Dear News Editor,
The way AI systems process and present information has direct consequences for the visibility of non-profits and public organisations. UN Women recently issued an urgent call to governments and AI developers to embed gender equality in every phase of the AI lifecycle: from development to implementation and governance. This call is based on research demonstrating that a significant portion of AI systems still suffered from gender and racial biases. These findings, published on 1 July 2026, underscore a fundamental problem: biases in AI can undermine the mission of organisations committed to a just society.
Why is this important for non-profits and the public sector? Your organisation exists to serve the public interest and reach diverse target groups. If AI assistants select sources or generate summaries based on biased data, this can lead to certain groups being rendered invisible or misrepresented, such as women and girls, or other underrepresented communities that your organisation serves. Consider a citizen searching for help regarding domestic violence via AI Overviews or a chatbot, or a potential donor using AI to find a charity that defends women’s rights. If the underlying AI models contain biases, it is highly likely that relevant and reliable organisations will be overlooked or not found at all.
The Invisible Impact of Bias
Research from the Berkeley Haas Center for Equity, Gender and Leadership, cited by UN Women, showed that 44% of analysed AI systems exhibited gender bias and 26% exhibited both gender and racial bias. These are not small figures; they indicate a systemic challenge. The biases often arise because AI models are trained on enormous datasets that reflect past and present inequalities. When these systems then generate answers or cite sources, they unintentionally reinforce these inequalities, rather than breaking them down. For your organisation, this means that, regardless of the quality and relevance of your information, it may be overlooked or misinterpreted by AI, simply because the AI ‘learns’ from a distorted view of the world.
What Does This Mean for You?
As a non-profit or public organisation, it is essential to be proactive in this AI landscape.
- Audit your own content and data: Ensure that the information you publish on your website and other digital channels is diverse, inclusive, and representative of all target groups you serve. This helps AI systems to gain a more complete and accurate picture of your work.
- Strengthen your E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness): Emphasise your organisation’s experience, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness. AI systems, such as Google AI Overviews, prioritise sources that consistently publish accurate and helpful content, especially for sensitive topics. This means you must communicate clearly about your mission, target groups, and the impact you make, with clear source citations and examples.
- Be Transparent: Communicate openly about your data collection practices and your commitment to diversity and inclusion. Transparency can help build trust with users and stakeholders, who increasingly expect AI to provide fair and responsible information.
- Advocate for Ethical AI: Consider incorporating advocacy for ethical and inclusive AI development into your own mission. By actively participating in the conversation about AI governance, you can contribute to a future where AI is a tool for equality and not for exclusion.
Source: UN Women
