Can AI close the gender gap in the job market? Individuals' preferences for AI evaluations

Gender imbalances in the labor market continue to be an economic and social problem that could be reduced by artificial intelligence (AI), which is being promoted as a means for fairer and less biased hiring practices. To examine whether these supposed benefits of AI are perceived as such, we have i...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Anna Lena Schulte Steinberg, Christoph Hohenberger
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-05-01
Series:Computers in Human Behavior Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451958823000209
_version_ 1827925717344583680
author Anna Lena Schulte Steinberg
Christoph Hohenberger
author_facet Anna Lena Schulte Steinberg
Christoph Hohenberger
author_sort Anna Lena Schulte Steinberg
collection DOAJ
description Gender imbalances in the labor market continue to be an economic and social problem that could be reduced by artificial intelligence (AI), which is being promoted as a means for fairer and less biased hiring practices. To examine whether these supposed benefits of AI are perceived as such, we have investigated the preferences of individuals, particularly women, for an AI-based evaluation process in a competitive situation. The results of our experimental study (N = 152) show that individuals generally prefer a human evaluator over an AI evaluator—but only if the human evaluator is female. Whereas we demonstrate that women's beliefs in AI to reduce bias and perceived personal discrimination have a positive direct effect, we find no direct effect of the competitors' gender on women's preference for an AI evaluation. However, we find that the belief in AI moderates the other two relationships, which highlights the crucial role of people's general perception of AI tools in realizing AI's full potential and reduce anticipated biases. Our findings provide an initial indication that the use of AI technology in hiring could encourage women to apply for jobs in male-dominated fields and serve as a starting point for future research in this field.
first_indexed 2024-03-13T05:28:46Z
format Article
id doaj.art-c41ff5a7be4249688624a2645cc44515
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2451-9588
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-13T05:28:46Z
publishDate 2023-05-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Computers in Human Behavior Reports
spelling doaj.art-c41ff5a7be4249688624a2645cc445152023-06-15T04:56:44ZengElsevierComputers in Human Behavior Reports2451-95882023-05-0110100287Can AI close the gender gap in the job market? Individuals' preferences for AI evaluationsAnna Lena Schulte Steinberg0Christoph Hohenberger1Technical University of Munich, Arcisstr. 21, 80333, Munich, Germany; Corresponding author.Retorio GmbH, Landwehrstr. 63, 80336, Munich, GermanyGender imbalances in the labor market continue to be an economic and social problem that could be reduced by artificial intelligence (AI), which is being promoted as a means for fairer and less biased hiring practices. To examine whether these supposed benefits of AI are perceived as such, we have investigated the preferences of individuals, particularly women, for an AI-based evaluation process in a competitive situation. The results of our experimental study (N = 152) show that individuals generally prefer a human evaluator over an AI evaluator—but only if the human evaluator is female. Whereas we demonstrate that women's beliefs in AI to reduce bias and perceived personal discrimination have a positive direct effect, we find no direct effect of the competitors' gender on women's preference for an AI evaluation. However, we find that the belief in AI moderates the other two relationships, which highlights the crucial role of people's general perception of AI tools in realizing AI's full potential and reduce anticipated biases. Our findings provide an initial indication that the use of AI technology in hiring could encourage women to apply for jobs in male-dominated fields and serve as a starting point for future research in this field.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451958823000209Artificial intelligenceAlgorithm aversionGenderCompetitive behaviorPerceived discrimination
spellingShingle Anna Lena Schulte Steinberg
Christoph Hohenberger
Can AI close the gender gap in the job market? Individuals' preferences for AI evaluations
Computers in Human Behavior Reports
Artificial intelligence
Algorithm aversion
Gender
Competitive behavior
Perceived discrimination
title Can AI close the gender gap in the job market? Individuals' preferences for AI evaluations
title_full Can AI close the gender gap in the job market? Individuals' preferences for AI evaluations
title_fullStr Can AI close the gender gap in the job market? Individuals' preferences for AI evaluations
title_full_unstemmed Can AI close the gender gap in the job market? Individuals' preferences for AI evaluations
title_short Can AI close the gender gap in the job market? Individuals' preferences for AI evaluations
title_sort can ai close the gender gap in the job market individuals preferences for ai evaluations
topic Artificial intelligence
Algorithm aversion
Gender
Competitive behavior
Perceived discrimination
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451958823000209
work_keys_str_mv AT annalenaschultesteinberg canaiclosethegendergapinthejobmarketindividualspreferencesforaievaluations
AT christophhohenberger canaiclosethegendergapinthejobmarketindividualspreferencesforaievaluations