382: Are We Building AI Without Half the Population? With Lisa Davis, Author of The Only Woman in the Room

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Lisa Davis is a technology executive who has served as CIO and tech leader for some of the world's most complex organizations, including Intel, Blue Shield of California, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Department of Defense.

She is now focused on shaping the next generation of leaders and advocating for women and diverse talent in STEM through her board work, executive coaching, and her forthcoming book, The Only Woman in the Room: How to Win in a Workplace Still Built for Men.

In this episode, Lisa draws on 30+ years leading technology at the highest levels of government and enterprise to make the case that the future of AI depends on who gets to build it, and as long as women remain locked out of those rooms, we are getting it dangerously wrong.

In this conversation, we discuss:

• Why women's representation in STEM has fallen from 34% in the mid-1980s to 22% today, and why that decline is a crisis for the future of AI, not just the workplace. • Why the real risk isn't the technology itself but the leadership teams making AI decisions without diverse voices at the table. • The structural systems that were never designed for women to thrive, and why redesigning them is a business imperative, not a social favor. • Why current corporate layoffs are being falsely attributed to AI, and what leaders need to start saying out loud. • Why girls begin dropping out of math and science as early as middle school, how cultural norms around "bossiness" suppress leadership potential, and what parents and organizations can do to intervene earlier. • What Lisa says women who finally reach the executive table must do differently, and why most don't.

Resources:

Subscribe to the AI & The Future of Work Newsletter • Connect with Lisa on LinkedIn • or visit her website • to learn more about her book • . AI fun fact articleOn how to navigate life transitions with Bruce Feiler, award-winning author and popular TEDx speaker •

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