About Us
We're building a gender-equitable future for artificial intelligence.
We are a global youth-led movement fighting for ethical AI, gender equity, and digital justice. From policy advocacy to grassroots organizing, Girls for Algorithmic Justice is shaping the future of AI by ensuring that technology serves, protects, and empowers—not harms or excludes--women, girls, and other folks of marginalized gender identities. Join us in reimagining a world where AI is a tool for justice, not discrimination.
Our Mission
Artificial intelligence is transforming the world, but it is not neutral. From algorithmic bias to explicit deepfakes, from cyberstalking to online harasssment, AI is disproportionately harming women, girls, and other marginalized communities. Girls for Algorithmic Justice was founded to confront this reality head-on. Our mission is to advocate for fair, transparent, and accountable AI through research, education, and policy reform, with an emphasis on gender equity and inclusivity. We believe that technology should uplift—not oppress—and we are committed to ensuring that AI development prioritizes equity, privacy, and safety.
What We Do
We take a multi-pronged approach to AI advocacy, ensuring that our impact reaches policymakers, tech leaders, and the communities most affected by AI harms. Our work spans across:
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✔ Policy Advocacy: We push for legislation that protects individuals from AI-driven discrimination and abuse, including laws against explicit deepfakes and algorithmic bias.
✔ Education & Awareness: Through workshops, research, and media engagement, we empower young leaders with the knowledge they need to advocate for equitable AI. We also aid computer science and policy educators with bringing curricula on topics in the intersection of AI policy and gender equity into their classrooms.
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✔ Grassroots Organizing: We mobilize young leaders across the globe to challenge AI systems that harm women and girls, and demand greater accountability from tech companies and policymakers.
Our Reach & Impact
Girls for Algorithmic Justice is the world’s largest youth-led organization for gender equity in AI policy. We have:
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A global network of 200+ volunteers across 26 countries
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A combined social media following of over 4,000 followers
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Secured support from major organizations, including Prudential, Ashoka, and Civics Unplugged
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Been recognized with acclaimed honors, including the Prudential Emerging Visionaries Award, the George H.W. Bush Points of Light Award, and a letter of commendation from Governor Phil Murphy
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Been featured in major news outlets, such as MSNBC, Nasdaq, Yahoo News, and USA Today
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Worked alongside federal & state policymakers to advocate for stronger AI regulations and protections against deepfake abuse
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Sent representatives to global conferences including the United Nations SDG Summit
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Provided advisory input to prominent organizations including the United Nations AI Advisory Body
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​Published 100+ educational resources exploring the intersection of gender equity and AI policy
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Raised over $10,000 in grant funding
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Impact of Our #StopExplicitDeepfakes Campaign:
✔ Engaged over 5,000 users through our social media advocacy.
✔ Partnered with advocacy groups to amplify our legislative efforts.
✔ Submitted commentary advocating for a greater focus on explicit deepfakes to the UN Artificial Intelligence Advisory Body.
✔ Published a podcast episode on our podcast Bits & Bytes with Girls for Algorithmic Justice featuring four young advocates combatting explicit deepfakes.
✔ Created dozens of informative social media posts destigmatizing the issue of explicit deepfakes and spreading much-needed awareness.
✔ Published a comprehensive toolkit of resources for victims of explicit deepfakes.
Our Story
Girls for Algorithmic Justice was founded by Anika Dugal in December 2022. Then sixteen years old, Anika was a junior in high school when OpenAI released ChatGPT for public use, a milestone that rapidly brought artificial intelligence into the public consciousness. She was enthralled by AI’s capacity to transform industries, revolutionize communication, and unlock new frontiers of human potential. Yet, as she delved deeper into the field, she was stunned to discover AI’s discriminatory side—how the very systems being hailed as innovative and impartial could, in reality, reinforce and amplify deep-seated societal biases.
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She was particularly appalled by how AI exacerbates gender-based discrimination, a reality that became increasingly evident as she learned about explicit deepfakes—AI-generated, non-consensual sexual images and videos targeting women. These falsified materials, often created without victims’ knowledge, were being weaponized to harass, shame, and silence women in public and private spheres. It wasn’t just deepfakes—hiring algorithms systematically disadvantaging women, biased facial recognition misidentifying women of color, and gendered disparities in AI-generated content were all pressing examples of how AI was failing those it was meant to serve.
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Determined to take action, Anika started Girls for Algorithmic Justice to address these critical issues at their root. What started as an awareness initiative based in her high school soon evolved into a global youth-led movement, advocating for stronger AI regulations, ethical AI development, and protections against AI-driven harms toward women and marginalized communities. Today, GFAJ is at the forefront of AI policy advocacy, empowering young people worldwide to demand accountability and gender justice in the digital age.
The Meaning Behind Our Logo
The != symbol, widely used in programming languages like Java, Python, and C++, represents “not equal”—a condition that signals disparity or mismatch in logic. In the context of AI, this symbol reflects the reality that AI systems are not neutral; they inherit and amplify societal biases, disproportionately harming women and marginalized communities.
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We chose != as our emblem because we refuse to accept inequality in AI. Just as a programmer debugs errors in code, we believe that biased AI systems must be challenged, rewritten, and reprogrammed for fairness. Our mission is to ensure that AI serves all people equitably—without discrimination, exploitation, or harm.