W h at if the skills women have spent years developing are precisely the ones that will matter most in the age of artificial intelligence (AI)? The ability to ask the right questions. Read between the lines. Influence without authority. Build trust. Know when an answer is technically right but completely wrong for the human sitting across the table.
As AI becomes more capable of processing information, generating content and automating execution, these capabilities are becoming more valuable, not less.
For CMOs, that changes the conversation. Within a few years, every brand will have access to similar AI tools. Competitive advantage will not come from producing more content or analysing more data than everyone else. It will come from making better decisions because of AI, not simply with it.
That places a premium on judgement, influence and strategic thinking – capabilities that are difficult to automate and increasingly valuable in leadership.
I believe AI creates an opportunity to rethink the qualities we value in leadership. Success won’t come from technology alone, but from the diverse strengths people bring to it. Many women have developed capabilities such as influencing without formal authority, navigating complex stakeholder dynamics, building consensus and reading situations where the obvious answer is rarely the right one.
As these qualities become more valuable in the age of AI, organisations that harness diverse perspectives will be better placed to make stronger decisions. The challenge is that too many organisations are still losing experienced women before they reach senior leadership.
The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2025 found that women represent 41.2 per cent of the global workforce but hold only 28.8 per cent of senior leadership positions. The question is not: why are there so few women in the C-suite? It is: what happens to talented women several levels below it? Why do organisations lose experienced people just as their commercial judgement and leadership capability should be reaching their peak?
The reasons are well documented: sponsorship, flexibility, career structures, cultural expectations and the additional responsibilities many women continue to carry outside work. AI won’t solve those structural issues on its own. But I do believe it could remove some of the friction that makes leadership progression harder.
AI can synthesise research, interrogate data, automate repetitive tasks and accelerate first drafts. The opportunity isn’t to use those hours to produce even more work. It’s to reinvest them where leaders create the greatest value.
That means spending more time understanding the business challenge behind the brief, coaching teams, strengthening client relationships, connecting seemingly unrelated insights and making better strategic decisions.
This is where I believe many organisations risk measuring AI success too narrowly. Productivity matters, but productivity alone rarely creates competitive advantage because it is quickly replicated.
CMOs should be asking different questions of their AI investments. Has it created more time for strategic thinking? Are leaders spending more time with clients and their teams? Is high-potential talent being exposed to bigger commercial decisions earlier in their careers? If AI only increases output, the advantage will be temporary. If it develops stronger leaders and better decision-making, it becomes a long-term business advantage.
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