Empowering Women Entrepreneurs Through Ai: Addressing Gender Bias in Pakistan's E-Commerce Landscape

Abstract

The research investigates how AI adoption affects female business owners in Pakistan’s e-commerce industry by reducing gender bias as well as enabling more women in business while making them better able to manage economic changes and grow their enterprises. The research analyses both the pivotal position of gender bias reduction when AI controls financial services and the impact made by digital literacy, together with social support structures. The research selects 407 participants in e-commerce businesses managed by women from both urban and rural Pakistan locations which it studies via quantitative methods. A cross-sectional study combined with structured questionnaires collected data through stratified random samples to achieve proper diversity in the research sample. The data analysis utilized SPSS with SEM approaches. AI integration demonstrates strong positive effects on women’s entrepreneurial empowerment (β = 0.48, p < 0.001), which primarily happens through AI marketing tools (β = 0.41). The reduction of gender bias helps explain 31% of the way AI affects financial empowerment, thus demonstrating why algorithmic fairness matters. Digital literacy establishes a fundamental boundary because AI provides advantages that increase significantly at the 40% proficiency level and beyond. Social support systems increase entrepreneurial empowerment for women because those who receive full support experience 2.4 times more benefits than women who lack support networks. Female entrepreneurs choose to use AI technology at higher rates (28%) in urban areas than in rural territories, and their digital literacy exceeds rural territory levels by 49%. Female business owners will achieve the best AI benefits through developer-made design standards that address their needs, combined with tailored training and strong network assistance. These research results enable policymakers and tech developers, as well as business support organizations, to develop strategies that promote inclusive digital growth in Pakistan alongside emerging market economies.