A Dialogue on AI, Equity, and SUNY's Workforce

Hello all,

This week's wisdom focuses on AI and the tech workforce, prompted by a recent article from Forbes titled 71% Of AI Workforce Is Men, Just 29% Are Women — Here’s How To Fix This

The article draws on research from a new report titled Understanding Talent Scarcity: AI and Equity, from global recruiting and talent company Randstad.

"It’s widely known that men have dominated the tech sector job arena by about a 2-to-1 margin for years. Unfortunately, within the AI workforce, the digital divide between the genders has widened, as 71% of the AI-skilled workers are men and 29% women, representing a 42 percentage point spread in the gender gap."

Other experts in this area are cited in the article, including Julia McCoy, CEO & Chief AI Integrator of First Movers who "wrote in a text message exchange that this digital gender divide is not just serious — it’s critical. I’ve seen firsthand how AI is fundamentally reshaping every industry. When women represent only 15-34% of AI talent across experience levels, we're not just looking at a gender gap — we're looking at systematically excluding half our workforce from the future of work itself... For institutions, we need to stop treating AI as a ‘tech thing’ and start treating it as a ‘future of work thing.’ This means integrating AI training across all disciplines, not just computer science,” she wrote."

The article lists these four recommendations for specific initiative types:

• Workplace Initiatives: Companies must actively provide equal access to AI skilling programs for women. This includes mentorship programs, sponsorships and creating inclusive environments where women feel empowered to pursue advanced technical roles.
• Early Education: Schools need to encourage girls to engage with STEM subjects early on. Offering coding workshops, AI boot camps and exposure to female role models in tech can help spark interest.
• Policy Interventions: Governments should incentivize companies that promote gender diversity in tech roles through grants or tax breaks. In addition, they could fund public programs aimed at training women in AI skills.
• Cultural Shifts: Society needs to challenge stereotypes about tech being a male-dominated field. Media representation of women in STEM can play a huge role in reshaping perceptions.

So, as we think about the new SUNY investments in AI research, academic programs, and innovation, and as SUNY Fact2 delivers reports on AI in teaching and learning, how can we make sure that investment in the SUNY workforce is also a part of the effort? And how can we make sure that we are paying close attention to inclusion and gender equity in whatever workforce upskilling efforts SUNY will make?

I'd love to have you share your thoughts on this list, with your supervisors, and with your campus leaders!

All the best,
Holly