Gen Z women risk falling behind if they shun AI
Women could miss out on promotions or pay rises if more isn’t done to promote artificial intelligence to young Australian women, the professional services firm KPMG has warned.
The major consulting and consulting firm says Generation Z women, those aged in their teens to mid-20s, are not showing as much engagement with AI as their male counterparts, right at the time when the technology is on the lips of every business.
KPMG chief digital officer John Munnelly said the lack of engagement risked reversing efforts spent to narrow the gender pay gap when there was evidence that suggested that there could be different pay grades for those who know AI and those who do not.
“We could see that people who can use AI get paid 20 per cent more than people who can’t,” he said.
“If you’re going to end up with this disparity in the way people are paid in the future with people who use AI and know how to use it really well and people who don’t, we’ve got to make sure that doesn’t end up with a massive gender pay disparity gap.”
A recent survey from KPMG, Microsoft and Year 13 of 1048 Australians aged between 15 and 24 showed that female interest in AI was much lower than that of males.
In total, 33 per cent of males reported being very interested in learning AI skills compared to 24 per cent of Gen Z females, while 33 per cent of males had a very good understanding of the technology compared to 20 per cent of females.
The AI Amplified report from Year 13 said solutions will be needed to be developed to make learning about AI more appealing to women and girls. It said that with the use of tech and uptake of tech career paths traditionally leaning towards males, AI presented itself as an area where this gender disparity can be addressed early on.
But Mr Munnelly warned that government and business needed to be careful about how AI is adopted and what it does to the workers of the future.