Women seen at forefront of AI adoption

For decades, the corporate world fostered a persistent stereotype: technology is a male-dominated domain, and women are slower to adopt the tools of the future. That assumption is now being challenged by data from China's rapidly digitizing workplace.

As generative artificial intelligence spreads through offices and factories alike, it is female professionals — not the traditional technological elite — who are showing higher adoption rates and steadier psychological responses, according to new research from Beijing-based Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business.

The findings come from a report by Zhang Xiaomeng, an associate professor of organizational behavior at CKGSB.

Based on a survey of nearly 11,814 respondents across diverse industries, the study shows that female professionals are not only adopting AI faster than their male counterparts, but also reporting lower levels of anxiety as they do so.

Rather than widening gender gaps, the AI transition appears to be elevating capabilities such as adaptability, empathy and communication — areas where women, on average, are demonstrating relative strengths, the report found.

The broader context is a surge in AI adoption nationwide. According to the China Internet Network Information Center, the number of generative AI users in the country reached 515 million as of June, representing a penetration rate of 36.5 percent.

Within this wave of digitalization, the CKGSB study found that women — particularly those with higher levels of education and workplace experience — are utilizing these tools more frequently than men.

The data also reveal a nuanced emotional divide.

While concern about automation is widespread — 85 percent of respondents expressed fears of job replacement — male respondents reported slightly higher anxiety levels.

About 73.5 percent of men said they were worried about AI's impact on their work, compared with 70.8 percent of women. Specifically, older male executives showed the highest levels of anxiety regarding the speed of change.

"The bigger risk is not job loss, but a sense of value erosion," Zhang said.

Her research points to what she described as a "usage paradox": while fear is widespread, frequent use of AI tools significantly reduces anxiety. Because women tend to use the tools more readily, they are effectively protecting themselves from the psychological strain of the transition, she said.

Zhang describes this pattern as the emergence of "resilience squared" — a combination of emotional resilience and cognitive resilience. One allows individuals to withstand pressure and the other helps them navigate uncertainty. Together, she said, they form a leadership profile well suited to periods of disruption.

These findings are echoed in multinational companies, where human-centered skills are becoming commercially decisive.

Poh-Yian Koh, president of FedEx China, argued that women's flexibility and resilience are becoming core business strengths.

"Women not only possess exceptional empathy and long-term strategic vision, but are also especially skilled at building bridges, serving as indispensable 'interpreters' who connect technology with humanity," Koh said.

Speaking at the Women in Leadership Forum hosted by CKGSB in December, Koh shared the journey of her company's digital boot camp, an initiative designed to upskill couriers and customer service staff. The transition was far from smooth.

Koh recalls a veteran employee telling her bluntly: "Boss, I'd rather drive a truck for 100 kilometers than sit in front of a screen for 10 minutes."

Instead of relying solely on performance metrics to filter out resistance, the company focused on patience and emotional support alongside technical training, Koh said, likening the process to nurturing growth rather than enforcing compliance.

The payoff came during a critical period in February, when shifts in international trade policies and US tariff adjustments created a sudden need for complex declaration requirements. IT teams needed time to build new tools, but customers couldn't wait.

"It was those very frontline employees from the boot camp who stepped in," Koh said. Combining their new low-code skills with their deep understanding of business pain points, they built a functional application themselves to handle the volume.

"The tool wasn't perfect, but it solved the urgent need," Koh said with pride. "In that moment, the operators became the developers, and cogs in the machine became game-changers."

Koh emphasized that while male engineers often focus on the precision of an algorithm, female leaders tend to ask a different set of questions, such as "Will the user feel anxious?"

"Technology can be replicated. Empathy cannot," Koh emphasized. "In the age of intelligence, trust is the scarcest resource."

The rise of women's participation in technology is not happening in a vacuum. It is being propelled by national policies aimed at mobilizing what is often called "She Power" in science and technology.

Official data show that women now account for approximately 45.8 percent of the nation's scientific and technological workforce.

Since 2021, the All-China Women's Federation, together with multiple ministries, have promoted the Women's Action for Scientific and Technological Innovation, aimed at mobilizing female talent to support technological self-reliance.

Such efforts align with the country's push to develop new quality productive forces, ensuring that half the workforce is not left behind in digital transformation.

Wang Chuqiao, charge d'affaires at UN Women China, framed equality as a measurable growth strategy.

Wang cited UN Women research indicating that advancing gender equality could offer massive economic potential. He said the logic is reinforced by the "silver economy" — a sector projected to reach 30 trillion yuan ($4.1 trillion) by 2035.

Women make around 75 percent of household purchasing decisions and tend to outlive men, Wang noted, adding that ignoring women's perspectives in AI-driven product design would mean overlooking a core growth driver.

"When women hold more board positions, companies perform better and manage volatility more effectively," Wang said, pointing to consistent findings across Asia-Pacific markets linking diversity to stronger share prices and risk management.

Despite the optimistic data on adoption, structural hurdles remain.

Li Haitao, dean of CKGSB, noted that while the school has seen female MBA enrollment jump to 49 percent, up from 16 percent in 2003, education is just the starting line.

Without deliberate safeguards, algorithmic bias could offset progress, Wang said, noting that AI systems trained on historical data often reproduce stereotypes, such as depicting doctors as men and nurses as women.

Technology itself is neutral, experts said, but outcomes depend on who designs it, who deploys it and whose experiences are reflected in its logic.

With women demonstrating higher adaptability and lower anxiety in AI adoption, the transition presents an opportunity — not a guarantee — for recalibration.

As Koh put it: "Technology determines how fast we move. Humanity determines how far we go."

lijing2009@chinadaily.com.cn