New research: Men are twice as likely to use AI in job interviews

Male job-seekers are twice as likely as women (20% vs. 10%) to use AI tools that listen to questions during interviews and feed them answers, according to new research from LeanIn.Org. This really matters, because it may give men a greater advantage than they already have in getting hired for high-paying roles.

To be clear, real-time AI that feeds you answers during interviews may backfire. The tactic is widely considered, and employers are on the lookout for it. But using AI to build and showcase skills, while still applying human judgment, is a different story, as our new research shows employers expect and reward it. Yet women still use AI less than men in many workplace contexts:

Women are less likely than men to use AI in their job search

• Among all jobseekers in the last year, 75% used AI in their search.
• Men are nearly 20% more likely to use AI across all aspects of jobseeking (82% men vs. 69% women).
• One of the largest differences was in using AI tools that listen during the job interview and script answers in real time, with men jobseekers being twice as likely as women to say they do this (20% men vs 10% women).
• Men are alos 43% more likely to use AI to help prepare for job interviews (53% men vs. 37% women) and 36% more likely to use AI for help negotiating their salary (30% men vs 22% women).
• Men and women jobseekers are about as likely to use AI to write cover letters (21% men vs. 21% women), update their LinkedIn profile (19% men vs 17% women), or tailor their resume for specific jobs (23% men vs 21% women).

Men are using AI more often and building new AI skills

• As we reported in April, men are 22% more likely than women to use AI daily or constantly at work.
• Men are also 73% more likely to have learned new AI tools in the past year (38% vs. 22%).

Many employers now expect AI fluency

• About two-thirds of senior leaders agree that employers expect candidates to be skilled at using AI (65%)
• 58% of senior leaders agree that jobseekers who use AI throughout their search are more competitive

Women less likely to broadcast AI use, more likely to hide it

• Among employees who use AI, women are 33% more likely than men to conceal their AI use from managers or coworkers (24% men vs 32% women)
• Reasons for concealing AI use from their manager or coworkers include:
  • Worry my work would be taken less seriously (28% men vs 36% women)
  • Worry people would think I was cheating (29% men vs 34% women)
• This is, in part, a rational response, since women are more likely to be judged for AI use and less likely to get credit for it.

Women also get less support to use AI at work

• Men are more likely than women to be in organizations that encourage and facilitate AI uses
  • Provides AI tools (paid ChatGPT, Claude, or Copilot) (42% men vs 28% women)
  • Provides AI training or learning resources (35% men vs 21% women)
  • Encourages employees to use AI (34% men vs 19% women)

AI use and career advancement go hand in hand

• Compared to full-time employees who rarely or never use AI, employees who use AI at least daily are twice as likely (33% vs 16%) to have received a promotion in the last 12 months
• Employees who use AI at least daily also experience the following advantages:
  • More likely to have received a high performance review in the last 12 months (57% vs 32%)
  • Almost 3 times as likely to have received a stretch assignment in the last 12 months (24% vs 9%)
  • About 4 times more likely to have been selected for a leadership development program in the last 12 months (27% vs 6%)

These trends may simply reflect the ambitions and talents of employees who seek out AI skills, not proof that AI skills themselves lead to promotions. Still, some employees believe that their AI use has contributed to their advancement. Given that men are already ahead on nearly every other AI metric in this survey, the link between AI and advancement raises the stakes. It suggests today's AI usage gap between men and women risks becoming tomorrow's leadership gap.

What women can do

• List AI skills on your resume explicitly (tools, projects). Men are 45% more likely to do this (58% of men vs 40% of women), and it's a competitive signal that many recruiters now expect.
• Use AI for interview and negotiation prep – not to cheat live, but to practice and pressure-test your answers. If you’re a woman, tell the AI tool and ask for advice optimized for women at work.
• Ask your manager for AI training and paid tools. Make a case for how this will allow you to better serve team goals, as this communal framing will make your manager more likely to say yes.
• Build AI skills with Lean In: We’re committed to helping women master AI so that they can continue rising into leadership, and we’ve now released a video series on AI career skills.