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Tarlogic team giving their presentation during RootedCON. Image: Tarlogic Billions of devices worldwide rely on a widely used Bluetooth-Wi-Fi chip that contains undocumented “hidden commands.” Researchers warn these commands could be exploited to manipulate memory, impersonate devices, and bypass security controls. ESP32, manufactured by a Chinese company called Espressif, is a microcontroller that enables Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections in numerous smart devices, including smartphones, laptops, smart locks, and medical equipment. Its popularity is partly due to its low cost, with units available for just a few dollars. Must-read security coverage Hidden Bluetooth commands and potential exploits Researchers at security firm Tarlogic discovered 29 undocumented Host Controller Interface commands within the ESP32’s Bluetooth firmware. These commands enable low-level control over some Bluetooth functions, such as reading and writing memory, modifying MAC addresses, and injecting malicious packets, according to Bleeping Computer, which attended Tarlogic’s presentation at RootedCON. SEE: Zscaler Report: Mobile, IoT, and OT Cyber Threats Surged in 2024 While these functions aren’t inherently malicious, bad actors could exploit them to stage impersonation attacks, introduce and hide backdoors, or modify device behavior — all while bypassing code audit controls. Such incidents could lead to a supply chain attack targeting other smart devices. “Malicious actors could impersonate known devices to connect to mobile phones, computers and smart devices, even if they are in offline mode,” the Tarlogic researchers wrote in a blog post. “For what purpose? To obtain confidential information stored on them, to have access to personal and business conversations, and to spy on citizens and companies.” What are the barriers to entry for these exploits? Despite the risks, there are barriers to entry for exploiting these commands, which distinguishes them from typical backdoor vulnerabilities. Attackers would need physical access to the smart device’s USB or UART interface, or they would need to have already compromised the firmware through stolen root access, pre-installed malware, or other vulnerabilities to exploit the commands remotely. What happens next? Tarlogic researchers Miguel Tarascó Acuña and Antonio Vázquez Blanco discovered the vulnerable HCI commands using BluetoothUSB, a free hardware-independent, cross-platform tool that enables access to Bluetooth traffic for security audits and testing. These hidden commands are likely hardware-debugging Opcode instructions that were unintentionally left exposed; TechRepublic has contacted Espressif to confirm but the company has yet to respond as of writing. The company’s response will be crucial in determining whether firmware updates or mitigations will be released to secure affected devices. source

What is CRM database A customer relationship management (CRM) database is a resource that contains all customer data that all departments within an organization can access. These data include customer information, sales reports, and marketing statistics. Companies use all this information to track, evaluate, and direct customer interactions. 1 monday CRM Employees per Company Size Micro (0-49), Small (50-249), Medium (250-999), Large (1,000-4,999), Enterprise (5,000+) Any Company Size Any Company Size Features Calendar, Collaboration Tools, Contact Management, and more 2 Pipedrive CRM Employees per Company Size Micro (0-49), Small (50-249), Medium (250-999), Large (1,000-4,999), Enterprise (5,000+) Any Company Size Any Company Size Features Calendar, Collaboration Tools, Contact Management, and more 3 HubSpot CRM Employees per Company Size Micro (0-49), Small (50-249), Medium (250-999), Large (1,000-4,999), Enterprise (5,000+) Micro (0-49 Employees), Small (50-249 Employees), Medium (250-999 Employees), Large (1,000-4,999 Employees) Micro, Small, Medium, Large What makes a good CRM database A good CRM database allows you to collect a broad spectrum of customer information and store it in a centralized location. These data include the following: Personal details: Customer’s name, address, and phone number Lead source: The channel through which you acquired the lead or customer Online behavior: The last time a customer visited your business website or engaged with your online content Customer interactions: A customer’s interactions with your sales and support team Other information: Miscellaneous information that you can use for personalization, such as a customer’s hobbies, favorite pet, or preferred brands Key features of a good CRM database A good CRM database offers features that will help businesses organize their leads and contacts, personalize customer engagement, and generate meaningful insights from relevant data. These key CRM features include the following: Contact management: Collects, stores, and enriches customer data from various sources Lead management: Automatically assigns new leads to a sales rep, allowing users to set follow-up reminders and monitor a lead’s progress through the sales pipeline Contact segmentation: Segments customers into various groups based on specific criteria and parameters, such as demographics and purchase history, to aid in content personalization Analytics and reporting: Tracks relevant sales and marketing metrics to generate meaningful insights Integrations: Supports integration with other apps or tools in your technology stack, such as email marketing software, productivity tools, social media channels, and e-commerce platforms How does a CRM database work A CRM database interacts with other features of the CRM system where it is a part of. For instance, you can use stored information to personalize content for your email marketing campaigns. In addition, it logs all customer interactions and feedback so that your support team can assist them based on their latest request. Modern CRM database systems automatically collect data and enrich them from various online sources to eliminate inconsistencies and double entries. Centralized access to all these data provides businesses with a holistic view of the customer, eliminating the need to toggle between different platforms to monitor customer behavior and interactions. 3 types of CRM database CRM database applications fall into three categories depending on the type of data they process and their distinct purposes: Operational CRM database: Automates and optimizes customer-facing processes to streamline sales, marketing, and customer service operations. Collaborative CRM database: Enhances communication and collaboration among internal teams and external partners to streamline information sharing and maintain consistent customer interactions. Analytical CRM database: Analyzes customer data and extracts valuable insights from it to help businesses build effective marketing campaigns and raise customer satisfaction. CRM database use cases A CRM database is a valuable tool for businesses that interact with customers. Specifically, here are its use cases for business operations: Sales The CRM database serves as a resource for identifying qualified sales leads and tracking data points. It can help streamline sales operations through custom workflows that trigger sales activities such as record updates, email sends, and task assignments. Image: monday CRM Marketing CRM database systems provide marketing reps with information they can use to build targeted campaigns. In addition, they track your audiences’ responses to your email and marketing campaigns and provide insights into what your leads are interested in. Image: Pipedrive Customer service Support reps can quickly access the history of customer interactions from the centralized CRM database to deliver relevant and effective customer service. They can simply pick up from where the last agent left off, eliminating the need to recap customer questions and requests. Image: HubSpot More CRM coverage 4 Benefits of using CRM database Here are the top benefits your business can have by using a CRM database: Streamlined contact management: A CRM database automates contact management, ensuring all contact information is easily accessible from a centralized location. It also automatically logs communication records relevant to each contact in real time, eliminating the need for reps to key in these updates manually. Centralized communication: Communication management is a breeze since all team members using the CRM can view each customer’s interaction history with the company. This includes customer inquiries, requests, and complaints. You can set reminders and automatically assign leads and deals to agents to ensure timeline follow-ups. Improved customer retention: Marketing teams can segment their leads, contacts, and customers based on demographic and geographic information saved in the CRM database. Then, they can build personalized email and marketing campaigns for each segment. Doing this helps you retain customers by keeping your customers satisfied and interested in what you offer. Data-based decision-making: The CRM database is a valuable source for customer data and analytics. Businesses can gain insights into their sales performance, customer behavior, and market trends based on information in the database. This enables you to make data-based business decisions regarding your future marketing campaigns, product or service development, and human resource allocation. SEE: 8 Benefits of CRM Software for Businesses How to get started with CRM database: Data migration Customer data comes from various sources, which include emails, social media, and business websites. While a CRM database makes it easy for you to gather all these data and access them from a single platform, its setup and maintenance can be daunting. To guide you through CRM data migration, I’ve broken down the process into

Image: John Gress Media Inc, Shutterstock / John Gress Media Inc The next generation of Apple operating systems is set to receive a serious overhaul. Apple’s iOS 19, iPadOS 19, and macOS 16 will adopt a design more closely aligned with visionOS, featuring updates to icons, menus, apps, windows, and system buttons, according to sources familiar with the matter, cited by Bloomberg. Must-read Apple coverage Apple moves toward a unified OS experience Apple’s aim is to make all its operating systems more cohesive, enabling users to transition seamlessly between devices. Since visionOS is the newest of Apple’s main operating systems, it makes sense for the company to model the others after that OS rather than reverting to an older version. Its visionOS powers the Apple Vision Pro, a mixed-reality headset first introduced in 2023. This OS differs visually from Apple’s other operating systems with a 3D, spatial interface optimized for gesture controls rather than traditional screen taps; also, the apps are circular and displayed in floating windows, and other elements feature translucency and pronounced shadow effects. SEE: iPhone 17 Leaks Show Off Groundbreaking Designs According to Bloomberg’s sources, macOS 16, codenamed “Cheer,” represents the most significant update to the Mac operating system since 2020, when macOS Big Sur introduced a major design overhaul along with features like the control center and revamped notifications. The iPhone hasn’t seen such a drastic design change since iOS 7, when Apple introduced a flat, minimalist design that replaced the skeuomorphic elements of earlier versions. Apple’s iOS 19 and iPadOS 19 are codenamed “Luck.” Macs and iPads to remain separate despite overhaul The operating systems for iPads and Macs will remain separate in this upcoming iteration despite their functional similarities. Mark Gurman of Bloomberg suggests that maintaining distinct experiences for both devices is likely a strategy to drive sales, discouraging consumers from opting for just one device. Nonetheless, Apple maintains that keeping their operating systems separate allows them to optimize the experience for both Macs and iPads, according to sources. Bloomberg’s sources, who requested anonymity due to the project’s unannounced status, indicate that the operating system overhaul will likely be unveiled at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in June. Apple may be counting on this announcement to help boost sales of the struggling iPhone 16 while also diverting attention from the rollout of Apple Intelligence features that allegedly “didn’t work properly” behind the scenes, according to Craig Federighi, the company’s software chief. source

NordPass is a secure password manager for storing and auto-filling passwords. Learn how to set it up, save logins, and explore its features. source

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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070. Image: NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang made a bold claim about NVIDIA’s new GeForce RTX 5070 budget graphics card at CES 2025 that stirred both excitement and skepticism, creating a lightning rod for controversy. Huang hyped the card as a revolutionary breakthrough, touting its ability to deliver next-generation performance at a surprisingly low price of $550 — claims early technical reviews have called into question. Despite Huang’s claims at CES 2025, benchmark tests show the RTX 5070 barely outpaces last year’s 4070 Super without the heavy assist of DLSS interpolation. Notable tech channels like Gamers Nexus and Linus Tech Tips have criticized NVIDIA for overstating the card’s capabilities, with some reviewers accusing the company of misleading consumers by comparing apples to oranges. Still, the RTX 5070 is selling out almost immediately, with scalpers demanding nearly double the market price. What’s hot at TechRepublic Underwhelming performance, market mayhem Digging deeper into the card’s performance shows that NVIDIA’s innovative DLSS Multi-Frame Generation is a double-edged sword. While it can artificially inflate frame rates by generating additional frames, this technique comes at a steep cost: sluggish gameplay and noticeable visual artifacts that undermine the user experience in demanding titles. As a result, the RTX 5070 struggles to deliver a genuine upgrade over its predecessor despite the hype. Meanwhile, the graphics card market’s chronic undersupply has pushed prices well above the official MSRP. With stocks selling out almost instantly, scalpers have taken advantage by listing the card for upward of $1,000, further complicating an already murky picture. SEE: AI Surge Could Trigger Global Chip Shortage by 2026 Competitive sparks amid scarcity Amid NVIDIA’s overpromised spectacle, AMD’s Radeon RX 9070 series has emerged as a compelling, if not flawless, alternative. Early reviews have been kinder to AMD’s approach, noting that while the RX 9070 also faces pricing pressures, it delivers performance that more accurately reflects its capabilities. This head-to-head contrast between NVIDIA’s smoke-and-mirrors marketing and AMD’s straightforward presentation underscores the broader instability gripping the graphics card market, where scarcity and speculative pricing continue to drive consumer behavior. What’s next for RTX 5070? As gamers and tech enthusiasts await fresh stock and clearer performance data, the RTX 5070 saga serves as a cautionary tale about the perils of overpromising in the tech landscape. For now, NVIDIA’s budget card — despite its shortcomings — remains a hot commodity, proving that even smoke and mirrors can sometimes ignite unexpected demand. This article was written by freelance writer Sunny Yadav. source

Several CRM providers offer free versions with access to enough features to provide the value of a paid tier in managing customer relations. Even the best free CRM software is typically capped at a certain number of users, so they’re ideal for small business teams, individuals, and freelancers. Some of the most popular providers offering a free tier of their CRM tools include HubSpot, Zoho CRM, EngageBay, and more. These free versions can be sufficient for some organizations since they generally provide the core CRM features users need to organize and track client engagement. In addition to those core features, each provider has unique capabilities, such as advanced marketing tools or niche industry specializations. I evaluated dozens of providers based on pricing and features and narrowed down the list to the seven best free CRM software. Top free CRM software comparison The top free CRM software offers access to sales pipelines, document management, and native or third-party integrations. Businesses can sync their free CRM tool to their existing tech stack and integrate it with their sales processes. My rating (out of 5) Starting paid price* Pipeline management Document management Integrations HubSpot CRM 4.74 $15/user/month Yes Yes Yes Zoho CRM 4.67 $14/user/month Yes Yes Limited monday.com 4.59 $9/user/month (3-user minimum) Yes Limited Higher tiers EngageBay 4.58 $11.95/user/month Yes Yes Limited ClickUp 4.56 $7/user/month Yes Yes Yes Bitrix24 4.55 $49/month for 5 users Yes Yes Limited Odoo CRM 4.40 $7.25/user/month Yes Yes Yes Capsule CRM 4.33 $18/user/month Yes Via integration Yes *Price when billed annually. HubSpot CRM: Best overall free CRM Image: HubSpot Overall rating: 4.74/5 Pricing: 4.38/5 General features: 4.98/5 Ease of use: 5/5 Support: 4.88/5 Expert score: 4.69/5 HubSpot’s free CRM system provides access to various sales, marketing, customer service, commerce, content management, and operations management tools. At no cost, two users can complete sales tasks directly within a customer’s profile and monitor incoming deals in the free pipeline feature. HubSpot’s paid tiers offer more advanced features, such as sales and marketing automation, forecasting, voice calling, and sales analytics. Why I chose HubSpot CRM HubSpot CRM offers the most robust and diverse tools for managing sales, marketing, customer service, commerce, content, and operations processes. Each product offered by HubSpot is connected to the same underlying CRM database, giving businesses insight into every contact at each stage in the customer journey. And Breeze Copilot smart recommendations and automation make it one of the best AI-powered CRMs. While HubSpot’s free CRM is the most robust of those listed here, your business might eventually need to scale to a premium plan. If that’s the case, HubSpot’s paid tiers can be pretty costly compared to others. If you want a tool with more affordable premium plans, check out Zoho CRM or ClickUp. Head over to the HubSpot review for more information. Hubspot Sales Hub Pricing Free tools: $0 for two users with basic sales, marketing, service, content, operations, and commerce tools. Sales Hub Starter: $20/user/month, billed monthly, or $15 when billed monthly. This includes free tools, simple automation, e-signature, and conversation routing. Starter Customer Platform*: $20/user/month, billed monthly, or $15 when billed annually. This includes Starter-level tools for sales, marketing, service, content, and operations. Sales Hub Professional: $90/seat/month, billed annually, or $100 when billed monthly (plus a $1,500 one-time onboarding fee). This includes everything in the Sales Hub Starter, plus a prospecting workspace, playbooks, and forecasting capabilities. Sales Hub Enterprise: $150/seat/month, billed annually (plus a $3,500 one-time onboarding fee). This includes everything in the Sales Hub Professional, plus predictive lead scoring, conversation intelligence, and lead form routing. *Starter Customer Platform includes sales, marketing, service, content, operations, and commerce tools in one package. Individual modules can be purchased separately. Key freemium features Breeze Copilot: HubSpot’s AI-powered assistant can generate content, automate routine tasks, and provide personalized recommendations and insights about leads, customers, and interactions. Meeting scheduler: Schedule client meetings quickly with little hassle by syncing them to Google Calendar or Office 365 Calendar. Live chat software: Connect website visitors to sales reps in real time to convert new prospects, improve customer relations, and close more deals. HubSpot CRM’s Breeze Copilot generates an AI-powered data summarization for contacts. Image: HubSpot Pros and cons Pros Cons AI-powered CRM with robust sales, marketing, and service tools Intuitive interface Offers operations, commerce, and content management features Paid plans and add-ons can be pricey Lack of reporting tools No live support for free users Key freemium features Lead tracking: View lead profiles and activity history from one dashboard to see where leads are in the buying process and when it’s best to start engaging. Document management: Organize and control all shared documents between sales reps and even content shared outside the business with clients. Campaign management: Plan and monitor any promotional campaign, including Google Ads, referral programs, or offline events like trade shows and TV commercials. Zoho CRM contact data encryption. Image: Zoho CRM Pros and cons Pros Cons 24/7/365 data security Free plan includes lead, account, contact, and deal management Has email templates, campaign management, and workflows Free plan has no social integration and forecasting Some users report poor UI and UX AI tools are locked in higher tiers Key freemium features Customizable visual pipelines: Create pipelines for easy planning, tracking, and launching of fundraising and donor campaigns. Project and operations management: Use private boards to map food deliveries, track donated supplies, and manage tasks and projects. Build custom workflows and automate repetitive operational processes. Customizable forms: Use no-code forms to collect, organize, and analyze volunteer and supporter information. Plug the data directly into your visual database for easy data collection and analysis. monday.com fundraising and donor campaign management. Image: monday.com Pros and cons Pros Cons Custom templates for fundraising and donor management No-code automations for operational workflows Multiple data viewing options Free plan does not include automations and integrations Learning curve for users not accustomed to non-traditional CRMs Work performance insights are locked in the Enterprise tier Key freemium features Multichannel campaigns: Create branded marketing campaigns and

For organizations with multiple online accounts, tightening company security should be a top priority to prevent data breaches or theft. The first step to avoiding a data breach is creating unique passwords for your accounts. But suppose you’re like many people who resort to reusing their old passwords to create new accounts. In that case, it’s safe to say that it’s only a matter of time before your data and online accounts are compromised. And by extension, once your overused passwords are discovered, all the accounts associated with them are at risk. One way to solve this problem is through password managers — tools that help you generate unique, secure, complex passwords and store them in a vault for easy access. Password managers secure account credentials, making them difficult to hack. Here is a guide to how password managers work and how you can choose the best one to tighten your company’s online security. NordPass Employees per Company Size Micro (0-49), Small (50-249), Medium (250-999), Large (1,000-4,999), Enterprise (5,000+) Micro (0-49 Employees), Small (50-249 Employees), Medium (250-999 Employees), Large (1,000-4,999 Employees), Enterprise (5,000+ Employees) Micro, Small, Medium, Large, Enterprise Features Activity Log, Business Admin Panel for user management, Company-wide settings, and more Dashlane Employees per Company Size Micro (0-49), Small (50-249), Medium (250-999), Large (1,000-4,999), Enterprise (5,000+) Micro (0-49 Employees), Small (50-249 Employees), Medium (250-999 Employees), Large (1,000-4,999 Employees), Enterprise (5,000+ Employees) Micro, Small, Medium, Large, Enterprise Features Automated Provisioning ManageEngine ADSelfService Plus Employees per Company Size Micro (0-49), Small (50-249), Medium (250-999), Large (1,000-4,999), Enterprise (5,000+) Any Company Size Any Company Size Features Access Management, Compliance Management, Credential Management, and more What is a password manager? Keeper password manager desktop interface. Image: Keeper A password manager is a tool that helps you generate, store, and manage passwords or credentials online. It uses encryption to protect the stored credentials and allows you to retrieve them using a master password. The idea behind this technology is to enhance security by promoting the use of unique, strong passwords for different services. This helps reduce the risk associated with password reuse and simplifies the process of managing multiple login credentials. How do password managers work? While many browsers feature a basic password manager, only a top-tier third-party password management application can offer you robust security and convenience through features like password generation, VPN, dark web monitoring, encryption, and two-factor authentication. While you can simply add password managers to your browsers as an extension, the first step to using many password managers is installing the client on your computer or mobile device. To install a password manager on your mobile or desktop, follow these simple steps: Download the password manager program. Open the app and create a master password for your vault. Add the password manager extension to your browser. Log into your accounts. Change your existing passwords. When your password manager is active, instead of manually entering the password on websites, the password manager, through the extension, prompts you to input your master password to access your unique passwords. This master password serves as the key to unlocking the encrypted vault containing all stored passwords. If you have already logged into the password manager, it seamlessly auto-fills the required login information on the website, sparing you the need to recall individual details. If you want an in-depth video explanation on password managers, we’ve got you covered. Check out our Password Managers 101 video feature on the official TechRepublic YouTube channel that’s available to view right now. In this video, we look into the features and benefits of password managers, how safe password managers are to use and who should invest in password manager solutions in the first place. More about Cloud Security Types of password managers While different password management solutions serve similar functions, their key features and modes of operation distinguish them. Below are three popular categories that can be valuable for your organization. Locally installed or offline password managers These are desktop-based password management solutions that store your passwords directly on your device, such as a laptop. These passwords are typically secured within an encrypted vault, enhancing the security of your sensitive information. Unlike cloud-based alternatives, locally installed password managers do not rely on external servers to store or manage your passwords. The advantage here is that your passwords are not accessible from any other device unless they have been synchronized with the device. This local storage approach provides you with a high level of control and privacy if you prefer to keep your data away from public networks. Popular examples of offline password managers are KeePass and Enpass. Both password managers allow users to store their credentials directly on their machine, without having them synced or stored on the cloud. Saved logins in KeePass. Image: KeePass However, it comes with a trade-off: If you were to lose the device where the password manager is installed, you would also lose access to all the stored passwords. Some password managers, like 1Password, Keeper, and Dashlane attempt to strike a balance between privacy and convenience by offering features that allow you to create multiple password vaults across your devices. These vaults can be synchronized when you connect to the internet. This enables a certain degree of flexibility while still maintaining a primarily offline storage approach. This way, you can benefit from the convenience of syncing your passwords across devices without entirely relying on external servers for data storage. Web-based or online password manager services These password managers operate on a cloud-based model, where encrypted passwords are stored on the service provider’s network. In this context, the service provider assumes direct responsibility for the security of your passwords. Programs like 1Password and NordPass exemplify cloud-based password managers. The key advantage of these services lies in their accessibility — you can reach your password vaults from any device with an internet connection. NordPass vault synced to the cloud. Image: NordPass Web-based password managers typically come in various forms, commonly as browser extensions, desktop applications,

TL;DR: Don’t miss out on your dream job in a competitive market just because your resume isn’t optimized for ATS filters when you use ResumeFromSpace. As the job market heats up, don’t let your resume get tossed in the digital trashcan by robots — make role-specific resumes optimized for AI-powered applicant tracking bots when you use ResumeFromSpace, and a lifetime subscription is now discounted 75% to $59.99. Some industry insiders claim up to three out of four resumes don’t make it past these digital gatekeepers. Make sure yours is one of the one in four. Of course, ResumeFromSpace is also AI. AI isn’t the enemy in job searching — it’s a tool you can use just as much as hiring managers. It’s a real case of if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em when it comes to using AI tools to make resumes that are optimized for AI applicant tracking programs. But it helps to think of it as a compatibility solution. Hiring managers have moved to using more digital screening tools. It’s up to you to show you’re equally flexible and tech-savvy by using AI tools like those in ResumeFromSpace, including: Resume builder for ATS standards: Generate a resume designed to be ATS-friendly instantly when you provide your experience and in-demand skills. Smart recommendations: Optimize wording and structure, as well as clarify your intentions. Cover letter generator: Generative AI can take the information from your resume and help you craft a cover letter from scratch. Keyword optimization: Which words are the ATS bots scanning for? Keyword optimization can help you integrate these words naturally throughout your resume to rank it higher. Customizable templates: Modern designs you can customize and edit easily with an AI-powered layout. If you already have a resume crafted, try out the Resume Scanner, a tool where you can upload it, get it scored for ATS matching, and get suggestions on improving it. Directly import info from your upload to start a new resume with ResumeFromSpace as well. Make the most of your lifetime subscription by taking advantage of unlimited resumes, unlimited revisions, and unlimited downloads. The subscription comes with 1000 extra AI credits to fund each AI move you make. Get by the AI job filters with ResumeFromSpace, now just $59.99. StackSocial prices subject to change. source

Image: YuriArcursPeopleimages/Envato Elements There are some sobering statistics in the wake of International Women’s Day: Although women comprise nearly half of the global workforce (43.4%), less than one-third are in roles at the vice president level and above, according to newly-released LinkedIn data. Even though top-level management representation among women has grown between 2015 and 2024 from 27.5% to 30.4%, progress has slowed down, LinkedIn found. There has only been an insignificant 0.2% increase since 2002. LinkedIn’s data indicated that a skills-based hiring approach would expand talent pools by 6x globally and “can substantially increase the pool of potential candidates and propel more qualified women forward.” Discouraging U.S. stats for women in leadership As women in the U.S. climb higher on the corporate ladder, their numbers drop significantly. While they hold more than half of entry-level individual contributor positions, only one-third of women are in more senior individual contributor positions, according to LinkedIn. In terms of the management track, women hold 40% of early-career management positions but just 28.5% of C-suite positions, the career site said. This aligns with a new report from Ensono that found 89% of women said AI skills have accelerated their careers, but leadership ambitions are stalling. Must-read CXO coverage Skills-based hiring may be the game-changer A skills-based hiring approach creates a talent pool of eligible candidates for a job position composed of workers who have at least half the top skills of the target job, LinkedIn said. This is in contrast to traditional talent pools comprised of workers who have previously worked in a certain occupation. SEE: Women in Tech: Steps Leaders Can Take to Improve Retention and Career Opportunities In AI roles, a skills-based approach increases the talent pipeline by 8.2x globally, 34% higher than the increase for non-AI jobs. “Skills-based hiring can increase female representation in talent pools, especially in underrepresented fields like technology and AI,’’ the report noted. Focusing on skills when hiring for AI roles could increase the share of women by up to 24%. A skills-based hiring approach could benefit younger workers, especially Gen Z, in most countries, LinkedIn said. How to get more female applicants To increase the number of qualified female job applicants, the site interviewed Harvard Business School Professor Katherine Coffman, who recommended that employers “reduce ambiguity around expectations in job postings.” Job postings are “concrete, objective, and clear,” Coffman said, when they include details such as what demonstrated excellence looks like in a particular role. LinkedIn said transparency in job postings incentivizes more women to apply. source