Happy AI Appreciation Day! Today offers an excellent opportunity to explore the transformative impact of Artificial Intelligence on gender diversity in STEM fields. Including these insights from three remarkable women leaders.
Janine Morris, Industry Engagement and Strategy Lead, AvePoint
Remote work powered by AI has the potential to make tech roles more accessible to women. Particularly those balancing career and family responsibilities. By promoting flexible work arrangements and offering AI-powered tools that enhance productivity and inclusivity, AI can help attract and retain more women in tech. And, foster a diverse and dynamic workforce.
Furthermore, AI has the potential to significantly enhance the remote workplace by improving communication, collaboration, and productivity. While also fostering more diversity in the tech sector. Advanced collaboration platforms powered by AI facilitate seamless interaction and project management. Ensuring remote teams, including women, stay connected and included in critical decision-making.
AI technologies in the remote-work era provides the opportunity to reduce workplace gender bias by focusing more on productivity. Rather than who is doing the job. This shift can level the playing field for women in male-dominated industries such as STEM. Women who might otherwise face discrimination or bias in a traditional office setting.
Dionne Woo, Chief People Officer, SiteMinder
The latest research on how AI can impact the gender gap in STEM shows the tool is a double-edged sword. On one side, unconscious bias held by the people who are programming and building AI products will lead to that bias being compounded over time. On the other side, using AI in the recruitment process can lead to hiring more women than if the same process was carried out by humans. Largely because women feel there will be less prejudice with an AI-driven recruitment process and are therefore more likely to apply.
While the studies and research around AI will undoubtedly continue to emerge as the technology itself evolves, it is clear that, when used for the right purposes and with clear intentions, AI has the potential to be a force for good. Enabling more women to apply for, secure, and succeed in STEM jobs.
Furthermore, a recent study highlighted young women in particular are not engaging with AI as much as their male counterparts. Which is having a negative effect on efforts to close the gender pay gap. This hesitance to adopt AI at a time when there are still conflicting messages and information about its capabilities in mainstream news is understandable. However, when we look at how it can be harnessed to the benefit of women in the workplace we need to ensure we are not fearing the unknown unnecessarily.
Caution with using new technologies is important, but this should not stop us from leveraging the technology at all. Take a mindset of “trial, test, validate and learn” when it comes to AI. You don’t have to be all in without a Plan B. And, the more experiences women have with trialling and testing AI tools, the better equipped they will be to validate their arguments, learn from their experiences, and use these insights to grow their careers.
Nicole Kelly, CEO and Founder, TaxTank
Artificial Intelligence is revolutionising industries by automating complex tasks and providing data-driven insights. At TaxTank, a women-founded and led fintech, we are continually exploring and evolving our use of AI. And empowering women in tech by simplifying tax and financial management as a result.
AI has the potential to break down barriers for women in STEM. By automating routine tasks and allowing them to focus on innovation and leadership. While the ATO has been leveraging AI for years to enhance efficiency and accuracy in tax compliance, private sector innovations like TaxTank are catching up by developing intuitive AI-driven solutions that are accessible and user-friendly.
TaxTank is dedicated to evolving its AI capabilities to streamline tax processes and promote a more inclusive work environment. By eliminating unconscious biases and demonstrating the practical applications of AI in everyday tasks, we aim to inspire more women to pursue careers in STEM. And, show that they can lead and innovate in technology.
