Women Defining AI Panel

Closing the Confidence Gap: Why AI Needs Your Intuition, Not Your Ability to Code

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming industries at an unprecedented rate, from FinTech and financial services to technology recruitment, healthcare, and beyond. AI investment has reached staggering levels, with over $1.78 trillion announced globally since the beginning of the year. Yet, despite its rapid expansion, a stark gender disparity persists within AI’s workforce.

Women represent just 22% of AI professionals, and the numbers are even lower at leadership levels, where only 14-15% of AI decision-makers are women. This lack of representation has real-world consequences—from recruitment algorithms that penalise women’s CVs to healthcare systems that fail to recognise medical conditions in female patients.

In this special episode of FinTech’s DEI Discussions, recorded live at the Women Defining AI UK launch, host Nadia Edwards-Dashti leads a thought-provoking discussion on the urgent need for diverse representation in AI. She is joined by three remarkable leaders in technology and artificial intelligence:

• Emma Alexander, Founder of Mother Bran and Co-Founder of Wisern
• Zahra Shah, AI & Frontier Tech Expert, Board Member, and former AI privacy consultant at Accenture
• Vivian Chan, Board Advisor and Non-Executive Director, with extensive experience in AI-led startups and venture capital

Together, they tackle the confidence gap in AI, discuss why intuition and diverse expertise are just as critical as technical skills, and explore how we can shift AI development from passive adoption to active creation.

Why the AI Industry Needs More Women

AI is already embedded in our daily lives, shaping everything from Google Maps and Netflix recommendations to automated hiring tools, financial technology solutions, and risk management systems. But when AI systems are designed without diverse input, they develop blind spots that disproportionately impact underrepresented groups.

Zahra Shah highlights the stark reality: women are often missing from AI development teams. When AI tools are built primarily by men, they fail to account for gender-based differences—leading to discriminatory algorithms that undervalue women’s expertise, misdiagnose medical conditions, and reinforce workplace biases.

The most infamous example of this bias is Amazon’s AI-powered hiring tool, which was trained on ten years of recruitment data. Because the dataset primarily featured male-dominated hiring patterns, the system automatically downgraded CVs that contained words like “women” or references to female-focused organisations.

Bias in AI recruitment tools presents a major challenge for companies like Harrington Starr, a leading FinTech recruitment business. AI-driven hiring platforms are increasingly used to match top financial technology talent with global firms. Yet, if these tools are not built with diversity and inclusion in mind, they risk reinforcing workplace inequalities instead of eliminating them.

The Confidence Gap: Why Women Are Hesitant to Enter AI

Despite the opportunities in AI and FinTech, many women hesitate to enter the field due to the confidence gap. Vivian Chan explains that societal norms play a significant role—men tend to overestimate their abilities, while women often underestimate theirs.

This phenomenon is evident in the venture capital and startup space, where female founders are frequently questioned about risk, while male founders are asked about growth potential. This implicit bias leads to fewer funding opportunities for women, despite the fact that female-led startups deliver higher returns on investment.

Even AI tools themselves mirror these biases. Emma Alexander shares an experience where ChatGPT automatically assumed she was a man when generating a professional biography. The issue isn’t just that AI systems make these errors—it’s that they are trained on historically biased data that reinforces outdated stereotypes.

To close this confidence gap, women must be encouraged to step forward, challenge biases, and take ownership of AI’s future. As Zahra Shah puts it, confidence isn’t just about self-belief—it’s about having the courage to take risks, make mistakes, and redefine what AI can be.

How AI Is Reshaping Hiring and Career Progression in FinTech

At Harrington Starr, our mission is to connect the best talent with leading FinTech, financial services, and technology firms. AI is increasingly playing a role in hiring, career development, and salary negotiations, but without proper oversight, these systems can perpetuate existing gender and diversity inequalities.

AI-powered performance evaluation tools are now being used to assess employees for promotions, raises, and project assignments. But if these tools rely on historically biased data, they risk penalising women and underrepresented groups.

Nadia is passionate about ensuring women receive fair pay, equal access to high-value projects, and recognition for their contributions. She highlights that while much of the conversation focuses on attracting women to AI and FinTech, the real challenge is retaining them, promoting them, and ensuring they have a voice at the decision-making table.

From AI Users to AI Creators: Taking Control of the Future

A key theme in this discussion is empowerment—women must not only use AI but actively define and shape it. Emma Alexander shares her experience of building an AI-powered travel business in just five days, using no-code tools. She proves that technical expertise is not a barrier—the biggest obstacle is self-doubt.

AI development is no longer limited to software engineers and data scientists. The rise of no-code platforms, AI-assisted design tools, and ethical AI governance roles means that professionals from all industries—including FinTech, recruitment, and marketing—can contribute to AI’s evolution.

Zahra Shah encourages women to actively engage with AI tools, challenge biases, and advocate for inclusive AI policies. She has worked extensively with the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office, advising on AI ethics, data privacy, and responsible AI governance.

Meanwhile, Vivian Chan stresses that AI’s future depends on diverse data and inclusive decision-making. Without women shaping its development, AI will continue to perpetuate outdated biases instead of solving them.

AI in FinTech Recruitment: The Path Forward

AI has the potential to revolutionise FinTech recruitment, helping companies like Harrington Starr connect top talent with the right opportunities. But to unlock this potential, businesses must ensure their AI-driven hiring and career progression tools are transparent, fair, and free of bias.

The panellists agree on several key steps to drive change:

• Encouraging more women to enter AI, FinTech, and technology roles
• Ensuring companies audit their AI hiring tools for bias
• Using AI mindfully and holding organisations accountable for ethical AI practices
• Investing in upskilling programmes, so professionals from all backgrounds can engage with AI

For FinTech professionals and recruiters, the message is clear: AI belongs to everyone—not just coders.

AI Belongs to Everyone—Not Just Engineers

This episode of FinTech’s DEI Discussions is a powerful call to action. AI is no longer the domain of engineers and programmers—it is a tool that can be shaped by problem solvers, critical thinkers, and industry leaders from all backgrounds.

By closing the confidence gap, embracing diverse expertise, and actively challenging bias, we can ensure that AI serves everyone—not just the privileged few.

How the Women Defining AI Panel Discussion Relates to Harrington Starr as a FinTech Recruitment Company

At Harrington Starr, we are dedicated to driving positive change in FinTech recruitment, ensuring that companies hire the best talent while fostering more diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplaces. The Women Defining AI panel discussion aligns directly with our mission by addressing some of the most pressing challenges facing both AI-driven hiring and the wider financial technology industry.

One of the key takeaways from the discussion was the bias embedded in AI-driven recruitment tools. As a FinTech recruitment company, we understand how AI is increasingly being used to automate hiring processes, assess CVs, and even determine candidate suitability. However, as Zahra Shah highlighted, many AI recruitment tools rely on historically biased data, leading to outcomes that disadvantage women and underrepresented groups. The example of Amazon’s AI hiring tool, which penalised CVs that included words like “women” or referenced female-focused organisations, is a clear example of why recruitment processes must be carefully monitored.

For companies looking to hire the best FinTech talent, this presents a challenge. If AI recruitment tools are left unchecked, they can reinforce existing inequalities, ultimately excluding top candidates who don’t fit the traditional profile of a FinTech professional. At Harrington Starr, we are committed to helping our clients navigate this challenge, ensuring that hiring decisions are based on talent, skills, and experience rather than biased algorithms.

Beyond hiring, this discussion also connects to career progression and talent retention in FinTech. Nadia Edwards-Dashti emphasised the importance of not just attracting women into FinTech and AI but ensuring they are promoted, paid fairly, and given access to high-value projects. This is at the core of our approach at Harrington Starr, where we advocate for equitable opportunities for all candidates and support businesses in building diverse, high-performing teams.

The conversation also highlighted how AI is shaping the future of work, and at Harrington Starr, we believe that recruitment professionals, hiring managers, and business leaders must take an active role in shaping ethical AI practices. By staying ahead of these discussions, we ensure that our clients hire smarter, create more inclusive workplaces, and future-proof their businesses.

The Women Defining AI panel reinforces the urgent need for diversity in AI and FinTech—a mission that Harrington Starr is proud to champion every day.