Leading With Intention: What Women Leaders Told Us About AI And The Future Of Work

Why It Matters

The insights reveal that women leaders can directly influence AI governance and adoption, turning a potential risk into a competitive advantage for firms seeking equitable digital transformation.

Key Takeaways

• Over 200 women attended the Forrester leadership roundtables in Phoenix
• AI adoption rises when leaders openly endorse its use
• In‑workflow AI learning outpaces formal training for confidence building
• Women stress storytelling to maintain visibility in AI‑driven work
• Governance, guardrails, and bias mitigation are essential for inclusive AI

Pulse Analysis

The Forrester Women’s Leadership Program at the 2026 B2B Summit brought together a diverse cohort of senior women across marketing, sales, product, and customer roles to confront the rapid rise of artificial intelligence. By framing AI as a leadership opportunity rather than a technological inevitability, the roundtables created a space for candid dialogue about equity, purpose, and impact. Attendees heard from industry voices such as ServiceNow’s Divya Rajagopalan and examined data from McKinsey that shows women are 23% less likely than men to receive managerial support for AI initiatives, underscoring the urgency of intentional action.

Key takeaways from the discussions centered on practical, behavior‑driven strategies. Leaders who publicly endorse AI use and remove the stigma of “cheating" see faster adoption, while hands‑on, in‑workflow learning—through shared prompts and live demos—builds confidence more effectively than standalone courses. Participants also highlighted the risk that AI can obscure individual contributions, urging women to narrate their impact and leverage storytelling to maintain visibility. Robust governance frameworks, clear tool guardrails, and bias‑mitigation protocols emerged as non‑negotiable pillars for inclusive AI deployment.

The broader implication for the market is clear: organizations that empower women to lead AI initiatives will gain a competitive edge in talent retention, innovation, and ethical risk management. As AI reshapes decision‑making layers, the human skills women excel at—emotional intelligence, judgment, and change leadership—become the differentiators that ensure technology serves equitable outcomes. Companies that embed these principles into their AI strategy are poised to unlock higher productivity while fostering a more diverse and resilient workforce.