“Women in Robotics 2026” Awarded

“Women are critical contributors in the fast‑growing field of robotics,” says Dr. Susanne Bieller, General Secretary of the International Federation of Robotics. “This is clearly illustrated by diverse teams developing unbiased AI technology and next-generation robotics systems. These projects aim to open up new sectors for automation, not only in traditional manufacturing settings, but also in healthcare and elderly care, or in consumer markets.”

The Global Gender Gap Report 2025 by the World Economic Forum showed that more and more women have entered the labour market around the world: Today, over 40 % of the global workforce are women. However, the proportion of women in the workforce varies greatly by industry. While the rate of female participation in consumer services, education and care services exceeds 50 %, manufacturing does not even rank among the top ten industries, with participation by women amounting to less than 35 %. This result corresponds with the fact that the share of women within science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is below 30 %.

Ensuring women contribute to the development of robotics is key to building future-ready industries: This is demonstrated by the success stories of IFR's 11 "Women Shaping the Future of Robotics" in 2026. This year's awardees are in alphabetical order:

Younseal Eum – AeiROBOT, South Korea
Stefania Ferrero – Comau, Italy
Christina Jørgensen – Universal Robots, Denmark
Allison Krumpe – HealthTech Partners Global, USA
Henrike Neulen – Intrinsic, Germany
Asami Sasao – Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Japan
Kristina Schunk – Schunk, Germany
Mikell Taylor – General Motors, USA
Susanne Timsjö – ABB Robotics, Sweden
Dana Whalls – Association for Advancing Automation (A3), USA
Prof. Rong Xiong – IPLUSMOBOT/ Zhejiang University, China

The IFR congratulates all Women in Robotics 2026. More details, including the profiles of the individual women, will be published successively on the IFR website. 

(Source: International Federation of Robotics)