Study Highlights AI Skill Gap for Entry-Level Women Professionals

• A new workforce report highlights risks for women as AI skills become increasingly important in the labour market
• The findings are based on the newest Women in the Workplace report by McKinsey and LeanIn.Org

A new report released for the workforce reveals some challenges for women as AI becomes an increasingly essential component of the workforce.

According to the report, women, especially entry-level ones, are likely to be at a disadvantage because of lower encouragement, support, and access to skill-building with AI.

A report released by ‘Menopause in the Workplace’ authors, McKinsey, and LeanIn.Org, shows that women are less likely than their male counterparts to receive encouragement from managers to utilize AI applications when entering a company as a trainee.

The results revealed that while 21 percent of women were encouraged, it applied to only 33 percent for men in their position within companies. Furthermore, it can be stated that it has a great influence on application success.

In the report, it is clear that 37 percent of women in entry-level positions feel that the use of AI will be of benefit to their careers, compared to 60 percent of the workforce at large.

Although entry-level jobs encompass a range of employee age brackets, the results are a concern with respect to the potential for developmental gaps in skills at the early stage of someone's working life.

It points out broader structural barriers beyond AI adoption. Women in entry-level positions are the least likely to have a workplace sponsor.

When women do receive sponsorship, they are less likely than men to report having multiple sponsors or a sponsor in a senior position, which is often associated with advancement in a career.

Furthermore, it states that four in ten entry-level women haven't received any promotion, stretch assignment, or a chance for leadership or career training in the past two years.

This report says that women at the entry level report feeling less comfortable with blatant disagreements or mistakes on the job.

This can ultimately diminish their exposure to opportunities for skill development that have a chance to impact readiness perceptions and widen existing career advancement gaps.

However, despite these obstacles, the report reveals that these women are still strongly loyal to their careers, with 88 percent believing their career to be important to them, identical to the number of males.

However, fewer women were interested in an opportunity to progress within their company (69 percent) than males (80 percent), with personal obligations listed as a constraining influence by women.

The review recommends that employers should develop their early career talent, reduce disparity in encouragement for AI-related opportunities, and use non-biased selection for employment and enhancement opportunities.

On aggregate, it can be assed that unless addressed, organisations are poised to exacerbate their skill disparity, as well as diminish potential female opportunities within an upcoming AI-rich working environment.