In what she calls “a great honour,” Titi Akinsanmi did not expect to win the North American Women in Tech’s Leadership Award, let alone the Global Leadership Award in Paris in November 2025, but that’s exactly what happened.
Akinsanmi works for Google — though she specified this article reflects her personal experience, and should in no way be affiliated with her employer. She holds a Master’s in Public Policy and Development Management from the University of Witswatersrand and a Master of Laws in Privacy and Cybersecurity from Osgoode Hall Law School. Her professional experience includes consulting with the World Economic Forum and the United Nations.
“I know I want to be able to create opportunities for other women — particularly women of colour — to get into those spaces. I am privileged enough at this point in my life to step into those spaces,” Akinsanmi said.
Recognized for leadership and policy development on responsible artificial intelligence (AI) and data governance, ensuring technology benefits everyone, Akinsanmi explained that she works to make sure the right set of guardrails or policies are in place to ensure that technology is working in a way that enables and strengthens users.
Because of her work, Akinsanmi is often asked if she is a lawyer.
“I am (in) that sweet spot. I’m the ‘non-lawyer lawyer’,” she said. “That helps ensure institutions, governments, and civil society can actually have conversations around innovations in technology; what to adopt, what not to adopt, what to actually build, what not to build, and to make sure that we have the right guardrails in place for those as well, which then means that over the last decade and more, I have been able to … (be) not just at the forefront of emerging technologies, but also, ahead of the curve.”
According to its website, Women in Tech Global was founded in 2018. It has over 65 chapters around the world, and “has been empowering women and girls across six continents through education, business innovation, digital inclusion, and high-level advocacy.”
“Their mission continues to create really, really great opportunities for women to not just showcase their capacity to support the businesses that they start up … (but) to strengthen them,” Akinsanmi added.
She says she was nominated after another woman “spoke my name in a room where decisions were being made, where there was a panel of judges.”
She noted that even before winning the award, she made a commitment to support and strengthen the network as much as she could, as she called Women In Tech’s work “critical.”
“If you’re a woman in technology, you should be joining Women in Tech Canada,” she said.
Akinsanmi’s accomplishment was recognized by Innisfil council in late January.
“It was a true honour to recognize Titi,” Mayor Lynn Dollin said. “This is such an incredible achievement, and her drive, both in her work in tech and through her own business, is truly inspiring. Through her own words, which I couldn’t agree with more, ‘you can do all things when you are surrounded by the right community’. And we are so grateful she and her family are part of our community.”
“The awards that I received (are) in recognition of the work that I have been doing over the last 25 years,” Akinsanmi said.
When asked about women in technology, Akinsanmi says “women are really underrepresented, under-identified, or least identified, and least enabled in the technology sector.”
As a mother of three, Akinsanmi added that it is important her two daughters know they can own and be in any space, at any time.
“Technology is an enabler,” she said. “It is not restricted to one gender. Not at all.”
When asked whether people should fear AI, she said no.
“Technology is like a double-edged sword … You can use it for good, or you can use it for bad,” she said. “Don’t blame technology for the things that happen; it’s the human being behind it.”
“AI is not a replacement … for your responsibility as an adult. Kids’ brains are still developing, so don’t give them unbridled access to technology; don’t give them unsupervised access to technology, which then means you need to be able to educate yourself about what’s happening,” Akinsanmi said.
She said that people can use AI to educate themselves. For example, residents should refrain from accepting terms and conditions of any technological application before reading them, and if they don’t have time to read them, ask a favourite AI application — such as large language models (LLMs) like Gemini or ChatGPT — to summarize for you.
“Don’t just jump on the next bandwagon of an app,” she said. “You are not just going to allow anybody into your privacy (or into your home), so why on Earth are you consenting to any(thing) and everything?”
Akinsanmi says she is Nigerian by birth, Canadian by choice. She and her husband lived in South Africa before immigrating to Canada. They consulted Google Earth in search of an area that was relatively close to an airport with extensive greenery. After travelling back and forth between Johannesburg and Barrie for months, the couple discovered Innisfil Beach Road, which led them to explore the town they have grown to love.
“As an individual. I walk around confidently because of the calm nature of the town … as a parent, my kids can go out and hang out; my neighbours know my kids. And as an African by heritage, I love the notion and the idea that it’s … a community that watches out for its young people,” she said. “Do the young people have enough things to do that they would love to do? Maybe not, but I’m OK with that because it means there are (fewer) things they’re exposed to.”
She also loves being close to the water, and though she believes Innisfil needs more commercial real estate and the community is long overdue for its own GO Transit station, “Innisfil really enables and supports us as a small business owner in this community” — she and her husband own 9Round Kickboxing Fitness (1354 Innisfil Beach Rd., Unit 3).
Yes, Akinsanmi also enjoys kickboxing, which she says is important to strengthen both physical and mental health.
“We are bullish about helping you thrive mentally and physically,” she said. “It’s a full-on gym. (We) are not teaching you to kickbox — meaning, kick other people; no — we’re helping you build strength (through) high intensive, interval training.”
When her family first moved to town, they discovered that there were no courses about digital literacy offered in Innisfil, so they developed their own and taught community members for free from town hall.
“I’m going to train anybody and everybody around me in digital skills. Why? Because when you have technology, it 10 (times) your ability to be able to do everything else,” she explained.
“I am very deliberate about bringing the skill sets that I have to the startup ecosystem,” she said. “We have a huge agricultural community (in Innisfil). How can we bring the path of AI into that space? How can I work with some of the startups?”
When she was completing her first degree, she realized she knew nothing about technology in a world where such skills were quickly becoming critical. She started making and selling chin chins — a West African sweet treat — to her neighbours and her mother’s colleagues so she could raise the funds needed to take computer classes. This move changed the course of her life.
“When I started off my career, I could not identify one woman … who was doing what I was doing. (I had no one I could look up to) so I made a commitment to my 21-year-old self … and said, ‘When I have the opportunity, I am going to be that person that’s approachable’. I live my life by five words: Inspire, inform, involve, impact and … influence.”
“I made it my mission to convince governments to change their educational regulatory environment, and their whole curriculum in general, to ensure everybody had access to this set of skills, and … that more or less … kicked off my career in technology.
She is constantly envisioning where technology is going and working with partners to ensure government, private sector, and civil society are well-prepared.
Throughout her career, she has made herself available for advisory consulting, which has led to opportunities in both for-profit and non-profit jobs.
When asked how she juggles it all, and what advice she’d offer to those who admire her journey, she said to continue learning and, “Having a champion in your corner who is willing to take on more of the responsibility so I can do other things, is critical.”
For Akinsanmi, this person is her husband, as he is always celebrating her wins and making introductions.
“I live a purpose-driven life; (it’s) to create (an) environment where people can interact and use technology and build technology in ways that are good — and I use that word very deliberately … technology is not bad inherently … (it’s) the use of that technology.”
As Black History Month comes to a close and International Women’s Day approaches on March 8, Akinsanmi said, “Women supporting and enabling women makes all the difference.”
To learn more about Women In Tech and Akinsanmi, check out their respective websites.
