Source: Wikimedia Commons. Women in STEM image

Dame Amanda Blanc has cautioned professionals to keep pace with the current advances in artificial intelligence, warning that the technology is set to fundamentally change the way businesses operate.

“It is important that you are keeping up to speed with what is going on, particularly in Generative AI because it is going to fundamentally change the way we do business,” she said.

Blanc, the chief executive of Aviva and non-executive director at British Petroleum (BP), highlighted the growing importance of data science across a variety of sectors. “My daughter is studying Natural Sciences in Exeter as we speak and wants to be an investment banker where she has just gone for one of her internships. She has been asked to do all sorts of tests including things like data science which I think is really important,” she said.

“For me, irrespective of the background you come from, as a senior at Aviva, I need to understand that [data science] – and I have a history degree,” she continued.

The CEO’s comments came in advance of STEM Women Ltd.’s latest London careers event, hosted at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre. The event aimed to address the prevailing gender gap across science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Stephen Rooney, the managing director of STEM Women, stated the participation of women in STEM industries continues to be essential. “Events where women can see how they fit into the industry is very important,” he said.

According to a 2025 survey produced by EngineeringUK, in UK engineering and technology occupations, women comprised 16.9 per cent of the workforce.

These figures follow data published in 2023 by the Department of Education, which reported that women comprised about one quarter of the UK STEM workforce.

A Level 2 apprentice at Transport for London (TFL), who asked to remain anonymous, said the deficit of women in STEM positions limits diversity of thought. “It is 100 per cent important,” they said, claiming it leads to “things like groupthink”.

A study published by Forbes, based on responses from 230 senior board members, came to a similar conclusion. It found that “the most important way to alleviate groupthink is to introduce diversity of thought”.

The divide remains pervasive at the heart of UK business. When Dame Emma Walmsley resigns as chief executive of GSK, the number of female CEOs aboard the FTSE 100 will decrease from nine to eight.

For Blanc, minimising the gap demands that women possess the knowledge and skills to traverse an increasingly data-driven economy. As the UK economy adapts to AI, STEM Women’s London showcase demonstrates how the aspiring workforce is preparing to meet new demands.