank you to Dr Jieni Guo, APEC Project Overseer and Secretary General of the Beijing International Exchange Association, for the invitation and for hosting me at the workshop.
Held from 8–10 July, the workshop brought together leaders from across APEC member economies to explore one of the most important questions facing our region: how do we ensure rapid advances in technology translate into better, fairer and more inclusive outcomes for people?
Over three days, the programme covered responsible business conduct, tech diplomacy, AI governance, digital inclusion, accessible design, global technology standards, ethical oversight and the role of women in technology leadership.
What stood out most was the shared recognition that “tech for good” does not happen automatically. Good intentions are not enough. If we want technology to support inclusive and sustainable growth, we need the right incentives, governance, skills pathways and voices at the table.
One early comment that stayed with me came from Pichamon Yeophantong in her keynote on responsible business conduct in the Asia-Pacific. She reminded us that “tech for good” is not only about creating positive impact, but also about the responsibility to do no harm. That means considering the social, environmental and human rights impacts of technology across its full lifecycle: how it is designed, who it affects, how it is deployed and what happens when things go wrong.
Technology is moving fast – values must move with it
A strong theme throughout the workshop was the pace of change. Speakers and panellists reflected on how quickly AI, robotics, digital platforms, data-driven systems and emerging scientific tools are reshaping economies and industries.
But many also asked: are our governance systems, ethical frameworks and public institutions moving fast enough to keep up?
Several sessions explored the gap between innovation and oversight, including whether ethical review can act as a “brake” for fast-moving technology in areas such as facial recognition, deep synthesis, brain-computer interfaces and AI-enabled decision-making.
The message was clear: ethics cannot be something we consider after a product is already in market. If technology affects people’s rights, access, safety, privacy or opportunity, those considerations need to be built into design, development and deployment from the start.
Good technology still needs the right market conditions
Another important conversation focused on the misalignment between market incentives and pro-social goals.
Why do technologies that reduce energy use, protect privacy or deliver long-term public benefit sometimes struggle to compete with products optimised for short-term growth, user capture or monetisation?
Markets often reward speed, scale and immediate returns, while the benefits of responsible innovation may take longer to show. That creates a risk that “good tech” is left at a disadvantage unless policy, investment, procurement and governance settings help make responsible innovation commercially viable.
Technology is never just technical. It sits inside systems of incentives. If we want better outcomes, we need to shape the systems around the technology too.
Inclusion must be designed in, not added later
Digital inclusion was another major theme. The workshop explored the digital divide, accessible design and the experience of people often left behind by technology, including older people, people with disabilities, rural communities and those with lower digital access or confidence.
A session on accessible design asked an important question: are accessibility features genuinely designed around people’s needs, or are they too often treated as compliance checkboxes?
That question applies well beyond accessibility. It also applies to gender, cultural and economic inclusion.
Too often, inclusion is retrofitted once a technology, product or workplace has already been built. But by then, many important decisions have already been made: who was considered the “default” user, whose needs were prioritised, who shaped the design and who was excluded without anyone noticing.
If we want technology to serve more people, inclusion has to be part of the earliest design conversations.
A regional conversation about standards and voice
One of the most valuable aspects of the workshop was the regional perspective.
The session on the Global South’s voice in technology standards raised important questions about who gets to shape the rules for AI ethics, cross-border data flows, algorithm auditing and emerging technology governance.
Technology standards are not neutral. They reflect values, priorities and power. If only a small group of economies or organisations shape the rules, others may be left to comply with systems they had little role in creating.
Across APEC, member economies are at different stages of digital maturity, with different social, economic and regulatory realities. That makes regional dialogue essential. We need practical ways to share learning, reduce fragmentation and ensure standards support innovation while protecting people and communities.
It was also fantastic to see such a strong New Zealand delegation contributing across the programme. New Zealand voices were part of discussions on AI, ethics, information systems, standards and women in technology. The other New Zealand delegates and speakers included Kerry McInerney and Saima Qutab from the University of Auckland, Todd Bowman from Standards New Zealand and Mahsa McCauley from AI Forum New Zealand and Auckland University of Technology. It was a proud reminder that while Aotearoa is a small economy, we have important perspectives to contribute to regional conversations about responsible, inclusive and human-centred technology.
Bridging the gender gap in tech
I was honoured to contribute to the workshop’s session on Bridging the Gender Gap in Tech: Inclusion, Leadership and Opportunity for Women, chaired by Mahsa McCauley, Chairperson of AI Forum New Zealand and Associate Professor at Auckland University of Technology. The panel included Irina Saltykova from Russia, Aimi Ramlee from Brunei Darussalam, Bela Nurul Fadhilah from Indonesia and Yan Xia from China.
My contribution focused on the Aotearoa New Zealand context and the work of Tech Women.
New Zealand has a proud history of gender equality, but we still have significant work to do in technology. Women remain underrepresented in our digital technology workforce, startup founding teams, senior executive roles and boardrooms.
From the Digital Skills Aotearoa report:
- Women are 29 percent of New Zealand’s digital technology workforce.
- Women are only 5 percent of tech startup founders.
- Women hold 23 percent of senior executive roles and 18 percent of board roles.
- Māori and Pacific peoples are also underrepresented in the digital technology workforce.
- Men in digital and tech roles earn more on average than women, in both salaried and contractor roles.
These numbers matter because technology is now shaping every sector. As AI becomes embedded into business, education, health, government and daily life, the question is not only whether women can access technology. The question is whether women are helping to build it, lead it, govern it and benefit from it.
At Tech Women, our work focuses on the full pathway. Through ShadowTech, girls in years 9–11 experience what working in technology can look like, meet role models and imagine future career pathways. Through Mentoring Circles, we support women already working in tech to connect, reflect, build confidence and navigate career progression. Through our events and community, we create visibility, connection and practical conversations with employers and allies.
AI makes this work even more urgent
A recurring theme across the workshop was AI, not just as a technical opportunity, but as a governance, workforce and inclusion challenge.
AI can improve productivity, accelerate research, support better services and open up new opportunities. But it can also reproduce bias, concentrate power and deepen existing inequalities if it is built and governed without diverse perspectives.
This is why gender inclusion in technology is not symbolic. It is practical and urgent. If women are missing from the rooms where AI decisions are made, the systems shaping our future will be less representative, less trusted and less effective.
From conversation to application
The final part of the workshop moved from discussion to application, with site visits in Shenzhen showing how technology is being deployed in real-world settings. I visited three companies before heading to the airport.
- At Chengcheng Group Co., Ltd, an egg production company, we saw robotics, AI and biotechnology being used across operations. Did you know the colour of an egg yolk is determined by the hen’s diet? A more orange yolk means they have probably been eating lots of carrots!
- At Shenzhen Qianhai Energy Technology Development Co., Ltd. and Cooling Plant No. 5, we saw energy technology and centralised cooling infrastructure in action. Much of the infrastructure is underground due to Shenzhen’s land constraints. Centralised city cooling lowers energy costs and reduces carbon emissions by pumping pre-cooled water into buildings for air conditioning.
- At Tuya Inc, a global AI cloud platform service provider focused on bringing AI into everyday life, we toured a mock-up smart home. It was a great way to see how AIoT technologies are being imagined for daily living, from connected devices to more responsive home environments. My favourite device was a solar-powered smart bird feeder!
My key takeaway
My strongest takeaway from Shenzhen is this: the future of technology will not be inclusive by default.
It will take deliberate action. It will take collaboration across government, industry, academia and community. It will take investment in skills, leadership and early pathways. It will take governance that keeps pace with innovation. And it will take a commitment to ensuring the people most affected by technology have a voice in shaping it.
Thanks to the organisers, speakers and fellow participants for such a thoughtful and energising workshop.