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More than Words from Women in BICSI “Generative AI and the Future of Women in IT” By: Kim Osborne Rodriguez, RCDD, Senior Manager, IT Strategy at Ontario Power Generation
The rapid rise of generative AI has many people questioning its role in our society and our work. While much has been written about how AI will impact the future of work generally, few have investigated how AI will affect women specifically.
GENERATIVE AI AND BIAS Bias in mainstream generative AI engines has been well documented. ChatGPT argues that a nurse is female and a doctor is male, and Midjourney depicts CEOs as male and teachers as female even when no gender is specified. As more organizations use AI to create job descriptions, there is a risk that AI bias could be reflected in job postings. For example, using words like “strong,” “aggressive,” and “dominant” can inadvertently signal a preference for male candidates and may discourage women from applying. Bias may also arise in the
and routine tasks typically conducted by women. Project management, planning, design, and construction management are all excellent candidates for AI automation. However, it’s not all doom and gloom. The World Economic Forum predicts that automation will create millions more jobs than it eliminates. So what skills do women need to take advantage of these new jobs? LEARN TO USE GENERATIVE AI There are many examples of how women can use AI to improve and optimize their jobs, and it all starts with learning how to apply AI to construction-specific roles.
evaluation of candidates. If AI is involved in selection and screening processes, AI bias may prevent women from making it through to interviews and receiving job offers. GENERATIVE AI AND JOB LOSS Over the next decade, PwC is predicting that job losses due to AI will disproportionately affect women. In the construction industry, PwC estimates that approximately 16% of all jobs could be automated by the late 2020s, with only 13% of jobs held by men likely to be affected versus up to 43% of jobs held by women. This reflects the more cognitive
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