HR professionals are expected to lead one of the biggest workforce transformations in decades as we enter the AI era.
While relatively new to every worker, including HRs, there is a worrying difference. HR is likely tasked with managing its changes, selecting and purchasing AI-powered tools, guiding responsible use, protecting employee data and redesigning employee experiences.
Ironically, however, HR remains one of the functions least likely to embrace AI. In fact, research reveals that 59% of HR leaders report that their departments are making little to no use of AI and just 3% report full integration.
While this is an evident concern, there’s another hidden component to the issue.
HR is a heavily female profession. Numerous accounts indicate that women make up over 70% of HR workers, with some research even indicating higher than 80%.
And considering 25% of women are adopting AI tools at a lower average rate than men, HR may be unwittingly facing (and creating) an emerging skills crisis and gender gap that leaders can’t ignore.
HR’s nervousness around AI
HR is risk-aware; it needs to be. It is responsible for protecting people, culture and data. Therefore, taking a considered approach to any change, including emerging technology, is key to protecting the organisation, its workforce and its values. Yet, caution is likely leading to hesitation and procrastination.
In female-dominated industries, gendered experiences have a heavy impact. For example, at industry events I’ve seen, AI content can be made to feel inaccessible – particularly for women.
Despite rooms being packed with HR practitioners, presentations are often built on jargon and technical details: discussions about architecture, engineering and complex models that don’t match most humans’ vocabulary, let alone HR’s.
When combined with the lack of diversity on these panels – they are often made up of male technical experts – AI can feel exclusive, something for ‘other’ people, rather than inspiring for all who are there to learn.
A single phrase sums this up: ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’. With limited female role models engaging with AI and talking points that don’t necessarily reflect HR’s professional experiences, it reinforces the perception that AI isn’t a space for them. Even with the best will in the world (and a multitude of other challenges), it feels like an obstacle they’ll try to get over another day.
The gendered skills risk
Research, as noted earlier, indicates that women in general are adopting AI tools at a slower rate. So with AI increasingly embedded within everyday work, HR has the potential to fuel a critical skills gap in their teams and beyond. As likely facilitators of AI strategy, HR leaders must ensure their teams and their organisations use AI with equal ability.
AI is being used across talent strategy, workforce planning, engagement analytics, learning design, reward modelling and employee listening in many firms. It will become integrated at every level of work.
If hesitancy persists, HR professionals will struggle to gain value from the very tools they are being asked to select and govern.
This creates a number of issues: For one, it risks further isolating these individuals from strategic decisions around technology and organisational design. Two, if HR teams are unable to properly understand and experiment with the technology being rolled out, how do they truly know what tools are most appropriate? And third, if employees see that HR is reluctant to use AI, it risks reinforcing a business-wide problem: you can’t be what you can’t see.
Without upskilling and knowledge, HR professionals risk pricing themselves out of an AI-defined labour market.
The importance of HR in AI leadership
It could be the case that many believe an AI strategy should fall under an IT or engineering remit. However, it’s essential that organisations do not undermine HR’s knowledge and expertise.
One team can’t hold all the power in AI strategy, as it’s so layered. It is inherently a people issue. AI affects trust, fairness, inclusion, transparency and culture.
Without HR at the heart of AI planning, the function risks becoming reactive rather than strategic. When this happens, HR will have less ability to eliminate issues arising from AI – like reduced productivity, bias, and skills gaps – which will impact profits and the employee experience.
Ultimately, HR holds the key to understanding how AI design can assist people processes – not least, how to maximise productivity in a way that complements empathy rather than replaces it.
Making AI accessible, not intimidating
To overcome all of this, we need to start humanising all AI conversations.
Accessibility is key. AI jargon and technical-speak need to go, plain language needs to be used and central to the context of HR.
Second, address AI’s visibility. AI empowerment is easier to achieve when more women speak about AI in open, accessible ways. Female experts and leaders need to share their learning journeys, including their own successes, hesitations and mistakes. Working groups that enable women to experiment with AI, its uses, frustrations and power open the doors for many to learn and challenge any concerns or misconceptions. These open discussions in a relatable way, rather than relying on complex presentations from technical specialists, which are likely to fuel disengagement.
Why we need to act now
HR leaders need to harness the power of AI to close the widening skills gap – in their teams and the workforce.
People teams play a vital role in driving organisational processes. Yet it’s well documented that they are also experiencing mounting workloads and pressure. This creates a perfect AI opportunity – when used well and responsibly, it can free up time, enable better decision-making and support employee experiences at scale.
But if caution keeps creating hesitation, HR risks losing its power in the future of work.
Ultimately, we need to ensure HR leads by example. If AI isn’t accessible and visible to HR professionals, low uptake will hinder the function and organisational productivity. AI strategy needs to prioritise inclusion. Especially with the people most likely to support performance.
