By Sarah Nicastro and Angel Vossough, CEO and Co-Founder of BetterAI
Amid Women’s History Month our month-long focus on the International Women’s Day theme of inspiring inclusion, it’s important to challenge ourselves to think creatively about all the ways we can make greater progress in gender parity, equity, and inclusion. This includes evaluating how today’s technological capabilities, like AI, can help us to mitigate bias, improve recruiting and hiring practices, and provide new opportunities for women seeking personal development and career growth.
On this topic, we’re excited to share the perspective of Angel Vossough, CEO and Co-Founder of BetterAI, a Silicon Valley-based AI service provider. Angel, a technology leader and serial entrepreneur, holds dual bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and computer engineering, as well as master’s degrees in software engineering from San Jose State University and data science from UC Berkeley.
Angel was previously a Senior Network Engineer at Cisco Systems, specializing in Network Architecture for major telecommunications companies including Verizon Wireless. She subsequently founded DiverseUp, a public-benefit corporation building a professional community for technical and scientific women and is also Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Caspian Capital, an early-stage investment firm focusing on deep tech, biotech, and AI.
It's inspiring to see AI company helmed by a female data scientist CEO and it's the perfect time to discuss how women's career platforms like BetterAI’s DiverseUp can play a role in the progression of not only women’s individual careers but in greater gender equality in the workplace. The DiverseUp platform anonymously collects data focused on gender-equality practices from current and past employees and aggregates it to provide a holistic view on how female-friendly specific employers are. Its intelligent matchmaking algorithm then pairs prospective female employees with potential employers to help increase retention. The company aims to bring transparency to workplace practices, measure policies’ effectiveness, and help the tech sector retain female talent
Future of Field Service: How do you feel AI can play a role in advancing gender equality in the workplace?
Angel: AI has the potential to significantly advance gender equality in the workplace by offering unbiased data analysis and decision-making processes. For platforms like DiverseUp, AI can analyze vast amounts of data regarding corporate policies, culture, and practices to identify biases and recommend improvements. More than 50 percent of women in tech leave their positions mid-career, making retention of female talent one of the big challenges for tech companies. AI can assist in developing more equitable hiring practices, identifying gender pay gaps, and suggesting corrective actions. AI can also help in creating personalized career development plans for women, taking into account their unique circumstances and preferences, thereby promoting a more inclusive workplace environment and increasing retention.
Future of Field Service: How can women use AI in their career search to help make wise selections?
Angel: Women can leverage AI in their career search by using AI-powered job recommendation engines that align with their career goals, personal values, and work-life balance needs. AI can analyze their profiles, skills, and preferences against job listings to recommend the best fits. Additionally, AI can provide insights into company cultures and practices, helping women choose employers based on their personal preferences, such as flexible working hours, maternity leave, and career development programs. AI can empower women to make informed decisions when it comes to career choices.
Future of Field Service: What are some of the ways women could be leveraging AI for personal/career development and growth?
Angel: AI can offer personalized learning and development recommendations, identify skill gaps, and help with upskilling or reskilling in their chosen field. It can suggest courses, workshops, or assignments to bridge these gaps. It can also help with networking by connecting women with mentors, peers, and professional communities that can support their career advancement, using matching algorithms to find the best mentor-mentee relationships.
Future of Field Service: How can organizations use AI to help ensure their recruiting practices are equitable?
Angel: AI-driven analytics can help organizations identify patterns in hiring and turnover, and predict shortcomings in their recruitment processes, enabling them to make data-driven adjustments. Organizations can employ AI to design job descriptions that are neutral and appealing to all genders, analyze resume data without bias, and standardize interviews. However, post-recruitment retention of female employees is as important as recruitment and is a challenge for tech companies. For example, unlike men, women display a pattern called “returnship,” where they leave their careers to focus on family life and return to the workforce a few years later. These qualified candidates are often overlooked by recruiters because of this gap in work history. By training AI on this known pattern, AI can identify and target these potential employees for recruitment and retraining.
Future of Field Service: What do you think the next five years holds in terms of the increasing impact AI and other technologies will have on women in the workplace?
Angel: In the next five years, the impact of AI and technology on women in the workplace is likely to increase significantly. We can expect more sophisticated AI tools for career development, networking, and mentorship, specifically designed with women's needs in mind. AI will also play an important role in eliminating biases from recruiting processes, which can help more women enter tech roles. Furthermore, as remote and flexible working becomes more prevalent, AI will help women balance their professional and personal lives more effectively.
Future of Field Service: What else related to this topic is important for us to keep in mind?
Angel: It's essential to approach AI with a critical eye, recognizing its potential to both challenge and reinforce societal biases. As we integrate AI into the workplace, continuous efforts must be made to make sure these technologies are designed and implemented in a way that promotes equity. This includes diverse teams in AI development, transparent AI models, and ongoing assessment of AI's impact on workplace equality. Through thoughtful application of AI, we have a unique opportunity to shape a more inclusive future for all.