Why Women's Leadership Is More Important than Ever in the Age of AI

Women are using AI at lower rates than men, and we hold more jobs that are likely to be automated by AI. But women do have a distinct advantage in an AI-powered job market: we’re especially strong at the things AI can’t do.

Using AI can feel like magic. It can generate drafts, perform analysis, write code, or put ideas into a neat framework with lightning speed — but it can’t do the deeply human things that so often drive culture and performance at work. Wharton neuroscientist Michael Platt thinks this may be a moment for “doubling down on what makes us most human: communication, creativity, perspective taking, and judgment under pressure. Those are capacities AI does not replicate well and may never master.”

As businesses increasingly rely on AI, the technology’s deficiencies in these areas could create the conditions that would position women leaders to thrive. Here’s why:

• Women are often strong communicators. We tend to provide plenty of detail and use concrete language in our communications, and we take steps to help people understand how to meet objectives. This offers a distinct advantage when it comes to building consensus and driving results (and it could also make women particularly good at using AI).
• Women score highly on empathy. Empathy may be the most important leadership skill — it can help leaders to understand and mitigate team struggles and roadblocks and fuel a positive culture that leads to superior results. Women often combine empathy with other key skills to become transformational leaders.
• Women tend to lead with ethics in mind. We’re socialized to act communally and are more likely to hold values and set goals that promote the welfare of others, act ethically across many contexts, including in the workplace. When AI tools do not tend to prioritize ethics, people who lead with a moral compass are more important than ever.

Lean In is encouraging women to stay competitive in AI fluency as it becomes a core workplace skill. But AI will never replace other crucial workplace skills — those rooted most deeply in our humanity — where women often excel.

We’re glad you’re navigating this changing world with us.

— Julie Alvin, Executive Editor, LeanIn.Org