Thank you very much.
Madame Chair and committee members, my name is Amy Flood. I am the executive director of the Women's Health Collective Canada.
Thank you very much for the opportunity to appear before you today and to contribute to this important study on the impact of artificial intelligence on women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ individuals.
Women represent approximately half of Canada's population and nearly 40% of our labour force. By 2030, women are expected to control approximately half of Canada's financial wealth. Women also make up 75% of our health care workforce. Women are not a niche population. They are a critical driver of Canada's health, workforce, economy and prosperity. That is why the decisions we make about artificial intelligence matter.
AI has the potential to transform health care, research, education, employment and economic participation. In health care alone, AI is projected to generate billions of dollars in annual efficiencies and savings, yet if these systems are built using incomplete, biased or unrepresentative data, they risk deepening the very inequities they have the potential to solve.
My remarks today focus on women's health and an area where both the risks and the opportunities of AI are especially significant.
For decades, women have been under-represented in health research, clinical trials, health datasets and innovation investments. This has resulted in persistent gaps in our understanding of conditions that uniquely or disproportionately affect women, including not only reproductive health conditions but also menopause, cardiovascular disease, chronic pain, autoimmune disorders and mental health challenges.
These gaps are not only a health issue. They are an economic issue. Research conducted by our partners at McKinsey & Company found that closing the women's health gap in Canada could contribute $37 billion annually to Canada's GDP by 2040 through improved health outcomes, workforce participation, productivity and reduced health care utilization.
The fact of the matter is that AI is only as good as the data it's built on. When that data is incomplete or biased, AI can reinforce existing inequalities, leading to poorer health outcomes for women and gender-diverse populations.
The implications for 2SLGBTQI+ communities are even more concerning. We already lack sufficient sex- and gender-disaggregated data. Without intentional efforts to collect representative data, design inclusive systems and evaluate outcomes across diverse populations, AI risks making already invisible populations even more invisible.
At the same time, AI represents a very extraordinary opportunity. When developed responsibly, AI can accelerate research, improve diagnosis, personalize care, expand access to trusted health information and empower individuals to better understand and manage their health throughout every stage of life. It has the potential to transform how we address women's health challenges from menstruation and fertility, through pregnancy, postpartum care, perimenopause, menopause and healthy aging. We must ensure AI works for everyone.
Women are not a single group and neither are gender-diverse populations. People's experiences and health care needs differ based on factors such as race, age, income, geography, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity. If AI is built using data that doesn't reflect that diversity, it risks leaving many people behind.
Beyond health care, we must also consider who is building the AI economy. AI is reshaping employment, entrepreneurship, research and innovation, yet women remain under-represented in many technology sectors, leadership positions, investment portfolios and commercialization opportunities. Ensuring equitable participation in the development, governance and commercialization of AI is not only a matter of fairness. It is essential to creating technologies that work for all Canadians.
Canada has the opportunity to become a global leader here in responsible and inclusive AI. However, leadership will require intentional action, investment and accountability.
In closing, artificial intelligence presents both tremendous promise and significant risk. If AI systems are built on incomplete data, they may deepen the inequities that women and gender-diverse populations already face today.
However, if built responsibly—