Podcast Summary: "Women Use AI Less Than Men at Work. Is That a Bad Thing?"

Podcast: There Are No Girls on the Internet
Host: Bridget Todd (with Annie & Samantha of Stuff Mom Never Told You)
Date: December 30, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode explores the well-documented gender gap in workplace adoption of AI tools, with women using AI significantly less than men. Host Bridget Todd, joined by Annie and Samantha from "Stuff Mom Never Told You," engages in a nuanced conversation unpacking whether this gap is a problem, what drives it, and what is missed when we frame it merely as a women’s “lack” rather than an indicator of broader issues in tech, culture, and workplace norms.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Framing the Gender Gap in AI Usage (07:24–10:09)

• Bridget introduces the statistics: Women use AI at work significantly less than men, per global studies.
• The prevailing narrative claims this is bad—women are seen as at risk of falling behind economically/professionally if they don’t catch up.
• Bridget challenges the idea that widespread AI adoption is simply “inevitable” and notes that viewing this as a foregone conclusion stifles debate and critique.

Quote:
“I don’t like this idea that frames widespread AI adoption as inevitable… because it really doesn’t leave a lot of room for criticism around the way that AI is being adopted.”
—Bridget Todd (09:25)

2. What the Data Shows (10:36–15:54)

• Harvard Business Review’s global meta-analysis: Across 18 studies and over 143,000 participants worldwide (regions, ages, industries), women adopt AI at work about 20–25% less than men.
  • Even when controlling for access, education, job type, or seniority, the gap persists.
• Usage stats:
  • Women = 42% of ChatGPT site users, 27% of app users (global).
  • Lower usage among junior/non-technical women; senior women in technical roles sometimes match men.
• Men often treat AI as a “cool tech thing” to experiment with, while women tend toward skepticism and caution—reflecting Annie and Samantha’s personal dynamics at home and work.

Quote:
"So the gap cannot be explained by things like survey bias… This really suggests the gender gap is at a pretty massive global scale."
—Bridget Todd (14:37)

3. Why the Gap? Explaining Causes (18:50–40:05)

a. Role of Tech Culture & Marketing (19:18–21:16)

• Marketing and product design around AI often reflect "male gaze" fantasies (e.g., OpenAI's 'Her'-inspired chatbot) that alienate women.
• The push for AI is accompanied by exaggerated hype and reference to science fiction (often male-centric).

b. STEM Parallels, Access, and Familiarity (21:16–27:51)

• The issue is not about women being less capable, but about how tech industries frame and gatekeep expertise.
• Attempts to explain this by referencing women's underrepresentation in STEM don’t hold up; even with equal access/training, the gap persists.
• Women may self-report lower familiarity or confidence, but the panel argues technological “complexity” is overstated and often wielded to make outsiders feel unwelcome.

Quote:
“I think what this study is actually highlighting... is this tendency for people who make technology... to do so in a way where it seems like your puny little lady brains could never figure out what we’re talking about here.”
—Bridget Todd (25:02)

c. Negative User Experience & Ethical Concerns (27:54–40:05)

• AI often increases—not decreases—work for women; outputs are unreliable and require “fixing.”
• Women are quicker to disengage after poor experiences, which researchers sometimes misinterpret as “risk aversion.”
• Concerns about bias, ethical issues, or being scrutinized more harshly for perceived “cheating” (using AI) are valid. Women are often under more workplace scrutiny than men and thus less likely to use tools that open them to further questioning.
• Examples from fanfiction communities (largely women/NB writers) show deep anxiety over being accused of using AI.

Quote:
“Having people knowing that you use AI might play into this narrative that you’re not qualified enough. It’s just another thing debasing your skills, your competence, and your value.”
—Bridget Todd (35:03)

4. Bias and Risk: “Women Are Right to Be Skeptical” (40:06–49:12)

• AI is built on data—and thus on existing societal biases.
  • Example: AI tools give women worse salary negotiation advice, “age” them inappropriately, and amplify sexist stereotypes.
• Women are more attuned to these ethical and trust issues. Their skepticism is cast as a deficit, but might actually be a sign of critical, informed caution.
• The burden of learning “yet another thing” when women already have disproportionate unpaid labor at home and work makes adoption less appealing.

Quote:
“More than half of professionals say that learning AI feels like a second job, which for most women is actually a third job…”
—Mara Bolas (Stanford Social Innovation Review, cited by Bridget Todd at 42:59)

5. Reframing the Narrative: Who Is Actually At Risk? (51:50–54:31)

• User “trooper SJP” on Reddit: If male students are using ChatGPT more, they may be at risk—studies show generative AI harms learning and degrades cognitive skills.
• Bridget and guests urge listeners to ask deeper questions: Whose interests are served by AI adoption, and whose needs or concerns are ignored? Is the pressure to adopt really for everyone’s benefit?

Quote:
“I don’t think it is bad that women are less likely to be cheating by using ChatGPT in their work than men. I think it is bad that so many men are wasting their educations by cheating.”
—Redditor trooper SJP, quoted by Bridget Todd (51:56)

6. AI, Gender, and the Loneliness Epidemic (54:31–56:31)

• The hosts discuss how AI, through tools like chatbots, is being pitched as a substitute for real relationships—especially to lonely men. These frictionless digital relationships may fuel further disconnection, amplify extremist online communities, and reinforce misogynistic tendencies.

Quote:
“Healthy nourishing relationships come with friction. That’s what you get from being in relationship with other humans. I think the ability to engage in frictionless relationships… is not what builds healthy people.”
—Bridget Todd (56:13)

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• Bridget Todd on AI inevitability:
  “I don’t like this idea that frames widespread AI adoption as inevitable…” (09:25)
• Bridget Todd on tech gatekeeping:
  “They talk about it in this way where it gives it this gravitas that I think is oftentimes unearned…” (25:13)
• Samantha, on fanfiction:
  “People will go out of their way to say, like in the tags, I use EM dashes, but it’s not AI… I swear it’s not AI.” (37:52)
• Annie on trust and risk:
  “We are trying to do our due diligence and give correct information… I don’t completely trust, once again analyzing the risk that this is actually true.” (44:28)
• Bridget Todd quoting "trooper SJP":
  “If female students are using ChatGPT less than male students, it is the male students we should be worried about…” (51:56)
• Bridget Todd, closing insight:
  “Shouldn’t we zero in on what women are saying… as it pertains to why we are not so gung-ho to be adopting this technology the way that men are?” (54:18)

Conclusion

• The gender gap in AI adoption at work is real, but simplistic narratives of “women falling behind” miss underlying structural, ethical, and workplace issues that shape women's technology choices.
• Women's hesitancy reflects not lack of skill or courage, but critical awareness of AI's limitations, social costs, and who really benefits from widespread adoption.
• Reframing the narrative means listening to the nuanced reasons so many women are opting out and questioning whether the rush to embrace AI should truly be celebrated—or challenged.

For more:

• Find Bridget Todd at [There Are No Girls on the Internet podcast], Instagram (@bridgetmarieindc), and YouTube (There Are No Girls on the Internet) (57:19).
• Listen to Annie and Samantha at Stuff Mom Never Told You.

[Summary skips ads, promos, and unrelated segments.]