The future is female (to the power of AI)

Photo by The Jopwell Collection on Unsplash

In South Africa’s creative economy, women power the work, but don’t always hold the power. Research by SheSays and Kantar, covering 35 agencies in the country, shows that women account for just 39% of senior creative positions while they cover 82% of mid-level positions in the creative sector.

They dominate the talent pool in advertising and design, yet the title 'creative director' is still far more likely to sit on a man’s desk. Now, artificial intelligence is rewriting the rules. It could be the great equaliser – arming women with the tools, visibility, and influence they’ve fought for. Or it could hard-code the very biases that have kept them out of the top tier. The choice is here. The clock is ticking. Will AI sideline women, or supercharge them?

AI challenges in the creative industry

The road to empowerment isn’t automatic or automated. If used without awareness, AI risks reinforcing the very inequities it could help dismantle.

Algorithmic bias

AI models learn from historical data, and history is full of stereotypes. Without intervention, these tools often default to narrow beauty ideals, gendered job roles, and Western cultural norms. A brief prompt for a 'CEO' image may still generate a white man in a suit, and 'beautiful woman' might return Eurocentric features. This not only undermines authenticity but risks alienating diverse South African audiences.

Unequal access

Top-tier AI tools – from advanced image generation to predictive analytics – are often locked behind expensive subscriptions or embedded in large, urban agencies. Women working in smaller, remote or under-resourced teams are at risk of being left behind.

Skill and confidence gaps

Many women in creative roles already have the strategic and conceptual skills to use AI brilliantly but lack formal training in prompt engineering, AI-assisted workflows, or data analysis. Without this, they risk being excluded from high-value, AI-driven decision-making.

Credit and credibility

In AI-assisted creative work, the human origin of ideas can easily get lost. If a female strategist writes the prompt that sparks a campaign-winning visual, but there’s no attribution process, her role may be invisible when credit and recognition are given.

How AI can empower women in creativity

When implemented with intention and attention, AI can be transformative – not just in how we work, but in deciding who gets to lead the next wave of innovation. Women make up just 22% of the AI workforce, and their presence in leadership is even scarcer – holding under 14% of senior executive positions in the field. This according to a global 2024 UN Women study.

Amplifying empathy and nuance

Women often bring a deep emotional intelligence to brand storytelling. AI can help scale that into compelling multi-platform campaigns – from personalised copy variations to mood-specific imagery – without losing the original human insight.

Backing creativity with data

Creative intuition becomes harder to dismiss when supported by AI-generated insights. Whether testing emotional tone, audience alignment, or predictive engagement, women can use data to champion bold ideas in rooms where they’ve historically had to defend them.

Levelling the playing field

Small, female-led teams now have access to tools that rival big-budget agencies – from video editors and image generators to copywriting bots. With the right AI stack, ideas matter more than headcount or budget.

Efficiency = focus

By automating low-impact, high-effort tasks – like formatting, keyword analysis, or asset resizing – women creatives are freed up to focus on strategic and visionary work. And strategic leadership is where AI can’t compete.

Who’s leading by example?

In 2024, Dove South Africa partnered with VML to launch the Real Beauty Generation tool – a custom-trained AI system designed to challenge traditional beauty standards. It generates inclusive imagery featuring African skin tones, natural hair textures, and features like wrinkles, scars and freckles. Dove didn’t just critique bias – they rewrote the algorithm. That’s brand leadership in action.

Another example is UK-based agency Mother, who automated their production processes using AI, freeing up junior creatives, many of them women, to work on pitches, strategy and leadership tasks. This not only sped up workflows but helped elevate under-recognised talent into decision-making circles. It’s a replicable model South African agencies could adopt today.

On a smaller scale, female-led startups like GirlCode in SA are running AI bootcamps to introduce women to prompt engineering, chatbot building, and ethical AI design. While not exclusive to the creative field, these programs build the digital confidence women need to lead in hybrid roles that merge tech with storytelling.

Five ways companies can help AI close the leadership gap

1. Audit for bias: build regular bias checks into all AI-generated campaigns.
   
2. Train everyone: make AI skills part of onboarding and ongoing learning for all roles, not just technical teams.
   
3. Appoint AI champions: nominate women in creative and strategy roles to lead AI exploration and share learnings.
   
4. Track the credit: log who wrote prompts, made key decisions, and shaped the creative output.
   
5. Redesign roles: move women into areas where AI can’t replace them, e.g. strategy, brand vision and client relationships.
   

Artificial intelligence is undeniably reshaping creativity. But its promise depends on who holds the tools, and who shapes the narratives they produce. With equitable access, training and credit, South African women could be at the forefront of this transformation. They have the creativity, cultural insight, and emotional intelligence that AI alone can’t replicate. What they need now is the platform, the permission and the resources to lead.

As we celebrate Women’s Month, the call to industry is clear – don’t just invite women into the AI conversation, empower them to lead it. By doing so, the creative sector won’t just accelerate innovation, it will model a new era of inclusion, leadership, and cultural relevance that actually reflects the society we live in.