The Urgency to Close the AI Gender Divide Before It Affects the Pay Gap

Reese Witherspoon recently took to Instagram to lecture her millions of followers about how women aren’t using artificial intelligence enough. She concluded the video with a call to action to learn AI with her.

Witherspoon received thousands of comments criticizing her for being tone-deaf regarding issues including the environmental impact, data center backlash and biases inherent to AI.

Witherspoon is right — there is a growing gender divide with AI — but the response she received might be more indicative of why. If Legally Blonde’s Elle Woods can’t get through to the millennial woman, who can?

No female Altman

The research tells us that women are more risk-averse than men. Women consistently perceive AI as riskier, especially when its economic and societal effects are uncertain.

Women are also less represented in tech. As of 2025, women make up roughly a quarter of the global tech workforce, with...

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