This is Part 2 of a three-part series. Read Part 1 here.
From an evolutionary standpoint, women’s leadership traits can be viewed as extensions of roles in cooperation, social bonding, and problem-solving that females have played throughout human and animal history.
Informal Power & Coalition-Building
Anthropological research points out a female leadership paradox: despite women’s underrepresentation in formal power structures across many societies, female influence in group decisions has long been significant in informal or community contexts. These evolutionary adaptations helped sustain kin networks and raise offspring, showing that leadership often manifests in less visible but highly effective ways.
Female-Led Strategies in the Animal Kingdom
Comparative biology provides striking examples of female-led dynamics that likely have analogs in human evolution. Elephant herds are led by matriarchs—older females with rich ecological knowledge who guide group movement and survival. Lionesses coordinate cooperative hunts, demonstrating teamwork and collective action. Bonobo societies highlight female alliances maintaining peace and resolving conflicts without brute force. These cases illustrate that female leadership often excels through collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and social cohesion.
Human Evolutionary Trends
In ancestral communities, women commonly stayed in their birth groups, developing strong social networks and cooperative strategies. Elder women became knowledge-keepers, offering expertise about food sources and child-rearing—roles mirrored by matriarchs in the animal world. Meanwhile, men often had broader visibility through hunting or trade, which led to more frequent formal leadership. It is worth noting that stricter gender separation started only in the agrarian period. Yet our species’ success has always relied on a flexible mix of leadership strategies.
Today: Women Leading the Way in AI and Hybrid Intelligence
The rise of AI opens new arenas for leadership, and a growing number of women are ensuring that technology develops with human values in mind. Their stories show how blending scientific acumen with empathy, ethical vigilance, and stakeholder engagement can steer innovation positively.
Trailblazers in Responsible AI:
Leaders like Kay Firth-Butterfield (the world’s first Chief AI Ethics Officer) and Elham Tabassi at NIST drive standards for trustworthy AI. Miriam Vogel (head of EqualAI) and Navrina Singh (founder of Credo AI) champion fairness in algorithms. Dr. Fei-Fei Li has combined technical breakthroughs with human-centered advocacy, while Joy Buolamwini’s Algorithmic Justice League exposes and helps fix bias in AI systems. In industry, figures like Lila Ibrahim (COO of DeepMind) and Dr. Francesca Rossi (IBM’s Global AI Ethics leader) exemplify responsible AI governance at the highest levels.
Analytical Expertise Meets Ethical Foresight:
These women leverage hybrid intelligence by pairing analytical strengths with ethical oversight and collaborative leadership. They debunk the myth that only hardcore coders can lead in AI, proving that understanding AI’s applications and impact can be just as critical. To drive AI innovation, it may be more important to understand applications and impact. In fact, recent data show women business leaders are slightly more likely than men to adopt AI tools for productivity and content creation, and to see significant efficiency gains from these tools. This openness to leveraging AI for practical outcomes is a form of hybrid intelligence in action: using the best of technology in tandem with human creativity and judgment.
Tomorrow: 4 A’s To Cultivate Hybrid Intelligence
In Part 3, we’ll present four practical principles—the “4 A’s”—that any leader can adopt to cultivate hybrid intelligence, along with a forward-looking conclusion on how these approaches can guide us well beyond International Women’s Day.
