Why is marketing and media’s talent problem following us into the AI era?
Opinion
Why is a technology that, in so many ways, is moving us forward exacerbating the same old talent problems? And importantly, what can we do about it?
Marketing and media’s continued technical merging is keeping us all on our toes, but an all-too-familiar gender inequality issue is rearing its head in a worryingly fast-moving way.
Looking at the numbers, women are still seriously underrepresented in tech, meaning the people shaping this growth are a narrow group, leaving a real question over who this technical future is actually being built for.
Right now, there’s not enough of us. And that’s a problem for all of us.
Of the 25% of women (yes, you read that right, one quarter!) who are working in tech, 52% still feel like they don’t belong. Add to that, one in five men believe women to be ‘less capable in technical roles’, and the issue is clear: stereotypes about who ‘belongs’ in tech are well and truly alive. It’s on all of us to challenge them.
As AI blurs the lines between marketing and tech, culture lags, and the talent gap widens. It’s worth questioning why a technology that, in so many ways, is moving us forward is exacerbating the same old talent problems. And importantly, what we’re going to do about it.
The technical tax
Getting women into tech careers is one side of the conversation. The other, less widely discussed (and potentially the bigger win), is how to get them to stay.
Over half of women in tech roles leave the industry within five years, and 87% within ten — an exodus that costs the UK economy an estimated £2- £3.5bn annually. For any of us building a team or running a business in this industry, the commercial impact is hard to ignore.
But the reasons women leave mid-career aren’t a mystery. A lack of transparency on progression pathways, visible female leadership and pay progress — with a gender pay gap still sitting at 17.5% — all contribute. But in a technical context, the less visible additional layers, like psychological safety around AI adoption and deeply embedded assumptions about what a technical leader is supposed to look like, can be even more damaging.
It’s individually significant, collectively exhausting, and none of it has anything to do with capability.
The real reasons women leave have everything to do with the cultures we build. And the good news is that those cultures can be changed.
AI’s double standard
When businesses fail to retain female talent, representation becomes even scarcer, creating an even more difficult working environment for women.
And as AI becomes more central to our industry, the gap in who’s using it and who’s being recognised for it matters more than ever.
Men are 22% more likely than women to use AI daily or constantly at work. Not due to access or ability, but out of fear of judgment for being seen to rely on a tool rather than doing it “properly.”
And no, the concern isn’t paranoia. Of those who use AI, only 18% of women are praised for doing so, compared with 23% of men. Same tool. But a five percentage-point drop in positive recognition. Why?
Our industry is being rebuilt around AI. If women are using it less, and being recognised for it less when they do, we are actively narrowing the pipeline into the next generation of senior roles -in real time.
We all need the same reframe: AI as collaborator, not cheat code. Because building those skills now is how we ensure women help shape the technologies that will define all our futures.
The people who do that will be leading the teams that run on it. We need that to be all of us.
Reframing technical leadership
In an industry where men make up over 75% of the workforce (and 88% of AI talent globally) bias in hiring, credibility and resource allocation is all but guaranteed without active action from us all.
So, as our industry evolves, what are some solutions?
Start with your job specs. If you’re demanding significant experience in a discipline that barely existed five years ago, you’re not raising the bar; you’re narrowing the field. Check the language, the requirements, and honestly, who you’re picturing when you write it.
Then look at the women in your team who know your business, your market and your product. Investing in their technical and AI development makes strategic sense and builds a culture of expertise internally.
Because at this rate of change, nobody has this fully figured out. And the future leaders of this industry will be those in cultures open enough to let their skills develop alongside the discipline itself.
From my experience rising to CEO of an AI business, I brought loads of relevant and transferable business skills but not a deep technical background. And yes, my own fear of judgement was high.
What made the difference was the environment: technical leaders who collaborated rather than gatekept knowledge and access, a team that already had brilliant women in technical roles, and a startup culture where learning on the job was just what we did. These conditions are often missing, but proof that when you get them right, you can unlock the full value of the talent you already have.
Retention is the cure
AI’s impact on traditional tech and marketing roles has only just begun. So if we’re serious about building a future that’s as progressive as the technology behind it, culture needs to catch up.
That means hiring managers who are spotting potential over credentials. Leaders modelling inclusive behaviours consistently, not just when it’s convenient. Teams where AI adoption is recognised across the board and an industry honest enough to acknowledge that when we lose women mid-career, we’re impacting the industry’s future for the worse.
The future of media, marketing and technology will reflect whoever builds it. Let’s make sure that’s all of us.
Lianre Robinson is WACL (Women in Advertising and Communications, Leadership) campaigning co-chair and CEO of The Marketing Academy Foundation. Read her regular column for The Media Leader on the first Friday of every month.