The gender gap didn’t occur overnight. There was no single event that caused the present inequality. It can subsequently be assumed that there can be no uniform solution. There isn’t any magic bullet. It’s a puzzle, and we’d like to place all of the pieces together so that ladies can have equal rights within the workplace – and harness the potential of generative AI.
As my colleague Phaedra Boinodiris recently wrote: “The importance of diversity in AI depends not on opinion, but on mathematics.” Reference the Diversity prediction setShe showed that the error of mass is small when the variety in a bunch is high. Unfortunately, based on the Study, women only hold:
- 12% of C-suite and board positions
- 14% of senior VP positions
- 16% of VP or Director positions
- 19% of senior manager positions
Even though we increase our presence on the C-level yearly, we don’t fill the leadership pipeline equally. The lack of a pipeline within the leadership funnel is a large problem and a giant reason the gap is widening. If we do not start doing a little things in a different way, the gap won’t ever close.
This 12 months’s report from the IBM Institute for Business Value beautifully highlights what I imagine are the precise areas – including leadership, allyship and risk taking – to deal with the inequality we see. I imagine the stories of other female leaders on this report will encourage women within the workforce to embrace the challenges and opportunities of AI and address current workplace dynamics. I do know they encourage me.
Get the report: “Shaping the long run with AI: Women can take the lead”
Why women can and must lead generative AI
Addressing the challenges of gender inequality and creating real change requires conscious, ongoing commitment from all of us, men and women. It needs to be an unrelenting commitment. And I believe technologies like generative AI might help us try this.
We are still in the beginning of the true, transformative impact of generative AI. The areas where generative AI is currently making a business impact – marketing, human resources and customer support – traditionally have more women. Furthermore, the qualities required to beat the confusion and implement generative AI – empathy, open communication, transparency, strategic vision – are qualities where women are stereotypically considered stronger. Unfortunately these are Traits are sometimes underestimated within the workplacealthough women are more often judged for it.
Am I saying we’re twiddling with stereotypes? Not quite. I’m saying that these qualities are invaluable strengths that we must always lean on. Our empathy, listening and communication skills, and strategic mind are positive qualities that the world needs.
When you set these items together, there is a large opportunity for girls to rise. Now is the time to be daring and take risks.
What is holding women back?
If now we have the chance to shut the gender gap, why is not it happening? Why are women more reluctant to introduce AI than men?
This is partly as a consequence of a scarcity of representation. While 73% of business leaders imagine having more women in leadership roles is vital to mitigate gender bias in AI, only 33% currently have a lady chargeable for AI strategy decision-making.(1) Then there are job security concerns. As the report states, in comparison with their male counterparts, women say they’re more anxious about being replaced by AI (46% vs. 37%), and 59% of ladies say they’re waiting for it that company policies tell them how and where to adopt generative AI.
There isn’t any single barrier and no single solution. But it’s clear to me that three major blockers are , (aka lack of diversity) and a . Unfortunately, these aspects reinforce one another and contribute to this vicious cycle that widens the gender gap.
What helps break the vicious circle?
Forget gender and AI for a second. Take any situation where you’re the minority. It’s harder to talk up, be heard and feel valued. It is difficult for any minority to arise and take risks. For women in business, especially in technology, we are sometimes the minority within the room. The more women there are around us, the simpler and safer it becomes to share our points of view.
How can we get more women into the room? Intentional leadership to start. Not only are we hiring more qualified women, but we’re also creating jobs and roles which might be attractive to women. As you intend meetings, assemble a panel of speakers, or brainstorm projects, ask yourself: Are women evenly represented within the room? Are we elevating women’s voices and concepts as much as those of their male counterparts?
It could also be an unpopular belief, but we’d like our male colleagues to assist us bridge this gap. This applies to those that are leaders, but additionally to those that could be allies. You might help us advertise, speak up and make sure that we’re heard. For women, if you happen to do not have male allies, that you must find them.
Connect all parts
As I discussed, this can be a mystery. There isn’t any magic bullet or step-by-step recipe to follow. There are pieces that need to come back together to shut the gap. If we do not make the vital changes, the gap will widen. But closing it’s a process. Fortunately, the present environment is increasingly conducive to those changes. More and more persons are listening. It’s now not a secret problem.
The pieces of the puzzle at the moment are coming to light and we will need to have “all hands on deck” to resolve the larger picture. From my perspective, a few of these key puzzle pieces are:
Executive leadership
It starts at the highest: Leadership must recognize that this can be a problem and take motion to deal with it. They have to be much more targeted and provides their strategies real teeth.
Ally
Women: Find Male Allies! Men: Be allies to the ladies around you. When there are male allies, they will make women’s voices heard and support our perspectives in ways which might be harder to attain if you end up within the minority.
Brave women who’re willing to take risks
Leadership and allies are usually not enough. Women have a responsibility to be braver and take more risks. As the IBM Institute for Business Value report shows, men are considering generative AI to advance their careers, while women see it as a technique to keep our jobs. That alone makes an enormous difference in the best way we approach learning and implementing generative AI.
As leadership support, male allies, and opportunities fill the space around us, we must lean in. Is that scary? Secure. That’s it, but that also applies to women. We are resilient.
I believe of my mother. She is my hero, my superhero. She has the very best EQ of anyone I’ve ever known. Very generous, very sensitive, very in tune with others. And even she would say, “People can’t read your mind.” She taught us to talk up, follow our passions, set our goals and work hard to attain them. And very necessary: not to simply accept “no” as the ultimate answer. That’s the resilience and toughness I got from her.
As women, we must depend on our resilience and innate strength. It is as much as us to be bolder, seize these opportunities and speak out. When it involves innovating and taking risks, we’d like to remain focused on the goals we set for ourselves, even when we fail or fail. Get back up, do what that you must do, and help other women rise in the method.
These are puzzle pieces that we will control: exertions, self-confidence, faith or mindfulness, resilience. And after all, the choice to pay it forward for the following wave of female leaders.
Get the report: “Shaping the long run with AI: Women can take the lead” Read more: “AI skills for all”
(1) In collaboration with Censuswide, IBM surveyed 4,008 senior business decision makers in corporations with greater than 250 employees in France, Germany, Italy, KSA, Spain, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom in December 2023. These included 2,005 male and a pair of,003 female managers.
This article was originally published at www.ibm.com
