About the Episode
About The Episode:
Dave sits down with Anne Murphy, founder of SheLeadsAI and Empowered Fundraising Consulting, to explore the intersection of gender, leadership, and AI. Anne shares how a personal health crisis and a chance encounter with ChatGPT reshaped her professional life and ignited a movement to ensure women — particularly Gen X women — play a central role in the AI revolution. Tune in for a conversation packed with truth bombs, real-world insights, and inspiring takeaways for anyone navigating AI in higher education and beyond.
Key Takeaways
- Women are underreporting AI use, not underutilizing it. Many women are quietly adopting AI in their workflows while waiting for permission or acceptance.
- AI implementation isn’t just a tech problem — it’s a people, process, and culture issue. And women are uniquely suited to lead it.
- Gen X leaders hold untapped potential in AI transformation. Their lived experience navigating analog-to-digital transitions positions them as effective guides in this new tech era.
- Psychological safety is critical in AI learning communities. Creating inclusive, permission-rich spaces allows for experimentation, skepticism, and growth.
- Gatekeeping language around AI-generated writing reinforces systemic inequities. Access to AI tools can democratize leadership and amplify historically marginalized voices.
- The future of AI depends on transparency, humility, and relationship-centered learning. Building an inclusive AI future starts with asking better questions, not having all the answers.
Episode Summary: What We’re Really Talking About When We Talk About Women, AI, and Leadership
What is the mission of SheLeadsAI?
Anne Murphy created SheLeadsAI to ensure that women — especially mid-career professionals — aren’t left behind in the generative AI revolution. After leaving a three-decade career in higher ed fundraising, Anne faced a life-altering health battle with long COVID. In her recovery, she discovered ChatGPT and realized the transformative power of AI in helping her build a business and regain momentum. What started as a survival tool quickly became a movement. SheLeadsAI is now a vibrant community offering psychological safety, peer learning, and AI upskilling — all with the goal of ensuring women aren’t just participating in AI, but leading with it.
Is there really a gender gap in AI adoption?
Despite reports from Harvard Business School and other sources, Anne challenges the prevailing narrative that women are behind in AI adoption. While the data may show a disparity, she believes it's more about underreporting than underutilizing. Women often experiment with AI tools privately or in closed circles, influenced by social conditioning that discourages taking up space or outperforming peers. Anne argues that as community spaces like SheLeadsAI grow, we'll see clearer evidence that women are adopting and mastering generative AI — and fast.
Why are women uniquely suited to lead in AI?
Women, particularly those in HR, operations, and student services, are often on the front lines of process-heavy work. This proximity to workflows makes them ideal candidates for guiding AI implementation — because they see the ethical, logistical, and interpersonal implications up close. While C-suite leaders (still predominantly male) are often removed from day-to-day tasks, women in mid-level leadership roles have the situational awareness needed to align AI tools with organizational values and equity goals. They’re not just using AI — they’re stewarding it.
How does SheLeadsAI create psychologically safe learning environments?
Anne’s commitment to psychological safety is core to SheLeadsAI’s success. Through regular community events like “Social Saturdays” and code-of-conduct-driven memberships, women can explore AI without fear of judgment or ridicule. From talking about the ethics of using ChatGPT for Christmas cards to tackling the risks of data privacy, Anne fosters an environment where every participant can share openly, learn from others, and refine their ethical boundaries. It’s not about preaching best practices — it’s about collaborative learning and mutual respect.
What’s the big deal about AI punctuation, tone, and grammar complaints?
Anne calls out the elitism in criticizing AI-generated writing styles — especially when those critiques become thinly veiled forms of gatekeeping. Whether it’s mocking the M-dash or nitpicking sentence structure, she believes these critiques can reinforce white supremacy culture by upholding arbitrary standards of “good” communication. Instead, she encourages leaders to focus on clarity, accessibility, and equity. If AI can empower someone to share their ideas who previously felt voiceless, that’s a win — full stop.
How should leaders adopt AI tools they don’t fully trust?
AI evangelists like Anne live in the “both/and” space: Both optimistic and cautious, both inspired and skeptical. She coaches leaders to acknowledge AI’s ethical challenges — from data bias to environmental concerns — while also recognizing its unmatched potential to improve productivity, communication, and access. Her advice? Don’t wait for perfect. Be honest, stay humble, and commit to learning in public. Trust is built through intentional use, not blind loyalty.
What strengths (and blind spots) do Gen X leaders bring to AI adoption?
Anne sees Gen X leaders — those raised by boomers and shaped by analog beginnings — as a powerful but overlooked group in the AI revolution. Their grit, grind, and adaptability make them well-positioned to lead digital transformation. But she warns that clinging to legacy systems and equating hard work with moral value can hold them back. Letting AI handle the “grind” doesn’t make you lazy — it makes you efficient, and maybe even more human. As Anne says, “This isn’t just throwing out the bathwater. It’s taking a wrecking ball to the bathroom.”
What does an inclusive AI future look like?
Anne’s vision for the future of AI is simple but radical: A world where power is more evenly distributed. Where the people building the tools reflect the people affected by them. Where those who have been excluded from decision-making now get a seat at the table — and maybe even build the table themselves. While she doesn’t sugarcoat the risks, she believes AI gives us an unprecedented chance to reimagine leadership, creativity, and equity.
Enrollify is produced by Element451 — the next-generation AI student engagement platform helping institutions create meaningful and personalized interactions with students. Learn more at element451.com.
.svg)
.svg)
