Supriya Sen shares an article on diversity and inclusion and female entrepreneurship in the age of AI.
The month has been peppered with a lot of discussion about international women’s day and its relevance to our modern milieu. While some have questioned whether such a day is necessary when women constitute 50% of the population- still, a large swathe of the female population have to put up with appalling injustice – and so women’s day marks the continuing imperative for all women everywhere to get justice. In the broader sense too, there is ample evidence – whether in corporate boards or organizational teams more generally- on why diversity matters. Encouraging diversity of thought can have real impact on effectively uncovering the problem at hand; and ample research that suggests ways for delivering through diversity to solve that problem in a more sustainable way.
The importance of gender diversity is quite nicely captured in popular media such as in this video of a Korean TV soap episode. An elderly, paralysed and speechless woman is beaten up mercilessly by her caregiver but she’s unable to report it to her children, until one day, the daughter steals in serendipitously and observes what is happening, and then things can be sorted out. While both children were well-intentioned, their approach was different. So when the “achievement-oriented” approach (delegate more, martinet-like discipline/routine, ambitious scale up) was interleaved with the “creative, caring” approach (individualized attention, nurture rather than hunt, serendipitous discovery), the family was able to uncover the real problem, and devise more relevant solutions. Meanwhile the moving biopic Anandi Gopal (2019) captures how as early as the 19th century, there were far sighted men who realized that educating the women was the foundation of development and progress – and worth fighting for against all odds, and society benefits.
Refreshingly, as Sadhguru points out in this article – the distinct “male” and “female” roles of the past have now morphed more into distinct perspectives that can be taken in different situations. When your alpha behavior (of dominating, getting what you need) is balanced with your feminine (nurturing, creative and caring) side – your ability to express both sides leads to authenticity, creative expression and freedom.
Key points include:
- Balancing gender roles
- Human bias and AI algorithms
- Diversity of thought
Read the full article, Diversity & Inclusion in the age of AI, on LinkedIn.