Will AI help or hurt gender equality in the workplace?

The workplace has been a place of inequality for centuries, and it’s only in recent years that we’ve made strides towards fairer conditions and compensation for men and women. Now, with technological innovations like artificial intelligence (AI) being implemented in the workplace, professionals may wonder if it’ll be beneficial or detrimental to the fight for equality.

In this brief guide, we share a number of ways AI could both promote and impede workplace equality.

Help: Fair recruitment processes

Historically, recruitment has relied heavily on human judgement, with the vast majority of companies appointing recruiters or HR professionals to sift through job applications. This has led to biases that have disadvantaged women applying to positions perceived as being “men’s work” – for example, missing out on interviews for manual labour positions in which male candidates may be favoured.

Today, many workplaces are utilising AI to streamline the recruitment process, entrusting the technology to sort through applications and sift out the top candidates for a role based on their skills and achievements, regardless of gender. This allows for a more objective, fair screening of candidates.

Help: Flexible working arrangements

Our society has come a long way in supporting both mothers and fathers who work. While extended maternity leave should be welcomed and encouraged, it can cause financial problems for women if they’re not compensated for the full term of their leave. In addition to parental responsibilities, research has found that 45% of female breadwinners do the majority of household tasks, versus 12% of male breadwinners. This can make it more difficult for female professionals to balance work and home life if flexible working arrangements aren’t in place.

AI tools can be used to automate a large number of work-related tasks, allowing women to streamline their daily schedules and work more efficiently. Similarly, AI platforms can aid companies in offering more remote roles, allowing employees to communicate and collaborate digitally, and women the opportunity to work from home if needed.

Hurt: Potential bias

While AI can help to reduce bias in areas where human prejudice would typically present a problem, it’s important to note that the technology itself can be skewed in the data and content it generates. AI can only draw on information that is already available to it (which would initially have been inputted by humans) which will undoubtedly result in biased decision-making processes at some point if proper precautions aren’t taken. 

Employers should make sure they’re making business decisions based on fair, objective data so that AI isn’t used in a way that will be disadvantageous to women in the workplace. They can do this by fact-checking any content or data generated by AI and running regular audits to identify and eliminate biased or discriminatory information.

Hurt: Technological divide

With AI being implemented in almost every sector, having some understanding of the technology will only become more crucial as AI tools advance. For example, the IT industry relies heavily on AI, yet only 26% of the IT workforce are women. This is likely to result in some disparity in technological knowledge if women aren’t empowered to hone and develop their skills.

Suppose the vast majority of those working closely with AI are male. In that case, we’ll be left with a disproportionate number of men who can implement and work with the technology more effectively than women. This disparity is likely to affect IT roles and create a knock-on effect in other industries – it could be particularly problematic for female entrepreneurs who find themselves in competition with male counterparts who have more technological knowledge.

How can we ensure AI is beneficial to professional women?

Closing the gender inequality gap all comes down to educating workforces and fostering a culture of transparency around equality issues. Employers and employees alike should be aware of the potential pitfalls of AI technology, and take the initiative to crack down on its limitations and problems. By committing to making the workplace a place where women receive the same opportunities as men, we can ensure we’re using the technology to benefit all professionals equally.

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Ellie Sanderson has worked in IT for many years and is passionate about women’s rights in the workplace. She is driven to empower women with the skills they need to succeed in male-dominated fields.