Bridging the AI gender gap: Driving diversity in the artificial intelligence age
"Organisations must ensure that all employees can confidently and productively engage with AI technologies."
AI models are trained on data that sometimes reflects historical or social inequalities, which means they can display biases based on gender, race, or sexual orientation. But this isn't the only issue creating unforeseen equality challenges for today’s organisations.
A recent survey found that confidence around adopting and utilising AI among leaders of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the UK varies greatly according to gender. While just over a quarter (26%) of male-led firms said they were "totally confident" in using AI for their business, only 9% of female respondents felt the same way.
Another study reported that 90% of women viewed generative AI (GenAI) as vital for their professional growth, but only 35% felt fully prepared to utilise these advanced technologies.
With AI technologies poised to take centre stage in the workplace, closing this gender gap and empowering women to confidently embrace and utilise AI is critical.
Lisa Healey, Sales Director at Node4, shared her insights on what’s holding women back, why businesses should care, and the steps that can be taken to level the AI playing field.
What are the primary factors contributing to a lack of confidence among female leaders in the AI field?
"It’s the same issues that some other women may face within their leadership roles. Imposter syndrome, concerns about making a misstep, and a lack of female role models are just some of the challenges that female leaders typically have to contend with. That said, I’d also say that women have a very different mindset and new tech innovations, such as AI.
"When I was first asked to take up an AI leadership role, my first instinct was to do my homework, immerse myself in the topic, go to events and network with peers to get the insights and guidance I needed. Armed with this arsenal of knowledge, and having built a wide community of support, I felt much more confident and prepared to lead AI projects and try new things out.
"When it comes to developing and implementing AI technologies, female leaders will typically first look to build out their tech know-how, understand the limits and risks of AI tools, and evaluate which real-world applications will deliver the most value for their organisation."
What strategies can women leaders use to overcome the imposter syndrome when working with AI?
"Regardless of whether they are working in a tech or business leadership role, women need to draw on their previous experiences of handling situations where they found themselves outside of their comfort zone.
"If I look at my own career journey, every new role I took on involved diving into challenges I wasn’t sure I was appropriately equipped to deal with. These learnings and experiences continue to inform how I tackle new workplace challenges. Whether that’s understanding the importance of networking and creating strong teams to support how you achieve the end goal or ensuring you appropriately scope out each project.
"I guess the message here is, you already have all the management tools you’ll need at your disposal. Ultimately, working with AI should be no more or less challenging than any other task you’ve had to undertake and the leadership approaches and techniques you’ve employed in the past will serve you well.
"Broadly speaking, getting started may involve doing some background reading and a degree of upskilling (or finding techies with the right skills), assembling a high-functioning team to identify the best way forward, reaching out to potential AI sponsors within the business, following up on every action item, and being authentic.
"For me, that means never being afraid to admit knowledge gaps, not letting others flummox you with technical terms, keeping abreast of the latest AI trends and thinking, and accepting that you won’t always get the outcomes you want. Something I hope will resonate just as strongly with the many male leaders who also find themselves approaching AI with a degree of trepidation."
What about more junior women – especially those in non-technical roles? How do you build their confidence around working with AI?
"Upskilling and re-skilling is essential for all workers, male and female alike. As we enter an era where AI is going mainstream in the workplace, organisations must ensure that all employees can confidently and productively engage with AI technologies. That’s especially the case for the many administration and/or support roles that are typically undertaken by female workers.
"Exposure to these technologies will be a must-have, whether that’s one-to-one training or boot camps that will help employees to harness AI technologies in their everyday tasks.
"Finally, as they prepare to pilot technologies such as GenAI, organisations should ensure that junior and entry-level personnel always have a stakeholder voice at the development stage. They will bring a unique perspective on the realities of working with AI-enabled systems on the front line.
"One thing to keep in mind: Whenever I’ve talked to women who feel intimidated about working with AI, I’ve found that many are already doing so without even realising it, thanks to smart voice assistants like Alexa, Siri and Cortana. Once you get that message across, there’s a ‘light bulb’ moment as people realise that they’ve already mastered these easy-to-use AI interfaces. And the next step no longer seems quite so daunting."
Why is it so important that women feel empowered to implement and utilise AI?
"Women in leadership and more junior roles bring a distinct skill set and perspective to the table. Their viewpoint and emotional intelligence can uncover nuances that may be overlooked by others. Organisations that fail to harness these insights to shape AI innovation or the application of AI in the workplace risk missing a trick that may lead to more equitable and beneficial outcomes.
"In recent years, organisations have come to recognise the importance and value of diversity – whether that’s in the make-up of the board or software development teams. Numerous research projects have shown how different people from different backgrounds lead to better problem-solving, increased creativity and innovation, and higher productivity. So, championing skills in AI for all women should be viewed as a major inclusivity opportunity that captures the perspective and creativity of all users.
"Looking ahead, organisations that want to win the war on talent in the era of AI and data will need to demonstrate that they offer progressive AI skills development opportunities for all and that females are well represented in AI-related roles."
So how can organisations appropriately support female leaders to acquire the AI skills they’ll need?
"In much the same way, they support female leaders in building and acquiring other leadership and management skills. That means ensuring female leaders are able to build time into their work calendars for reading and development, providing events tailored to AI knowledge and skills acquisition, initiating mentorship programmes, and ensuring that women can participate in female-focused external forums and networks that will provide the essential support they need.
"Recently I ran an AI roundtable for female executives that provided a safe space for women to discuss their concerns, acquire knowledge, and build their skills-related confidence. The connections that women make at events like this gives them access to a supportive community of like-minded professionals who can share successes and offer encouragement – all of which is vital for ensuring that female leaders are able to navigate their future careers and lead AI projects with confidence. More importantly, it provides a springboard for women to proactively explore and experiment with AI and acquire the critical thinking needed to ensure that test environments are robustly designed to minimise risk."
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