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The MPI-IS community is invited to a talk by Professor Elisabeth Kelan, at the institute's Stuttgart site on February 23 at 11:00. The talk will be followed by a discussion moderated by the Athena Group representatives at 12:30.
This talk examines how automation and artificial intelligence are reshaping work in ways that are intertwined with gender. Drawing on the book Patterns of Inclusion: How Gender Matters for Automation, Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work (available open access), it shows how gender and technology are co constructed. First, the talk analyses gender subtexts in imaginaries of the future of work, showing how visions of automation and augmentation carry implicit assumptions about whose work is considered automatable or augmentable. Second, it examines the gendering of socio-emotional skills, demonstrating how capabilities framed as ‘uniquely human’ are associated with particular groups and shape expectations of what technologies can and cannot do. Third, the talk turns to gender logics of AI supported hiring, highlighting how algorithmic bias is often framed as a technical problem to be fixed, yet also offers a lens for understanding how technologies and societies are intertwined. The talk argues that the future of work is socially produced through the ways organisations design, implement, and make sense of technologies, and that recognising the gendered dynamics within these processes is crucial for shaping more equitable socio-technical futures.
Elisabeth Kelan, Ph.D. (King's College London)
Professor of Leadership and Organisation
Elisabeth Kelan is a Professor of Leadership and Organisation at King’s Business School, a Fellow of the Digital Futures Institute, and affiliated with the King’s Institute for Artificial Intelligence at King’s College London. Elisabeth is an expert in leadership, digitalisation and AI, and gender. Her current research focuses on AI, gender, and leadership. Her latest book, Patterns of Inclusion: How Gender Matters for Automation, Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work, examines how digitalisation and AI are reshaping gender patterns in organisations. She is a globally recognised thought leader on women’s leadership and inclusive workplaces, and her work has received multiple awards, including Management Publication of the Year 2024 for her book Men Stepping Forward: Leading Your Organization on the Path to Inclusion, awarded by the Chartered Management Institute, the British Academy of Management, and the Chartered Association of Business Schools Elisabeth teaches on the MSc Management & Technological Change. She regularly delivers executive education and advises on digital transformation, inclusive leadership, and women’s leadership. She has worked with Accenture, Google, Goldman Sachs, PwC, Johnson & Johnson, L’Oréal, and Airbus; global law firms such as Linklaters and Clifford Chance; and supranational bodies including the United Nations, the European Central Bank, and the OECD. Her research has been featured in media outlets such as the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Economist, and she is a sought-after keynote speaker.
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