Ten women shaping the future of robotics in 2025. | Source: IFR
To give women in robotics more visibility and acknowledgment, the International Federation of Robotics, or IFR, this week named 10 women who are shaping the robotics industry. The organization said it hopes the list will inspire girls and young women to pursue a career in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) or robotics and help companies to reach gender equality and overcome staffing shortages.
Currently, women make up 48% of the total workforce and just 34% of the STEM workforce, according to the National Girls Collaborative Project. When it comes to engineering and robotics roles, the number is even smaller, with women only making up about 16% of the workforce.
In times of demographic change and an increasing lack of skilled labor, economies around the globe cannot ignore a certain share of it, said the IFR. Moreover, a more diverse workforce has been proven to help companies increase productivity, competitiveness, and innovation, said the organization.
A study from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, or MPI-IS, recently found that academic plus workforce diversity can drive more creativity and innovation. The institute said it brings more productivity and results in systems that are wide-reaching and better at targeting bias.
The IFR said that while the gender gap is narrowing down and the female labor-force participation rate is increasing in many parts of the world, there still is a significant gap in the manufacturing sectors. This is especially exacerbated when it comes to female engineers and scientists. For instance, the female participation rate is only half that of the service sector in Europe.
Meet the IFR’s 10 women shaping robotics
The IFR’s 2025 awardees are:
- Albane Dersy, co-founder and chief operating officer of Inbolt, France
- Ashlie Taivalkoski, director of sales at SCHUNK, U.S.
- Dr. Caren Dripke, head of development robotics at Lorch Schweißtechnik, Germany
- Julia Astrid Riemenschneider, CEO of Rethink Robotics, U.S.
- Kari DeSantis, general manager, corporate marketing at FANUC America, U.S.
- Feng (Kate) Xu, bead of China research and development at ABB Robotics, China
- Kateryna Portmann, Senior Product Manager at ANYbotics, Switzerland
- Susanne Nördinger, UR+ ecosystem manager for EMEA and head of ecosystem success at Universal Robots, Germany
- Yumie Kubota, executive officer and manager of the AI Robotics Department at Yaskawa Electric Corp./president of AI Cube, Japan
- Yunzhi (Amber) Qi, co-founder and general manager of the Overseas Business Division at YOUIBOT Robotics, China
In particular, the IFR was looking for women who have a proven track record in robotics, stand out as industry leaders, or have a proven activity in encouraging young people to go into STEM or support females in robotics. It considered women from all around the world, a variety of company sizes, and different levels of experience.
“The European Commission’s new Competitiveness Compass highlights the integration of robotics as a key technology to boost innovation,” stated the IFR. “Inspiring women to take up STEM subjects and explore career options is important: Diverse teams push innovation, and the robotics industry offers great economic opportunities for high-quality jobs.”
The Robotics Summit & Expo, which will be on April 30 and May 1 in Boston, will include a ticketed Women in Robotics Breakfast on Day 2 of the event.
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