The AI boom is here, but for many women, it feels less like progress and more like déjà vu. As tech evolves, the gender gap that has long haunted other industries is showing up in AI too — and it’s already shaping who benefits and who gets left behind.
Surveys show that women are adopting generative AI far less than men. And it’s not just a matter of curiosity or comfort — it’s about trust, safety, and access. Experts say this divide is real, it’s growing, and it could reshape how technology impacts women’s lives for years to come.
Fewer Women Are Using AI — And That’s No Coincidence
It’s not just anecdotal. The data paints a pretty stark picture.
A 2025 consumer survey showed 50% of men are using generative AI tools regularly. Only 37% of women said the same. That’s a 13-point difference, and it gets worse depending on the demographic. Harvard Business School’s Rembrand Koning pegged the gender adoption gap at 25%.
This isn’t about lagging behind in tech skills or a lack of interest. It’s about trust — or more precisely, a lack of it. AI has been used in hiring tools that discriminate against women. It’s generating deepfake pornography without consent. And it’s happening young — some girls are dealing with AI harassment in high school.
Technology That Feels Unsafe Isn’t Going to Be Used
Ganna Pogrebna from the Alan Turing Institute didn’t mince words. She says early experiences with AI systems — especially the harmful ones — can have “profound psychological, behavioral, and societal consequences.”
That’s not just theory.
A 2025 NOW/Icogni study found 1 in 4 women experienced harassment via AI-enabled tech
A Berkeley Haas review of 133 AI systems revealed that 44% showed gender bias
A 2024 CDT report found that generative AI worsened the spread of non-consensual images of girls in schools
These aren’t edge cases. They’re baked into the system.
So, what’s the long-term cost? Laura Bates, author of The New Age of Sexism, says it’s pretty bleak: a future where women lose access to jobs, digital spaces, and technological opportunity altogether.
Abuse, Harassment, and the Digital Divide
Some say the internet is dangerous. For women, it’s often worse.
Online abuse disproportionately affects women, especially younger ones. Pew’s 2021 data found 33% of women under 35 had faced sexual harassment online, versus 11% of men. That’s triple the rate.
Now apply that to AI. Bates argues that the harassment and bias aren’t just exhausting — they’re pushing women away from emerging tools altogether. And if women disengage, AI tools will continue to be built with male users in mind.
That’s a loop. And it’s hard to break.
“One group’s participation is limited,” Bates said. “The tools end up being shaped by the dominant group. That deepens the exclusion.”
Hiring Tools, Career Bias, and Algorithmic Harm
When it comes to jobs and AI, the stakes go from emotional to economic real fast.
In 2018, Amazon ditched an AI recruiting tool because it kept favoring male candidates. That’s right — the software learned that being a man was better. In 2024, UNESCO flagged that same issue in newer platforms. The problem hasn’t gone away.
Dr. Sarah Myers West from AI Now Institute says AI often reinforces inequality because it’s trained on biased history.
And when it’s used in hiring?
“It’s profoundly consequential,” she said bluntly.
West says mistrust isn’t paranoia. It’s protection.
A Glitch in the System: Who Gets Represented, and Who Doesn’t
Sandra Wachter at Oxford Internet Institute put it like this: AI is a mirror — but what happens if you don’t like the reflection?
Wachter pointed to common AI tools that visualize doctors as white men and nurses as women. One 2024 JAMA study backed that up: AI-generated physician images overwhelmingly default to white males.
“It’s a quiet reminder,” Wachter said. “Some roles are for you. Others aren’t.”
Even image generators are making assumptions based on outdated gender roles. And the thing is — they’re doing it quietly. That’s what makes it so dangerous.
This is not about symbolism. It’s about identity, aspiration, and belonging.
Who Is AI Actually Built For?
Pogrebna warns that the models powering today’s AI were trained on toxic internet content — and it shows. They mirror forums, memes, biases, and stereotypes that already hurt women offline.
Let’s break this down in a simple table:
| Issue | Impact on Women |
|---|---|
| Deepfake Generation | Harassment, reputational damage |
| Hiring Algorithms | Fewer callbacks, lower representation |
| Content Bias | Reinforcement of stereotypes |
| Education AI Tools | Unwelcoming or unsafe digital spaces |
| Career Guidance AI | Gendered assumptions in job matching |
More Exposure, Less Trust
The contradiction is striking: girls are introduced to AI tools earlier, yet they’re often the ones facing the most harm.
“Imagine being told this tech is the future,” Dihal said, “but every interaction with it feels like you’re being pushed back into the past.”
That tension builds. It creates disillusionment — and worse, fear.
And if enough women step back? The AI industry loses not only users but potential developers, leaders, and change-makers.
Can Inclusion Be Designed?
Experts agree: this isn’t inevitable. It’s structural.
Pogrebna says this exclusion is “the result of design choices, governance gaps, and historical inequities.” And Laura Bates says regulation can’t come after the harm — it has to come before rollout.
There are solutions:
Build ethics into AI development, not after
Ensure public review before major tools are deployed
Regulate corporate use of sensitive AI systems
Create legal protections for AI-related harassment
Because right now, AI’s not just reflecting our society. It’s writing the next chapter. And it’s writing some people out.
