Women Don't Just Want AI to Make Life Easier. We Want It to Open Doors.

Marissa Mayer and I have something in common.

We both know what it's like to navigate motherhood while holding leadership positions.

Of course, our careers have taken very different paths. Marissa was the CEO of Yahoo, having previously made history as Google's first female engineer. She has also served on the boards of major companies, including Hilton and Walmart.

But regardless of the size of the organisation or the title on the business card, women in leadership often face a remarkably similar challenge.

We have to prove that becoming mothers doesn't somehow diminish our ability to think strategically, make executive decisions or lead a business.

That having children doesn't make us less ambitious, less capable or less committed to our careers.

That we can build successful careers and raise families.

Although, frankly, I don't think we should have to prove any of this in the first place.

So when The New York Times recently interviewed Marissa Mayer about what women want from AI, I was listening.

Here was one of the most accomplished women in technology, someone who had navigated the challenges of executive leadership and motherhood, being asked about one of the biggest technological revolutions of our lifetime.

Surely, this was going to be an interesting conversation about opportunity, leadership, innovation and economic independence.

Instead, the conversation focused on AI helping women choose outfits, organise birthday parties and manage family life.

Seriously?

Don't get me wrong. As a working mother of two daughters, I would happily welcome some help with the endless school activities, sports schedules, appointments and general household chaos.

But is that really how we're going to frame the opportunities AI creates for women?

Surely, we can aim a little higher.

We need to change the conversation

What struck me wasn't that the article discussed the everyday applications of AI. Those are useful, and there is nothing wrong with wanting technology to make life easier.

What bothered me was the framing.

When we talk about men and technology, we tend to focus on what they can invent, build and achieve.

When we talk about women and technology, why does the conversation so often return to what they can organise, manage and consume?

It's a subtle distinction, but an important one.

Because the stories we tell about technology influence who believes it is for them.

If we continually present AI to women as a better personal assistant, we risk overlooking its far greater potential: giving women the tools, confidence and opportunities to build something of their own.

And that is a much more exciting conversation.

AI could be one of the greatest equalisers of our time

I've spent much of my career building businesses, working with entrepreneurs and helping organisations grow.

And one thing I've learned is that good ideas are rarely the problem.

Access is.

Access to capital. Access to technical expertise. Access to the right people. Access to time.

For years, turning a business idea into reality often required significant upfront investment, a team of specialists or the ability to take substantial financial risks.

Those barriers haven't disappeared. But AI is beginning to lower some of them.

Today, someone with a good idea and the willingness to learn can build a website, develop an application, test a business concept, automate processes and bring a product to market with resources that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago.

You no longer necessarily need to know how to code to create software.

You don't need a large marketing department to develop and execute a sophisticated marketing strategy.

And you don't need to hire an entire team before you can test whether your idea has legs.

Of course, AI doesn't replace experience, commercial judgement or hard work. And it certainly doesn't guarantee success.

But it does reduce the distance between having an idea and doing something about it.

For women who have historically faced additional barriers to entrepreneurship, that is significant.

I see this opportunity in my own work

At Ceri & Co, I work with businesses to bring structure to complexity, develop growth strategies and use technology to work smarter.

And increasingly, AI is part of almost every conversation.

Not because everyone needs to jump on the latest technology bandwagon, but because the practical opportunities are enormous.

I've seen how AI can help small teams achieve things that previously required much larger budgets and resources.

It can help a founder move from an idea to a working prototype. It can give a business owner access to insights and capabilities they couldn't previously afford. It can automate repetitive work and free up time for the things that actually require human judgement, creativity and connection.

For me, that is where the real value lies.

AI shouldn't simply help us do more work. It should help us do more meaningful work, create more value and have greater control over our futures.

And I would love to see more women taking advantage of that.

Not just using AI tools, but building them.

Not just consuming technology, but shaping it.

Not just becoming more productive employees, but creating businesses, products and opportunities of their own.

What about the invisible workload women carry?

There is another part of this conversation that deserves attention.

Women still carry a disproportionate share of the mental load associated with running a household and raising children.

Remembering appointments. Organising school activities. Buying birthday presents. Planning meals. Coordinating everyone's schedules.

It's often invisible work, but it takes time, energy and mental capacity.

AI has enormous potential to reduce that burden.

But I don't want us to use technology simply to make women better at managing responsibilities that should be shared in the first place.

Why can't fathers use AI to organise the birthday parties too?

Why are we so quick to position household management as a women's technology problem rather than a shared responsibility?

If AI can help families reclaim time, wonderful.

But let's make sure that time creates opportunities for everyone, rather than reinforcing the same old expectations.

I think about my daughters

As a mother of two young girls, this conversation feels particularly important.

I want my daughters to grow up believing that technology is something they can shape, not just something they use.

That if they have an idea, they can build it.

That if they want to start a business, they don't need to wait for someone to give them permission.

That engineering, technology, finance, leadership and entrepreneurship are just as much their territory as anyone else's.

And equally, if they decide to pursue entirely different paths, that's their choice too.

I don't believe every woman needs to become a founder, CEO or billionaire.

Success looks different for everyone.

Some women want to build businesses. Others want to focus on raising families. Some want both. Others want to create art, conduct research, pursue careers, travel or simply have more freedom over how they spend their time.

The point is not to replace one set of expectations with another.

The point is to give women more choices.

And that is what excites me about AI.

It has the potential to make knowledge, expertise and tools more accessible to people who previously couldn't afford them or didn't have the connections to access them.

Imagine what that could mean for the next generation of women.

The opportunity is bigger than productivity

We talk a lot about AI making us more efficient.

Saving hours. Automating tasks. Reducing costs.

All important, particularly for businesses.

But I think we need to expand the conversation beyond productivity.

What if AI helps more women achieve financial independence?

What if it enables someone to start a business while raising young children?

What if it gives a regional entrepreneur access to the same capabilities as a well-funded startup in Sydney or Silicon Valley?

What if it helps women enter industries where they've traditionally been underrepresented?

What if it creates opportunities for people who have brilliant ideas but lack the resources to bring them to life?

There are still serious challenges to address, including access to technology, digital literacy, bias, privacy and the risk that AI could reinforce existing inequalities.

AI isn't automatically an equaliser. We have to make sure it becomes one.

And that means ensuring women are involved in developing, governing and leading the technology, not simply using whatever someone else builds for them.

Let's aim higher

I want AI to help women build businesses.

I want it to make expertise more accessible and reduce barriers to entrepreneurship.

I want it to give women greater financial independence, negotiating power and influence.

I want it to create opportunities for people who have been overlooked or underestimated.

And yes, I would also quite happily let it organise the next children's birthday party.

But please, let's not confuse convenience with ambition.

We are at a moment when technology could fundamentally change who gets to create, build and lead.

Women shouldn't just have a seat at the table. We should have the tools and opportunities to build our own tables.

And if AI can help make that possible, that's a future worth getting excited about.

About Ceri & Co

At Ceri & Co, we help businesses turn strategy, technology and AI into practical opportunities for growth.

Because the future of business isn't just about adopting new tools. It's about understanding what those tools make possible — and having the confidence to act on it.

Let's build something better.

This article was inspired by Elena Verna's response to The New York Times' coverage of Marissa Mayer and the question of what women want from AI.