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There has been endless interest and discussion about generative AI over the past year, and the fervor and concern are only going to increase as tools evolve and more AI products come to market. As part of my Women’s History Month series of articles, I sat down with Matt Strain, aka the AI Whisperer, to understand women’s role in AI. During Matt’s time at Adobe’s Research Lab, he managed a scholarship program for women in technology.
William Arruda: I remember when I was getting my engineering degree, there were only five women who graduated in my class. Women have consistently been underrepresented in tech.
Matt Strain: Surprisingly, despite Ada Lovelace being acclaimed as one of the very first computer programmers in the mid-19th century, the trends for women in tech have gotten worse since you graduated. In the past forty years, the number of computer science graduates who are women fell from 36% in 1986 to about 21% today. The decline started at the time that personal computers were introduced. The computer kits and PCs were heavily marketed towards boys and young men. Unfortunately, the early focus on gaming entrenched the idea that computers and tech were a male domain. The boys who grew up gaming had a significant head start in the technical field. The tech-savvy boys crowded out those girls and boys who were less proficient.
In addition to stereotypes perpetuated through marketing: there’s a shortage of female role models, educational biases, pipeline leaks, workplace challenges, and inherent biases in AI technology that combine to deter women from entering and thriving in STEM fields.
Arruda: You are really optimistic, though, that AI will change a lot of the gender divide in tech. You posit that women are poised to lead the biggest advance in tech in our lifetime–the AI revolution. What changed?
Strain: The transformative nature of Generative AI creates an opportunity–a crack in the system. Last year, when OpenAI introduced ChatGPT, something shifted in the technology landscape that reframes the future of work. The rules for how we interact with knowledge were forever changed. Almost overnight, hundreds of millions of people who identifed as “non-technical” found themselves on a much more level playing field.
The good news is that many of the positions crucial for leading this change are already predominantly held by women today. In areas like HR (where women hold the top HR leadership positions in 72% of enterprises and 81% of startups), ethical AI governance, educational leadership, and change management, women are already in positions to drive change.
Research featured in Harvard Business Review supports that women consistently outperform men in most leadership competencies critical for driving ethical, sustainable AI use and deployment.
Arruda: So what does this mean for women and tech–AI in particular?
Strain: In addition to leadership, the technology aligns with areas where women traditionally excel. The implication is that this shift represents a reset. Making the most of these tools requires skills that are very different from the past. Many of the leadership traits most commonly associated with women are exactly what’s needed.
First, interacting with these new tools requires a new set of skills. Rather than the traditional emphasis on coding and pure technical expertise, generative AI rewards creativity, interdisciplinary thinking, effective communication, and collaboration. These are areas where women have consistently excelled.
Having watched hundreds of people experiment with LLMs, I see that people who come from a non-engineering, liberal arts background have an advantage. In the past, telling a machine to "take a deep breath, slow down, go step by step," or "respond as if you're Anthony Bourdain," would not have turned out well. The conversational nature of these new models rewards these expansive, interactive dialogs with tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Google's Gemini.
Based on what I've seen, people issues will be more challenging than the technical ones. Because AI will impact nearly every job within a company, most employees will undergo a shift in their roles and how they deliver value. Traits like championing change, self-development, and motivating others will all be critical. The good news is that much of this change can be driven by the roles that women already lead.
Arruda: Although AI has been around for just over a year, it seems like if you haven’t jumped onboard yet, you’ve missed the boat.
Strain: Actually, the great news is that this change is still new, and very few companies and individuals have figured it out. I’ve spent the last year briefing CEOs and senior leaders on how to get started with AI. They’re really just starting to engage. Research shows that 54% of workers believe generative AI will advance their careers, but 62% say they don't have the skills to effectively and safely use the technology. What I see echoes this. There's a gap between the potential of AI and where things are today. In many cases, companies are just now getting started.
Arruda: OK, so how can women, and any individual for that matter get started?
Strain: There are so many possibilities:
- Be curious. Educate yourself. Start using ChatGPT4 daily. Don't overthink it. As you go through your day, just start asking it questions on anything and everything. Be serious and silly.
- Raise your hand. Self-identify as the internal AI champion for your team. Start small. Collect and share examples of how AI removed drudgery or enhanced creativity. Share the links and prompts on a wiki page or Google doc.
- Convene a discussion on AI. Start by having lunch with colleagues who are AI-curious. You may evolve to lunch-and-learn sessions for colleagues, and, over time, even into a cross-functional AI Steering Committee.
- Educate others on the potential impact of AI. The impact could be on your own role, on the company and their business model, and on the industry. Develop a compelling point of view and be prepared to share it."
Arruda: That sounds reasonable and positive. Is there anything we should be concerned about?
Strain: The obligatory note of caution: Do not include sensitive or private data into what you upload.
Arruda: Any final thoughts?
Strain: Opportunities like this do not come along often. It’s time to reinvent ourselves and our companies. Women are positioned to play a pivotal role in driving the AI evolution.
William Arruda is a keynote speaker, co-founder of CareerBlast.TV and co-creator of BrandBoost - a virtual, video-fueled course to help you grow your self-awareness and amp up your personal brand.
