Taking a closer look at the AI adoption gap between women and men

As AI becomes widespread in workplaces, questions of equal adoption across different groups of workers are receiving increasing attention. This matters beyond questions of fairness – unequal AI adoption has implications for productivity, career progression, and the risk that AI tools are built and refined without adequately representing the entire workforce. Yet research shows that women are less likely to use AI at work compared to men, with women’s lower adoption often portrayed as fear-based risk aversion or lack of confidence.

Yet risk aversion alone may be an incomplete explanation. Other factors are at play, including the fact that women face greater occupational risk from AI due to the jobs they work in, have different skills compared to men, and have less of a voice when it comes to AI development. The question is therefore not only whether women are more averse to AI-related risks, but what structural, workplace and societal factors shape their relationship to the technology.