Kawtar Arahou
Manager, Risk Advisory - Deloitte France
We are the women in AI—the women who are at the forefront of transformation. We look at challenges from a different angle, drive innovation with impact, and are passionate about AI that champions diversity and fairness. We are the women in AI—but we represent only 26% of data and AI positions in the workforce1. There should be more of us. If you are in AI today, let us help you grow. If not, come and join us.
She helps makes AI inclusive
Kawtar Arahou’s interest in AI began early in university, and her passion for it has been growing ever since. “I began to see that what I imagined as a kid was becoming reality: for example, a future in which many tasks, traditionally done by humans are transferred to intelligent machines. I was really curious to understand how it works.”
Today, Kawtar is a manager focussing on AI and analytics at Deloitte France, where she helps clients innovate their way of working. She develops solutions that are capable of learning, explaining, and providing optimised directions to users on how to improve their decision-making, guiding them through their organisation’s AI transformation.
At university, Kawtar completed degrees in both information systems and business administration. But it was not until she joined a startup specialising in data science that she really discovered what she calls the “wonderful world of AI.” Her journey led her to join Deloitte in 2018, where she has been working with a team of data scientists to identify the AI needs of clients by performing analyses to pinpoint areas for machine learning applications.
One of the most exciting parts about Kawtar’s job is the sheer number of opportunities and possibilities within the field of AI. She says AI technology is used in various fields, ranging from health and communication to the construction industry, which call upon several specialties, such as mathematics, computer science, and cognitive science. Kawtar loves this diversity. “We never fall into a routine. Every day is a new subject and a new challenge,” she says.
She particularly enjoys exploring new avenues and new approaches to help clients and communities: “When I work on a project, it's not always clear and it's not always simple, but at the end I generate meaningful insights for the clients, and that is satisfying and makes me very proud.”
This can become an issue when many AI professionals are men. “Men may design the algorithms according to their values and their points of view, which can sometimes be different from those of women.” To mitigate inequalities, Kawtar believes that “we must encourage a mix and diversity of teams.”
Taking a look at her own career, she values the encouragement and appreciation from her colleagues as an important cornerstone for her own motivation, to keep going and to not get discouraged when things don’t work out immediately. Kawtar sees great opportunities for women who want to start a career in AI, and adds: “Companies value women who wish to make a career in this field by offering them important development perspectives and permanent recognition. So, don’t hesitate to consider us, we need your talent!”
