AI Is Tech’s New Glass Ceiling: Why Underrepresentation Of Women In AI Could Stunt DEI For Decades

• The underrepresentation of women in the development and implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning is a critical issue. 
• There’s the valid concern that without careful management and oversight, AI could inadvertently perpetuate or even exacerbate gender inequalities.
• It is essential to continue investing in initiatives that promote gender equality in AI and to ensure that AI systems are developed and used in a way that promotes, rather than hinders, this goal.

The use of AI to narrow gender equality gaps is a complex issue. On one hand, AI has the potential to be an empowering tool for promoting gender equality. For instance, it can be used to analyze and correct biases in hiring practices, provide personalized education resources to girls in areas where they are disadvantaged, or even help ensure that public services are equally accessible to all genders. 

Then there’s the valid concern that without careful management and oversight, AI could inadvertently perpetuate or even exacerbate gender inequalities. This can occur if the data used to train AI systems contain biases, which the AI then learns and reproduces. For example, if an AI trained on biased job application data might learn to favor male candidates over female ones, perpetuating gender inequality in employment. 

Women are underrepresented in AI, which could cause issues

The worries about skewed data stems in part from the underrepresentation of women in the field of AI. Women are significantly underrepresented in tech and AI fields, which could lead to a lack of diverse perspectives in the development and application of AI technologies. 

This lack of diversity can lead to lower-quality AI products, perpetuate stereotypes, and increase discrimination in various career fields. 

Despite the increasing demand for digital and AI-specific skills, women continue to lag behind men in acquiring these skills. In Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, young men aged 16-24 are more than twice as likely to have programming skills, a crucial component for AI development, compared to their female counterparts.

This disparity is also evident in the realm of AI research and development. As of 2022, only one in four researchers publishing on AI worldwide was a woman. While the number of publications co-authored by at least one woman is on the rise, women contribute to only about half of all AI publications compared to men. This gap widens as the number of publications increases.

Globally, women are paid less, hold fewer senior positions, and participate less in STEM fields. As AI continues to mature, questions will inevitably grow about whether it will be used to narrow gender equality gaps or allow these gaps to continue or even widen.

In terms of AI talent, female professionals with AI skills represent a small proportion of workers, lower than 2% in most countries. However, there is a silver lining as the growth rate of female AI talent is outpacing that of male AI talent.

Some initiatives are being taken to close this gap

Various initiatives are being implemented to address these challenges. Governments and educational institutions are investing in programs designed to boost women’s participation in AI. These include skills development programs, scholarships, research grants, and internships. 

For instance, the AI For Good Summer Lab program in Canada provides women in STEM fields with AI training and networking opportunities. Similarly, the AIM-AHEAD program in the United States was created to increase the participation and representation of researchers from underrepresented communities in AI and machine learning.

However, it’s not just technical roles that women can excel in within the AI industry. Non-technical roles such as project management, business development, marketing, ethics, governance, and sales also offer opportunities for women to make significant contributions.

Upskilling is a solution to job loss due to automation and AI

Despite concerns about job loss due to automation, there is optimism about the creation of new job descriptions requiring upskilling and reskilling and how that might integrate more women into the field. Jyoti Joshi, Founder and CEO of Kroop AI, encourages young women to stay updated with changing technologies and embrace AI-enabled tools.

To create an industry free of gender disparity, women should not be deterred by uncertainties brought about by developing AI technology. Instead, they should understand that continuous learning and upskilling will be necessary in every profession.

The problems with AI perpetuating stereotypes 

While AI has the potential to be a powerful tool for women’s economic empowerment, it can also perpetuate harmful gender stereotypes and biases if not properly managed. Therefore, it is crucial for policy makers to put rules in place to ensure that AI systems do not exacerbate existing gender gaps and that harmful gender stereotypes and biases are kept in check. 

Whether we are effectively harnessing the power of AI to narrow gender equality gaps depends largely on how we manage these risks and opportunities. It requires conscious efforts from all stakeholders — governments, companies, educators, and society at large — to ensure that AI is used in a way that promotes rather than hinders gender equality.

While strides have been made towards narrowing the gender gap in AI, there is still much work to be done. It is essential to continue investing in initiatives that promote gender equality in this field and to ensure that AI systems are developed and used in a way that promotes, rather than hinders, this goal.