The Pink-Collar AI Crisis: IBM's CTO Warns Women "Use AI Now or Get Leapfrogged"

The Pink-Collar AI Crisis: IBM's CTO Warns Women "Use AI Now or Get Leapfrogged"

Pink-collar jobs, admin, customer service, reception, teaching, and nursing are overwhelmingly held by women. They're also the roles most exposed to AI disruption right now. And the data shows women are using AI less than men. That's the leapfrog risk. And IBM's Chief Technology Officer for Australia and New Zealand wants every woman listening to understand it before the gap gets bigger. In this episode of AI Ready Women, Georgie Hubbard and Lou Compagnoni sit down with Angelica Veness, the CTO who openly says she can't code, and built her career through human-centred design instead. Angelica breaks down what's actually happening in the AI economy, where women are getting locked out, and the exact steps to move from AI-cautious to AI-curious to AI-queen… starting this week. ____________ 📚 The Bold Move: https://www.theboldmovebook.com [https://www.theboldmovebook.com] ____________ Connect with Georgie: 🔵 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiehubbard/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiehubbard/] 🟪 Instagram: http://instagram.com/georgielhubbard [http://instagram.com/georgielhubbard] ♦️Website: https://www.georgiehubbard.com [https://www.georgiehubbard.com] ____________ Connect with Lou Compagnone: 🔵 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loucompagnone/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/loucompagnone/] ____________ Connect with Angelica Vaness: 🔵 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelica-veness-9866519/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelica-veness-9866519/] 🟣 Free AI Learning: https://skillsbuild.org [https://skillsbuild.org] ____________ CHAPTERS [00:00] Open [01:50] From gym sales to IBM CTO: Angelica's non-linear path [06:00] Why design thinking is the AI superpower [09:30] The obligation to use AI, not just design it — and why LLMs are learning male questions [12:30] SIGNAL 1: Dr Tara Behan's warning — concentrating pain into the human part of the system [18:30] The moments-that-matter triangulation: executives, employees, customers [20:00] Lou's Uber nightmare: what bad AI design feels like as a customer [22:30] Expertise atrophy — what happens when humans stop using the muscle [25:30] SIGNAL 2: How IKEA reinvented its contact centre as interior designers [30:30] Pink-collar exposure: what women in task-based roles need to do right now [36:00] The hiring problem: rigid briefs are locking women out of the AI economy [42:30] SIGNAL 3: IBM × Food Ladder — AI for good in Australian schools ____________ If this episode helped you, the kindest thing you can do is share it with one woman who needs to hear it — and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It's how more women find the show. Georgie and Lou 💜

What Microsoft's CEO and 7-Eleven's CEO Just Told Us About AI

AI is changing every career, and the CEO of Microsoft just told us something that should change how you think about yours. Plus what the CEO of 7-Eleven, Microsoft's Satya Nadella, and the Head of AI at EY are really saying about the future of work, AI for women, and staying relevant in the age of AI In this episode, Georgie and Lou debrief two major events: Lou's experience at the Microsoft AI Tour, where Satya Nadella delivered a keynote on the future of agentic AI, and Georgie's 10th Sisterhood Social featuring Fiona Hayes (CEO of 7-Eleven Australia), Julie Watkins (Chief People Officer at UniSuper), and Erin Ashton (Head of AI Enablement at EY). What they discovered was fascinating. And a little bit unsettling. Because while some women are confidently experimenting with AI and feeling ahead of the curve, others are quietly falling behind, confused about what tools to learn, overwhelmed by the pace of change, and wondering if they're about to become irrelevant. This episode is about understanding that gap. It's about knowing what's actually happening inside organisations right now. It's about where to focus your energy. And it's about making sure you don't burn out while trying to keep up. ____________ Timestamps 00:00 The CEOs you need to hear from right now 00:45 Inside Georgie's Sisterhood Social: Fiona Hayes, Julie Watkins & EY 03:37 The two types of women in every AI conversation 04:47 Adopting AI vs adapting because of it (Lou's framework) 07:13 Why most organisations are still scratching the surface 11:10 The cognitive load crisis: why AI is leaving women exhausted 15:59 What Georgie's wearable revealed about AI and sleep 18:21 Satya Nadella: AI is the new fax-to-email shift 19:57 The New Zealand Telehealth story: AI holding people while they wait 23:45 Why human skills now matter more than technical skills 25:59 The question that made the whole room go silent 31:15 Microsoft, neural implants, and resisting becoming machines 32:51 Why your zigzag career is your greatest asset 35:05 Why sticking with one AI tool is the smartest move ____________ 📚 The Bold Move: https://www.theboldmovebook.com [https://www.theboldmovebook.com] ____________ Connect with Me: 🔵 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiehubbard/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiehubbard/] 🟪 Instagram: http://instagram.com/georgielhubbard [http://instagram.com/georgielhubbard] ♦️Website: https://www.georgiehubbard.com [https://www.georgiehubbard.com] ____________ Connect with Lou Compagnone: 🔵 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loucompagnone/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/loucompagnone/] ____________ Your Next Step: If this episode resonated with you, reach out to Lou and me on LinkedIn. Let us know your biggest takeaway. Share what you're learning. Tell us how you're positioning yourself for the future. And if you know an incredible woman working in AI, tech, or digital who should be on this podcast, send us her name. We want to amplify women's voices. We want representation. We want you in the room. The future belongs to the women who are ready for it. Let's make sure that's you. Georgie and Lou 💜

Ex-Shopify Leader's Warning - AI Brain Fry: Why Women Are Burning Out Faster

The people struggling at Shopify weren't behind on the tools. They had lost the ability to think clearly. We're doing more than ever before. But there's a cost. And women are paying it first. Rachel Garrett spent seven years inside Shopify's AI transformation, leading 800 people across 12 countries through one of the most aggressive AI adoptions any company has ever run. What she found changed how she thinks about work entirely. In this episode, Rachel joins Georgie and Lou to talk about AI Brain Fry, the cognitive burnout that's quietly hitting the highest AI users hardest. Why the judgment layer is now the most valuable skill you have. And why the future belongs not to those with the best tools, but to those with the most humanity. This is the conversation your organisation isn't having. Yet. ____________ Connect with Georgie: 🔵 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiehubbard/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiehubbard/] 🟪 Instagram: http://instagram.com/georgielhubbard [http://instagram.com/georgielhubbard] ♦️Website: https://www.georgiehubbard.com [https://www.georgiehubbard.com] 📚 The Bold Move: https://www.theboldmovebook.com [https://www.theboldmovebook.com] ____________ Connect with Lou Compagnone: 🔵 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loucompagnone/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/loucompagnone/] ____________ Connect with Rachel Garrett: 🔵 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-garrett-38717522/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-garrett-38717522/] ♦️Website: https://herefortherightreasons.com/ [https://herefortherightreasons.com/] ⭕️ AI Level -Up Course - https://skillsbuild.org/ai-level-up [https://skillsbuild.org/ai-level-up] ____________ In Today's Episode: 🟣 Why Anthropic is now hiring people with humanities backgrounds over technical skills, and what that signals about the future of AI careers. 🟣 AI Brain Fry: the new term from BCG describing the mental fatigue, fog, and slower decision-making caused by cognitive overload from excessive AI use. 🟣 Why marketing, HR, IT, and finance professionals are experiencing the highest rates of AI Brain Fry, and what that means for women in those roles. 🟣 The paradox of AI: how it promises to ease our workload but is actually creating burnout at unprecedented rates. 🟣 Why the action layer has been replaced by AI, but the judgment layer must remain sharp, and how that's creating entirely new cognitive demands on senior leaders. 🟣 Why 95% of people think they're self-aware, but only 10–15% actually are, and why that gap is costing organisations billions. 🟣 The business case for humanity: 22% higher revenue and 34% higher profitability from leaders who are self-aware. 🟣 The concept of consciousness hygiene, why social media and AI are hijacking our inner world and what to do about it. 🟣 Rachel's story of how shortening her workdays actually led to promotion after promotion at Shopify, not career stagnation. 🟣 Why 70% of AI transformations fail because of people and process, not technology. ____________ Georgie and Lou 💜

AI Futurist: Why Smart Women Are Invisible to AI (And Don't Even Know It) - Melissa Clark-Reynolds

If you're not positioned correctly on LinkedIn, no good about section, no optimised title, you will not come up. And that means you do not exist in the job market. The way we're discovered has changed overnight. And most women haven't been told. In this episode, Georgie Hubbard and Lou Compagnone sit down with tech pioneer and futurist Melissa Clark-Reynolds, who's been working in AI since the 1980s, to discuss the invisible crisis unfolding right now for women in the workforce. AI is already deciding who gets seen, who gets hired, and who gets left behind. This conversation is about making sure it's not you. ____________ ✨Grab Georgie's Book 📚 The Bold Move: https://www.theboldmovebook.com [https://www.theboldmovebook.com] ____________ Connect with Me: 🔵 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiehubbard/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiehubbard/] 🟪 Instagram: http://instagram.com/georgielhubbard [http://instagram.com/georgielhubbard] ♦️Website: https://www.georgiehubbard.com [https://www.georgiehubbard.com] ____________ Connect with Lou Compagnone: 🔵 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loucompagnone/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/loucompagnone/] ____________ Connect with Melissa Clark-Reynolds: 🔵 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissaclarkr/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissaclarkr/] ____________ In this episode, we cover: 🟣 Why Google is dying and what AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) means for your visibility right now 🟣 The exact sites AI searches first, and why most women aren't on them 🟣 The 3 things every woman should do THIS WEEK to show up in AI search results 🟣 Why LinkedIn is no longer optional, and what recruiters are actually looking for 🟣 The bias baked into AI image generation, recruitment tools, and language models 🟣 What it actually costs women to "armour up" in male-dominated environments, and when to walk away 🟣 The courses and certifications that will keep you relevant as AI reshapes every industry ____________ Your Next Step: If this episode resonated with you, reach out to Melissa, Lou, and Georgie on LinkedIn. Let us know your biggest takeaway. Share what you're learning. Tell us how you're positioning yourself for the future. And if you know an incredible woman working in AI, tech, or digital who should be on this podcast, send us her name. We want to amplify women's voices. We want representation. We want you in the room. The future belongs to the women who are ready for it. Let's make sure that's you. Georgie & Lou 💜

AI Salaries Are 56% Higher! How Women Can Break Into the Most In-Demand (And Highest Paid) Roles NOW

AI salaries are 56% higher than the average. The demand is real. The opportunity is now. But women are being left behind. While companies are scrambling to hire AI talent and paying premium salaries, only 22% of AI roles are held by women. And the gap is widening. Here's what nobody's telling you: this isn't just about learning a tool. It's about positioning yourself for the most in-demand, highest-paid roles that are being created right now. And if you're waiting for permission, clarity, or the perfect moment to start, you're already falling behind. Welcome back to AI Ready Women, where Lou Compagnone, and Georgie Hubbard sit down with Katherine Boiciuc, CTO of EY Oceania, to talk about what's actually happening in the AI job market right now, and what it means for your career. This is a brutally honest conversation about the skills gap, the salary premium, and why women need to stop waiting and start positioning themselves for the future of work. ____________ ✨The Bold Move Book✨ Get the book 👉 https://www.boldmovebook.com [https://www.boldmovebook.com] ____________ Connect with Me: 🔵 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiehubbard/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiehubbard/] 🟪 Instagram: http://instagram.com/georgielhubbard [http://instagram.com/georgielhubbard] ♦️Website: https://www.georgiehubbard.com [https://www.georgiehubbard.com] ____________ Connect with Lou Compagnone: 🔵 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loucompagnone/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/loucompagnone/] ____________ Connect with Katherine Boiciuc: 🔵 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherineboiciuc/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherineboiciuc/] ____________ In Today's Episode: 🟣 Why AI salaries are 56% higher on average, and how women can position themselves to access these premium roles right now. 🟣 Australia needs 200,000 more AI-skilled workers, and if women don't step up, we'll be importing talent instead of empowering our own. 🟣 Why 84% of Australians are using AI at work, but less than half have done any formal training 🟣 The 60 30 10 model 🟣 Why boring AI is where the real results are happening in enterprises 🟣 The mindset shift from time management to energy management, and why saying "I don't have time" is actually saying "I'm choosing not to prioritise my career." 🟣 Why you no longer need to be a Silicon Valley engineer to build apps, create agents, or access world-class tech capabilities. 🟣 Why women need to stop waiting for clarity, permission, or the perfect moment, and start building AI skills now before the opportunity passes them by. 🟣 The exact micro credentials and free training resources you can access today to start building your AI literacy and career confidence. ____________ If this episode resonated with you, reach out to KB, Lou, and me on LinkedIn. Let us know your biggest takeaway. Tell us what AI skills you're building. Share what micro-credentials you're working on. And if you know an incredible woman working in AI, tech, or digital who should be on this podcast, send us her name. We want to amplify women's voices. We want representation. We want you in the room. The future belongs to the women who are ready for it. Let's make sure that's you. Georgie and Lou 💜