Recent research from Stanford University reveals how artificial intelligence (AI) is exposing longstanding flaws in the labor market, particularly affecting young women in early-career roles. The study shows employment growth slowing most for women in jobs involving routine cognitive tasks—work that AI is increasingly capable of performing. However, this is less about AI creating new inequalities and more about revealing pre-existing ones tied to how professional work has traditionally been structured. Women have historically been overrepresented in administrative and support roles, which have undergone repeated technological disruption. Nobel laureate Claudia Goldin highlighted how many high-paying careers favor long hours and constant availability over productivity, disadvantaging women who often shoulder more family and childcare duties.
Drawing from personal experience at a leading Korean gaming company, the author shares how redesigning workplace support—such as creating a daycare aligned with working parents' schedules—helped retain and advance female employees. This example illustrates how workplace design, not technology itself, drives inequality.
AI’s broader impact lies in its potential to prompt organizations to rethink and redesign entry-level jobs. Instead of assigning routine tasks to junior workers, companies could focus on developing their judgment and expertise earlier, leading to more equitable advancement opportunities. Whether AI narrows or widens inequalities will depend on how organizations choose to integrate it into work systems, offering a chance to correct long-standing workforce imbalances.
PayPal is actively engaged in talks to potentially sell the company to payment processor Stripe and private equity firm Advent. These discussions come as the fintech company's new CEO aims to revitalize and strategically reposition the business for growth.
OpenAI has disbanded its preparedness team, which was tasked with evaluating serious risks posed by AI models and creating mitigation strategies. This change, reported by the Financial Times, reallocates risk management responsibilities to specialized teams focusing on areas like bio and cyber security. The move is part of broader internal shifts as OpenAI prepares for a significant IPO, reflecting the company's evolving approach to managing potential model-related threats.
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Every organization and hiring manager aims to hire the best talent and gain an edge over competitors. But consider this: Have you ever been given a chance by a decision-maker despite lacking perfect credentials? You likely exceeded expectations because someone saw potential in you. Yet today, many leaders hesitate to take these bets, often focusing only on candidates with flawless resumes and backgrounds. This approach is costly and risky.
Research shows that opportunity — giving people a chance and investing in their growth — drives recruitment interest, engagement, effort, and retention more than salary or job design. Yet most leaders reserve opportunities for those they already perceive as "the best," which is neither objective nor efficient. Talent evaluation varies widely, and the "only the best" mindset narrows candidate pools, drives up costs, and often results in poorer performance when star hires fail to meet expectations in new roles.
An alternative is the "opportunity mindset," which doesn’t mean lowering standards but identifying candidates with the right skills and potential rather than credentials alone. By supporting new hires through onboarding, mentorship, and development, organizations can turn good hires into great employees. This approach broadens the talent pool to include nontraditional candidates like community college grads, career switchers, or parents returning to work, creating a more diverse, resilient workforce.
Leading companies like IBM, Bank of America, Google, and others have adopted skills-first hiring and internal promotions, finding these strategies improve retention, productivity, and financial performance.
Even in today’s hiring recession, the opportunity mindset remains valuable. Increased applicants don’t improve judgment, and AI-generated resumes blur signals, making skills assessments more critical. Hiring now offers a chance to invest in undervalued candidates at a lower cost, preparing your company for future labor shortages and a tighter market.
To apply this, try a hiring experiment: define key job skills, evaluate all finalists consistently, and commit to developing the new hire’s potential over their first year. Track performance and retention. This approach could uncover a powerful competitive advantage — transforming good candidates into outstanding employees.
The opportunity mindset builds enduring, inclusive, and future-ready organizations by betting on potential and growth. Remember how someone once believed in you and the returns that brought. Those who make similar thoughtful bets now will lead organizations that thrive over the long term.
Lee McIntire, who serves as an independent member of Fermi's board, has been appointed as the new CEO. This appointment comes over three months after the company parted ways with its co-founder Toby Neugebauer, who previously held the CEO position.
Denise Dresser, OpenAI's chief revenue officer, is departing after a brief eight-month tenure. She will be succeeded by Dali Rajic, who previously served as president and COO of Wiz. In addition to the leadership shift, OpenAI is actively recruiting to strengthen its go-to-market team. This move follows the recent exit announcement of veteran executive Brad Lightcap, marking a significant transition in the company’s sales operations.
Most organizations struggle to successfully implement customer experience transformation due to common hurdles and misunderstandings that prevent meaningful progress.
Confidence among Gen Z employees in the workplace has declined by 20 points over the past year. However, many employers mistakenly believe they have already addressed the underlying issues contributing to this drop. The reality is that more proactive strategies are needed to rebuild confidence and engage this generation effectively.
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