Women’s Legacy in Futures Studies

From the fragility of emancipation to the challenges of AI: why bringing "HERstory" into foresight is vital for our collective tomorrow.

As we reflect on the evolving landscape of Futures Studies, we observe patterns that warrant careful attention. While the field has long benefited from the contributions of many remarkable women, opportunities for female participation in conferences, leadership roles, and public discourse can at times appear uneven. At conferences, for instance, women can still be less frequently represented as invited speakers or guests, a subtle signal that gendered assumptions may continue to influence participation. Even in discussions around violence against women, persistent stereotypes can occasionally emerge, underscoring the ongoing need for dialogue and action and reminding us that advancements are not guaranteed.

The fragility of emancipation

Approaching the present through the lens of Futures Studies, one point becomes clear: the idea of a linear and constant progression of women’s emancipation remains fragile, perhaps now more than ever. History shows how, in moments of crisis or uncertainty, societies often tend to revert to models of power that push women back to the margins. It is happening again today. There are signs that show an attempt to return to patriarchy even if we are living in a time we tend to describe as advanced. Rather than a straightforward trajectory of progress, we observe a more complex pattern—if not a full reversal, then certainly a non-linear reconfiguration. Emerging cultural signals include the rise of trad-wife narratives promoted by some millennial influencers, the growth of incel communities that embody radicalized forms of male backlash, and the popularity of alpha male influencers who repropose restrictive and often toxic male roles. These trends intersect with broader political currents, including populist and right-wing movements that, in some cases, challenge established gender norms and rights.

These phenomena are not marginal; they function as cultural signals. Within futures thinking, such signals should not be dismissed, as they reveal that the future of female emancipation is not guaranteed: it is a contested space shaped by generational, cultural, and symbolic tensions—perhaps more so today than in the past, as societies grapple with redefining male role identity. That is why, when we talk about “Women’s Legacy” in Futures Studies, we are not simply acknowledging past contributions or celebrating presence, but engaging with the present to better understand what kind of futures are being shaped, by whom, and for whom. And it is precisely here that we want to begin.

These reflections highlight the ongoing importance of discussing female empowerment and challenging gendered assumptions. By engaging in dialogue, sharing knowledge, and fostering inclusive practices, we can work together to preserve hard-won achievements and help shape a more equitable future.

Honoring women’s legacy

When speaking of women who have “looked beyond” and made fundamental contributions to Futures Studies, one name cannot be overlooked: the sociologist Elise M. Boulding. Her work as a futurist is inextricably linked to her commitment to building peace, although it is far more complex and cannot be reduced to a single field of study. Elise Bjørn-Hansen (her name at birth) was born in Oslo, Norway, in 1920. She adopted the surname “Boulding” in the 1940s after marrying Kenneth Boulding, an American economist.

The Bouldings collaborated on numerous research projects. A key element in understanding Elise Boulding’s work is her family’s move to the United States when she was three years old. They left Norway due to the Nazi invasion, and the trauma of this experience convinced her that violence and war are never the solution. These events inspired her lifelong commitment to imagining—and building—a future without war for humanity. This commitment is inextricably linked to her focus on the role of women, and particularly to the caregiving role historically entrusted to women. Hence, the complexity of Elise Boulding’s vision: she cannot be simply labeled a “feminist” or a “pacifist.” She was a futurist who believed in the central role of women in building peaceful futures. Boulding believed that to truly empower women, society must not only recognize their existence, but women themselves must also become aware of their vital role in the world.

In many of her works, Boulding argues that women’s contributions are underestimated also in official statistics. Her thesis is particularly clear in the introduction she wrote for the Handbook of International Data on Women, a work that makes Boulding a pioneer in gender statistics too. She had a long-term collaboration within the United Nations University contexts, and the data used to build the Handbook were also collected all over the world.

In her long life—she died in 2010, at almost ninety years old—she was involved in many projects and conceived fundamental research initiatives. One of these projects particularly ties Elise Boulding to another leading figure in Futures Studies, Eleonora Barbieri Masini. This is the Household, Gender, and Age” project, which Boulding conceived and entrusted to Barbieri Masini for coordination. The field research took place from 1981 to 1991 and involved eight (at the time) developing countries. The final report on empirical studies focused on socio-economic development and women’s lives was published in 1994.

In an interview conducted by Facioni in 2009, Eleonora Barbieri Masini, speaking specifically about the UN project, called Boulding “a great life teacher.” Considering how significant such a definition can be when it comes from a leading figure like Barbieri Masini, it highlights that all those working in Futures Studies owe a great deal (also) to Elise Boulding.

The global status of women

Professor Eleonora Barbieri Masini exemplifies female empowerment. She served for many years as a professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University and as Secretary of the World Futures Studies Federation. In the late 1990s, she founded the Italy Node of The Millennium Project, contributing from the very beginning to the creation of this global network including over 70 nodes now. Those of us who had the privilege of knowing her personally remember her as a deeply respected and much-loved figure in the field of Futures Studies. She demonstrated remarkable intellectual strength and resilience, influencing countless individuals through her scientific work and leadership within the World Futures Studies Federation, and consistently showed a “passionate commitment” to understanding and improving the lives of women. One of her enduring goals was to ensure that diverse visions of the future, including those of women and children, were given a voice in discussions that traditionally excluded them. Her legacy continues to inspire reflection on the importance of representation and diversity in shaping the futures we aspire to.

To assess the current state of female representation, we deciedd to examine leadership roles in some of the major international Futures Studies organizations (data collected in Nov. 2025). Within The Millennium Project, women occupy approximately one-third of staff positions. Among the board of directors, half are women, while one-third of ex officio members are female. Planning committee members and Chairs across different countries show women representing about one-third of participants. These figures demonstrate advancements but also highlight the ongoing need to promote female leadership globally. In the Association of Professional Futurists, women make up almost 45% of the board, and one of the two co-chairs is a woman. Including the treasurer, the overall female representation drops slightly to almost 42%. Similarly, women in the recently elected board of the World Futures Studies Federation constitute half of the members, though this percentage is slightly lower when including the president, a man. While these numbers are not discouraging, there is room for improvement.

According to the Millennium Project (Glenn & Florescu, 2024), the status of women is one of the global challenges facing humanity. This is formalized in Global Challenge 11, which examines how improving the status of women can enhance human conditions. Over the past century, women’s empowerment has been a key driver of social evolution and remains essential for addressing all other global challenges. Currently, gender equality is guaranteed in the constitutions of 84% of nations worldwide. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), often considered the international charter of women’s rights, has been ratified by all countries except seven. Women’s right to vote is nearly universal. However, the Global Gender Gap Index 2025 shows that only 68.8% of the gap has been closed. Health and education gaps are nearly eliminated, at 96.2% and 95.1% respectively, but economic and political disparities remain significant, at 61% and 22.9%.

Women’s representation in politics has progressed over the years but remains limited. In 2024, women comprised 27.6% of national legislative bodies. Over the past fifty years, 52 countries have had a woman as head of state, yet only six countries have achieved at least 50% female representation in parliament. Women in ministerial positions have increased as well, reaching 23.3% in 2024. Participation in the workforce shows that women aged 25–54 had a labor force participation rate of 61.4% compared to 90.6% for men. Women earn 23% less than men globally, occupy only about 15% of corporate board seats, and own less than 20% of land, despite representing nearly half of the agricultural labor force. At the current pace, full wage parity in G20 countries will take another 75 years.

Health and well-being have improved, but reproductive rights and access to family planning are not universally guaranteed. In some countries, women continue to face extreme violations, including female genital mutilation. Violence against women remains one of the most underreported global crimes, often perpetrated with impunity. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing inequalities by increasing unpaid domestic work, limiting access to support services for violence, causing job losses disproportionately among women, reducing wages, and increasing educational dropouts and child marriages. Consequently, achieving gender equality by 2030, as outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals, remains a distant target.

Creating equal opportunities for women could unleash creativity and foster entrepreneurship, particularly as educational gaps have largely closed. Women are more likely than men to be solopreneurs, running businesses independently and shaping their own professional paths. Stimulating the development of new work models, enhancing social protection systems, and supporting female leadership are essential steps toward building a more equitable future. It is also crucial to shift the narrative: women should be seen as modern drivers of change rather than victims. Recognizing their experience, wisdom, and influence allows us to value their active role in society.

Gender bias in the age of AI

Discussing the future inevitably entails addressing Artificial Intelligence (AI), a technology that is increasingly becoming a pervasive infrastructure of contemporary societies. However, AIs are not neutral systems: they are composed of data and algorithms that reflect the social, cultural, and economic structures within which they are produced. As a result, existing inequalities, including gender imbalances, are not only reproduced but often amplified.

Bias can be defined as a systematic distortion in the evaluation or interpretation of data and situations, resulting from prejudices or stereotypical frameworks. Such distortions originate within social and cultural contexts and are shaped by collective beliefs, experiences, and emotions. When these elements are embedded in the datasets used to train AI systems, bias becomes an integral part of the algorithms themselves.

Studies conducted in 2024 by international organizations such as UNESCO and UNDP highlights the presence of bias in Large Language Models (LLMs), including widely used systems such as ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini. Although these models present themselves as neutral, their outputs inevitably reflect the composition of their training data. In particular, the production of digital content has historically been dominated by specific demographic groups—predominantly male, white, and from certain socio-economic backgrounds—thus influencing the perspective embedded within these models. This raises critical questions about the presumed objectivity of AI technologies.

Two key dynamics contribute to the spread and reinforcement of bias: model reuse, where earlier versions of language models already affected by distortions, are integrated into numerous open-source tools, thereby amplifying the scale of the issue; and self-learning systems, where AI systems generate new data for further training, creating a feedback loop in which initial biases are replicated and intensified.

The lack of widespread standards regarding fairness, transparency, and data monitoring represents an additional risk factor. In LLMs, systematic correlations emerge between gender and semantic domains: terms related to care, family, and the domestic sphere are frequently associated with the feminine, while concepts such as career, leadership, and economic success are linked to the masculine. AI-generated narratives tend to use more positive and valorizing language for subjects belonging to dominant groups, while minorities are often described through stereotypes. Algorithms used in the financial sector may indirectly discriminate against women by offering less favorable conditions. This derives from the analysis of historical data reflecting an economic system historically dominated by men.

Experiments conducted on digital platforms (e.g., utilizing OpenAI’s text-embedding-ada-002, GPT-2, and ChatGPT 3.5, alongside Meta’s Llama 2) reveal unequal distribution patterns: lower-skilled positions are predominantly shown to women, while higher-paying opportunities are more frequently displayed to men. In music and cinema, algorithms tend to promote male artists more frequently. Women are also more often funded for lower-budget productions, such as documentaries. Significant biases emerge in visual generation systems and facial recognition technologies: professions such as pilots are associated with men, and recognition systems perform less accurately on individuals with darker skin tones. Even seemingly neutral devices, such as automated sensors, reveal limitations linked to testing on non-representative samples, demonstrating how bias can also manifest at the hardware level. The healthcare sector is not immune to these issues. The use of non-inclusive datasets can compromise diagnostic and therapeutic accuracy for certain groups of patients, with significant implications for equity and safety.

In response to these challenges, the European Union has introduced the AI Act, a regulatory framework aimed at governing the development and deployment of AI. The regulation establishes stringent requirements regarding data quality, accuracy and robustness, obligations for transparency and traceability, and human oversight for high-risk systems. In the medium to long term, these measures may help reduce bias by fostering greater balance in data creation and supervision.

AI, far from being a neutral system, reflects and amplifies existing power structures and social inequalities. Gender bias represents one of the most evident manifestations of this dynamic. Addressing these challenges requires a multidisciplinary approach that integrates technical expertise, ethical awareness, and regulatory intervention. Only through greater attention to data quality and representativeness, combined with effective policy frameworks, will it be possible to guide AI development toward more inclusive and sustainable models.

The “Women in Futures Studies” initiative

Women’s contributions to Futures Studies date back to the distant past. While H.G. Wells was writing about the future, women like Mary Parker Follett pioneered organisational foresight, laying the groundwork for how groups imagine and build collective futures. Despite that, even those well-versed in women’s achievements in academia remain largely unaware of women in Futures Studies. Eleonora Barbieri Masini’s recognition remains niche, primarily among futurists and sociologists, while female scientists like Donella “Dana” Meadows and Rachel Carson struggle to be recognised as futurists. Also, if we look at the media and the public, the situation is doubly bad. But what are the reasons? And, why do we need to bring female futurists out of obscurity?

One key reason is that the “History of Futures Studies” has traditionally focused on male futurists, often overlooking women’s contributions. Like other fields, women’s roles have often historically vanished from records due to patriarchal record-keeping and male-dominated narratives, erasing their stories. Studies estimate that over 100 million women are missing from history because of systemic discrimination and underrepresentation in textbooks. To change the status quo, in the late 1960s–1970s, the term “Her-story” emerged to emphasise women’s suppressed stories within traditional “His-story.”

A new initiative called “Women in Futures Studies”, led by Foundation IIF—the Italian Institute for the Future, aims to integrate HERstory into HIStory by promoting a shift to a more inclusive perspective that fills gaps without replacing established timelines. Despite historical underrepresentation, women like Eleonora Barbieri Masini and Elise M. Boulding, to name a few, actively shaped the field. The project’s purpose is to elevate these hidden voices and enhance gender balance in foresight. Integrating Herstory into History aims to foster equality and inclusion, and bring greater diversity to foresight viewpoints.

In this historical moment of stagnation or reversal in gender equality, initiatives such as these could be turning points. In recent years, there has been a noticeable surge in anti-gender and anti-feminist discourses in international politics. Data show that nearly 40% of countries saw declines in progress toward gender equality between 2019 and 2022. In this contest, the work of female futurists is crucial for introducing alternative scenarios that contest traditional gender roles and patriarchal structures, enabling strategies to avoid undesirable outcomes. Like in Science, we believe that women’s inclusion fosters innovation, ethics, and equitable progress; female futurists challenge techno-centric forecasts, prioritising social emancipation, education and healthcare. Their contributions foster diversity and help build preferable futures by moving beyond purely technological or power-focused narratives. However, to achieve real change, integrating Herstory into History is just the starting point.

In some cases, women in Futures Studies still face exclusion, bias, and disparity. Yet their contributions enrich the field by adding diverse viewpoints, prospects, and ways of thinking about the future that emphasize social emancipation, cultural transformation, and a more ethic and suitable development. In this context, communication helps turn overlooked contributions into visible legacies that reshape the field. In fact, the “Women in Futures Studies” initiative aims to amplify and connect those who work in foresight to bridge gender gaps and inspire future generations of female futurists. By the end of the year, it will produce a first collective publication about some remarkable female futurists. This initiative honours past trailblazers and aims to help overcome current barriers and drive breakthroughs. The project also aims to disseminate and popularise “feminist futures” through media by improving interactions among female futurists, the media, and the public. Especially now, with the emergence of powerful Anti-Gender Movements in Europe and the crisis of democracies, bringing to light the work of the women who contest patriarchal structures and show that alternative futures are possible could be a checkmate.

Women as drivers of change

Eleonora Barbieri Masini (1982) emphasized that women perceive the seeds of societal change, emerging patterns that demand new ways of understanding, through both rational and intuitive capacities. Those who attend to these seeds help build visions that can shape the future. Such visions, when recognized and acted upon, become powerful tools for improving human prospects and ensuring survival in a world increasingly marked by stress and potential catastrophe. As Masini herself stated, “Our future must not only be foreseen and dreamed but also chosen and built”.

Acknowledging and amplifying women’s contributions is not just a matter of justice; it is a strategic imperative for creating futures that are equitable, sustainable, and resilient.