Boston Consulting Group Study Reveals 68% of Women in the
Tech Industry Say They Use a GenAI Tool at Work More Than Once a
Week, Compared with 66% of Men, with Notable Variations Across
Seniority and Roles
BOSTON, May 14, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Generative AI (GenAI) is proliferating rapidly in
the workplace and while women have historically been less likely to
adopt new technologies than men have (especially in the early
days), a report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) released today
finds that women are generally on par with—or in some cases even
slightly outpacing—men peers in terms of GenAI adoption, with
notable variations across seniority levels and job functions.
The report, titled Women Leaders Are Paving the Way in
GenAI, draws on data from a global survey of more than
6,500 women and men employees across Germany, India, Japan,
the US, and the United Kingdom.
These participants span four seniority levels and eight functions
within the technology industry.
"Fewer than 30% of middle managers and senior leaders in tech
today are women," said Maria
Barisano, a managing director and partner at BCG and a
coauthor of the report. "GenAI presents a unique opportunity to
narrow the gender gap in the tech industry, but it requires
proactive actions from both companies and the women employed by
them."
Notable Variations in GenAI Usage Across Seniority Levels and
Job Functions
According to the survey, 68% of women in the tech industry said
they use a GenAI tool at work more than once a week, compared with
66% of men. Senior women in technical functions (engineering, IT,
customer support, sales, and marketing) are ahead of their men
counterparts in adopting GenAI. These senior individual
contributors (ICs), junior managers, and senior managers lead their
men peers by an average of 14 percentage points. Women senior
managers in nontechnical functions (human resources, legal, and
finance) are trailing their men peers by only 2 percentage points,
while women junior managers and senior ICs are behind by 5
percentage points and 12 percentage points, respectively.
Junior women in technical roles lag their male counterparts by
an average of 7 percentage points, a disparity that could
exacerbate existing pipeline challenges in numerous tech companies.
Those in nontechnical functions lag the most in adoption, at 21
percentage points, increasing the risk of losing gains in
representation as GenAI continues to affect roles and career
success.
Three Key Attributes Driving the Gender Difference in GenAI
Adoption
Although men and women have similar levels of trust in GenAI
tools to meet their objectives, and feel equally competent using
them, the report identifies three significant factors that
contribute to gender disparities in the adoption of GenAI.
- Awareness of GenAI's Criticality. Compared with men,
senior women are similarly or even more aware of the potential
impact of GenAI on job success, while junior women are less aware.
Junior women are behind their men peers in both function types (15
percentage points behind in technical functions and 17 percentage
points behind in nontechnical functions) and they trail senior
women as well, by 24 percentage points and 31 percentage points in
technical and nontechnical functions, respectively. By comparison,
junior men in technical functions are on a par with senior men in
those functions and only 13 percentage points behind senior men in
nontechnical functions. This gap in awareness may be because junior
women do not have the same access as junior men to the networks and
discussions where GenAI strategy is formed and they are not equally
represented in GenAI pilots and initiatives.
- Confidence in GenAI Skills. Senior women in
nontechnical functions lag their men peers by 8 percentage points,
and junior women in all functions are behind—by 7 percentage points
in technical functions and 11 percentage points in nontechnical
functions. This lack of confidence is the only attribute in the
research that explains why senior women in nontechnical functions
who are aware enough and senior enough to understand that GenAI
will be critical to their future success, lag their men colleagues
in GenAI adoption. While there may be several reasons for junior
women's lack of confidence in their GenAI skills, research has
shown that perception and exposure challenges exist for women in
arenas largely occupied by men.
- Tolerance for Risk. Senior women report a
risk tolerance equal to or greater than their men peers in both
technical and nontechnical functions, while junior women lag
relative to their men peers (by 9 percentage points in technical
functions and 16 percentage points in nontechnical functions).
Senior women, having overcome numerous obstacles to reach their
current positions, have developed the ability to take risks crucial
for success. Conversely, junior women in technical roles often feel
less free to experiment, especially with emerging technologies, due
to their relatively lower levels of experience and
authority.
Reducing the Gender Gap in the Tech Industry
Companies that are ready to pilot and scale GenAI can reduce the
gender gap in the tech industry by tackling the three root causes
of gender differences. This can be done through leadership advocacy
and change management, targeted upskilling programs, a robust pilot
design and clear responsible AI policies, and proactive career
management. In addition, women can capture GenAI's possibilities by
proactively engaging and experimenting with the technology.
"Now, more than ever, companies must be hyper-focused on
enacting measures that increase equity in GenAI's adoption but also
support all employees' adoption of GenAI," said Neveen Awad, a managing director and partner at
BCG and a coauthor of the report. "They can begin to reduce gender
gaps and generate outsize impact today by targeting their actions
to individual cohorts."
Download the publication here:
https://www.bcg.com/publications/2024/women-leaders-in-tech-are-paving-the-way-in-genai
Media Contact:
Eric
Gregoire
+1 617 850 3783
gregoire.eric@bcg.com
About Boston Consulting Group
Boston Consulting Group partners with leaders in business and
society to tackle their most important challenges and capture their
greatest opportunities. BCG was the pioneer in business strategy
when it was founded in 1963. Today, we work closely with clients to
embrace a transformational approach aimed at benefiting all
stakeholders—empowering organizations to grow, build sustainable
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Our diverse, global teams bring deep industry and functional
expertise and a range of perspectives that question the status quo
and spark change. BCG delivers solutions through leading-edge
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the firm and throughout all levels of the client organization,
fueled by the goal of helping our clients thrive and enabling them
to make the world a better place.
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SOURCE Boston Consulting Group (BCG)