Will AI hiring entrench gender bias?

Will AI hiring entrench gender bias?

From The ITPro Podcast by ITPro

March 6, 2026 · 33 min · Episode 340

About this episode

The episode discusses the impact of AI on hiring practices and the potential for entrenching gender bias in the tech industry.

Women are still greatly underrepresented in STEM. The latest figures from the Women Tech Network show women only make up around 26-27% of the STEM workforce and the organization estimates that at the current rate of change, it will be nearly 123 years before the economic gender gap is closed. It’s International Women’s Day 2026 – and the rate of women hired in tech continues to lag far behind that of men. As hiring teams turn to AI tools to automatically field candidates, we’re at something of a crossroads – do we fix the bias inherent in hiring? Or simply replicate it at scale with similarly biased AI tools? In this episode, Jane are Rory are joined by Clare Hickie, EMEA CTO at Workday, to discuss how businesses can engage in bias-free talent acquisition in the age of AI.

People in this episode

Hosts: Jane, Rory

Guest: Clare Hickie

Topics covered

  • AI in hiring
  • gender bias
  • STEM representation
  • talent acquisition
  • International Women’s Day
  • business ethics

Keywords

  • AI hiring
  • gender bias
  • STEM workforce
  • talent acquisition
  • bias-free hiring

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Women Tech Network, Workday

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