The AI job disruption: Women at a greater risk than men

The world is at a technological crossroads, with AI disruption expected to reach more than 22% across various industries. By 2030, we are expected to witness a net increase of 78 million jobs in employment. In addition to AI, automation, and big data, significant contributors to this change include geopolitical fragmentation, economic uncertainty, demographic shifts, and the green transition.

A recent United Nations report reveals that in the race for automation and AI, women could be left behind. According to the International Labor Organization, one in four people globally will work in occupations with some exposure to AI. The report also stated that 2,500 professions and over 29,000 work tasks would be automated.

Jobs such as data entry, accounting, and bookkeeping, as well as clerical roles, are the most vulnerable to AI risk. Others, such as web designers, media developers, database specialists, and those in financial and software-related jobs, are also under threat.

For decades, women have navigated a male-dominated world to secure their position in organizations. Now they must compete with men in upskilling and reskilling to stay ahead in the race for AI automation. The alarming and startling revelation of the report is that not only is AI creating unprecedented disruptions, but it is also exacerbating the digital gender divide. Research states that women are more likely to be impacted by Generative AI. Women will be primarily affected, as they are overrepresented in roles that AI can already perform. The UN report states that 28% of roles held by women are at risk as compared to 21% of men's jobs.

Gender disparities are long-standing, with women comprising 29% of the global tech workforce and 14% of tech leadership roles. Women are disproportionately concentrated in positions most vulnerable to replacement by AI, including administrative and financial roles. Interestingly, the challenge is more prominent among the high-income economies of the Global North.

In the Global North, occupational segregation is in play, with more women in part-time routine jobs. The G-7 economies are driving digital innovation, infrastructure, and AI adoption, which accelerates the exposure and risk associated with roles that can be partly or wholly automated. Most of the professions held by women are administrative, banking, public sector, finance, insurance, public administration, clerical, healthcare, and office work. For instance, in Switzerland, 59% of women work part-time due to various personal commitments and family structures. These individuals amplify the risks associated with Generative AI. In Latin America and the Caribbean, women are employed in banking, insurance, and public sector roles, facing the sharpest impact. In Asia, most women are engaged in sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, retail, and the informal sector, rather than in white-collar jobs. The Unique labor distribution and economic structures of the continent put women in Asia at a lesser risk of job disruption from generative AI as compared to women in G-7 countries.

Yet, urban women in Asia employed in similar fields, such as banking, insurance, and administration, face the same risk as those in the G-7, compared to women engaged in rural and informal sectors. Although women in G-7 countries have made advances in career growth in engineering, medicine, and management, their employment remains intensely concentrated in administrative, clerical, and service roles.

The UN report states that job and statistical data reflect a potential exposure, indicating that complete replacement by AI is limited and that human involvement will be required.

To ensure that women are not disadvantaged in the race to automation and artificial intelligence, governments, employers, and leaders must prioritize reskilling, equal access to AI roles, upskilling, and rethinking work structures, as well as implementing gender-responsive policies. This approach will enable the world to close the gender gap in the digital age and foster a sustainable global work environment.