‘Women worry, men adopt’: research exposes AI-based glass ceiling

As generative AI becomes embedded in everything from drafting emails to preparing reports, a divide is emerging in who uses it and how. New research reveals that women are more likely to question the quality, ethics and downstream consequences of AI-generated work, while some colleagues lean into the speed gains.

Catherine Connelly, professor of human resources and management in the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University, says women’s hesitation is rooted in what they are seeing in the news about AI harms – and the issues are not abstract, but reflections of concrete risks that are increasingly visible in public debate and in workplace discussions.

“It doesn’t surprise me that women notice stories like that and think, ‘That’s horrible, that’s dystopian, I don’t want any part of that,’” she says. “Who knows what’s to come? I think that level of skepticism is very understandable.”