We've all seen the stats. Women are adopting AI tools at a 25% lower rate than men. 33% of men use AI daily at work versus 27% of women. Men are 23% more likely to be encouraged by their managers to try it, and 27% more likely to be praised when they do.
Most of the conversation about women's lower AI adoption rates focuses on what women need to do differently. Instead, we're looking at the conditions that produced the gap in the first place, and why closing it matters far more than just productivity.
This week on Early Adoptr, Kyle is away so Jess is joined by Nadia Koski, digital growth expert at The Marketeer Group, and Stefanie Beach, founder and CEO of The Marketeer Group, to get into what's actually driving the adoption gap and what women founders and small business owners can do about it. Because when women use AI tools less, that eventually shapes what the tools look like. It costs the economy. And it grows over time.
We'll work through the stats, the barriers, and the guilt that comes with using AI at work. We also get into how to start without the overwhelm, the mental load, and why the caution women tend to bring to AI turns out to be an asset.
If you're going to Cannes, make sure to check out the sessions that Nadia and Stefanie are running:
Cannesversations Series - LIVE FROM CANNES
- YouTube Channel or LinkedIn for context
- For Cannes 2026 - Cannesversations Interest Form
The Digital Marketeer podcast:
Follow Nadia:
- Nadia Koski on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadiakoski
- Still Human: Real Talk in the Age of AI Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6xCZdhBOerROCuLatJoNay?si=FeYj2JidTtiA9xsREd9Ftg
Follow Stefanie:
- Stefanie Beach on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefanieg/
- [email protected]
- www.themarketeergroup.com
Use these links for a discount on the tools we recommend (and it supports the pod!)
Wispr Flow - AI-powered voice dictation that works across every app on your desktop - https://ref.wisprflow.ai/early-adoptr
Granola - The best AI meeting notes! New users get 100% off for their first month - https://www.granola.ai?via=early-adoptr
What You'll Learn:
- Why corporate AI challenges often exclude women without meaning to
- Why finishing a project faster with AI does not mean charging less for it, and why women are more likely to think it does
- What a team leader needs to have in place before running internal AI training, and why protected experimentation time matters
- Why more women in their 40s are leaving corporate life for entrepreneurship, and what the AI revolution has to do with it
Timestamps:
00:00 Where's Kyle + Women & AI
03:23 Introductions: Nadia & Stefanie
08:19 The Data on Women and AI Adoption
10:55 How Women in Tech Engage with AI Differently
12:02 The Perfectionism Problem
15:36 How to Give Your Team a Safe Space to Try AI
19:00 How to Actually Educate Yourself on AI
21:13 Who Really Has Time to Learn AI
24:31 Why the Founders Furthest Ahead on AI Have a Support Network at Home
25:53 Why the AI Revolution Is Pushing More Women Into Entrepreneurship
28:23 The Unpaid Work Research That Explains the Women's AI Adoption Gap
29:46 Why Using AI to Brainstorm and Polish Your Work Is Not a Shortcut
31:27 Fighting the Guilt and Redistributing the Mental Load as a Female Founder
33:23 The Glass Cliff: Why Women Face Higher Stakes When AI Goes Wrong
36:22 Why Doing Work Faster with AI Doesn't Mean You Should Charge Less
38:20 What Workplaces Can Do to Give Women Equal Access to AI Learning
42:45 Is Being Cautious About AI Actually a Business Advantage?
47:24 Why Women Questioning AI Accuracy Is Good for Business
47:39 Don't Be Afraid to Start: Final Advice for Women Using AI
Resources:
- Harvard Business School study
- Lean In study
- Why women aren't ‘missing’ the AI train
- Malin Frithiofsson (Daya Ventures)
- Maya Betron (PowHer Data)
- Sinead Bovell
Get in Touch:
Email: [email protected]
TikTok / Instagram / YouTube: @early_adoptr
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