The 2nd Women in STEM Cyprus Summit, titled Voices of Change, was successfully held with the backing of Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides.

With more than 300 participants, the event was co-organised by Women in Tech Cyprus and TechIsland. The statement said the summit brought together figures from academia, business and politics to address the challenges and opportunities around gender equality in STEM.

Speakers agreed that the gender gap in STEM and AI leadership persists not because of ability but because of structural systems.

They noted that deeply rooted social norms and stereotypes reinforce insecurity and bias from early education through senior leadership. Although women contribute significantly to science and technology, only 25 per cent of seats on research boards are held by women, signalling that talent exists while the system restricts who advances.

Burnout and stalled progression are also pushing women out of STEM. In the study referenced at the summit, 41 per cent of women in STEM said they had considered leaving or had already stepped away from their careers.

It was mentioned that the reasons are unrelated to skills but include burnout, limited career progression, gender bias, rigid working conditions and the difficulty of balancing work with caregiving responsibilities.

In addition, speakers stressed that supporting women in STEM cannot be reduced to generic wellness programmes. The statement noted that workplaces must be flexible, inclusive and responsive to women’s evolving needs if long-term retention is to be achieved.

Meanwhile, artificial intelligence remains a key area of concern. Speakers said AI systems inherit bias because they are trained on biased data and often built by teams lacking diversity. They added that addressing this requires transparency, bias audits, diverse development teams and organisational accountability for fair and inclusive AI.

The summit concluded with a call for systemic change. In the closing remarks, it was stated that real equality cannot be achieved without educating boys, reshaping cultural expectations, challenging ingrained biases and redesigning the structures that force women to continually prove their worth.

Tanya Romanyukha, Director of Women in Tech Cyprus and General Manager of TechIsland, said the event reflected the honesty and clarity of the participants, noting that “more than 300 participants and 25 outstanding speakers came together with honesty and clarity, in an event that is steadily evolving into an institutional platform grounded in data, open dialogue and collective commitment.”

She added that she wanted to thank speakers, attendees, volunteers, sponsors and partners, saying that “progress happens when enough people decide that it should happen, and act as if it is inevitable.”

She also referred to a survey finding that stood out this year, saying women follow their curiosity when given space.

As she put it, “what stands out for me this year is a simple but significant survey finding: 81% of the women who chose STEM studies or careers did so out of personal interest.”

She said the data shows women continue to strive, and that the barrier lies in decisions made under pressure, in “safe choices” and in the lack of workplace flexibility.

Tanya concluded that the economic impact is substantial, noting that “the global economy could grow by around 20 per cent if women participated in the workforce at the same rate as men.”

The event was supported by MUFG Investor Services, Adsterra, University of Nicosia, Alphamega, i-Con, Parimatch, INXY Payments,  Girls in STEAM Academy, Unity Growth, Cyprus Computer Society, Eurobank,  Nespresso, Girls in STEAM Academy, Unity Growth, Cyprus Computer Society,andSentara.