Zeno Thinks: International Women's Day: Putting the Tea in Equity at Zeno London
On March 8th Zeno London held an EquiTea event to mark International Women’s Day – when the world comes together to lift each other up and inspire the next generation of leaders. This year’s theme was ‘Accelerate action’, emphasising the importance of taking swift and decisive steps to achieve gender equality, so our event was held in aid of Young Women’s Trust - a feminist organisation working to achieve economic justice for young women.
Fuelled by plenty of tea and cake, we discussed equality in the PR industry and heard from the fascinating Margarita Lane, labour market economist at the OECD, about the impact of AI on women in work.
It’s no secret that women dominate the PR workforce. In fact, the latest figures show that 68% of PR professionals are female. Yet despite this, we are still battling with a gender disparity: there continues to be an average gender pay gap of £3,894 - and even though females in leadership roles grew from 63% to 66.9% year on year[1], 61% of PR professionals still reported their boardrooms to be male dominated[2].
Worryingly this gender gap isn’t exclusive to equity. We are also seeing a divide when it comes to AI in the workplace. A recent study by the OECD revealed that female workers were 20% less likely to say they had used ChatGPT than male workers in the same occupation, despite having the same exposure to AI in their jobs.[3] It also showed than women are underrepresented in the AI workforce, meaning their experiences and voices are being omitted from future AI developments and implementation, running the risk of gender bias.
When discussing why this may be the case, it seems the gender gap in AI can start as early as school. With fewer girls than boys taking STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) subjects, this significantly limits the pipeline of women entering AI-related careers. This can then have a knock-on effect for future generations - as without visible female role models in AI-driven fields, many women struggle to see the relevance of AI to their career paths.
Digital literacy can also be a barrier to adoption of AI tools. Sadly, women are still less likely than men to have advanced digital skills and confidence in this area, which can make AI tools seem intimidating or inaccessible.
We also discussed how women can be more likely to comply to rules than men, so using AI tools could feel like they are cheating - or leaning on something to do their job - meaning they are less likely to embrace it or see the benefits.
When looking at the PR Industry, the CIPR reported that 40% of tasks by PR professionals are now assisted by AI tools - spanning everything from content creation and data analysis to media monitoring - leading to a 15-25% increase in productivity.[4] The integration of AI is expected to impact every aspect of PR practice, from strategic planning to execution, making it imperative for PR professionals of any gender to adapt and upskill.
To set employees up for success in this new way of working, companies should therefore ensure they are providing targeted AI training and mentorship programs to empower the workforce - in particular women - with the necessary skills and confidence to remain competitive in this evolving space. It’s also imperative to create inclusive environments where everyone, no matter their gender, feels encouraged to embrace AI tools rather than view them as threats.
By proactively addressing these areas, we can continue to harness AI's benefits, while promoting gender equity in the workplace.
