AI and Gender Gap: Skills Rise as Job Disruption Looms

AI is reshaping work in ways that could narrow or widen gender inequality, and current data points in both directions. Women are building AI-related skills at a fast pace, yet they are also more exposed to job disruption from automation, according to multiple research findings cited in recent assessments.

On the broader equality picture, the World Economic Forum said the global gender gap has closed to 68.8%, but progress remains gradual. At the current rate, the same report projects that reaching full parity would take another 123 years. Against that backdrop, technology—and generative AI in particular—has become a pivotal variable in how quickly workplace equality advances or stalls.

Exposure to generative AI is uneven across occupations, and the imbalance is sharper where women are concentrated in certain roles. The International Labour Organization (ILO) found that 29% of jobs in female-dominated occupations are exposed to generative AI, compared with 16% in male-dominated fields. The ILO said this gap is especially pronounced in high-income countries, where office-based tasks and routine knowledge work are more prevalent.

In the United States, women make up 57% of workers in roles considered most likely to be disrupted by AI, according to the data cited. A Brookings Institution study adds detail on the potential recovery challenge, estimating that 86% of the 6 million American workers expected to face the most difficult rebound from AI-related job loss are women, with many in clerical and administrative positions.

Risk is not limited to traditionally non-technical roles. McKinsey and Company reported that in Europe, female representation in technology roles is projected to fall from 22% in 2023 to 19% by 2026, partly because recent layoffs have disproportionately affected roles held by women. That projection underscores how shifts inside the tech sector can influence who benefits from AI-driven growth.

At the same time, skills indicators show momentum. A World Economic Forum white paper drawing on LinkedIn data found that female AI talent has expanded significantly since 2018. It also reported that the gender gap in AI skills narrowed in 74 out of 75 economies surveyed, suggesting that women are increasingly positioning themselves for AI-linked work even as displacement risks rise.

Policy choices are highlighted as a key determinant of outcomes. Iceland, Luxembourg, and New Zealand were cited as examples where high female labor force participation and small pay gaps have been supported by flexible work arrangements, accessible digital public services, and robust parental-leave systems. Trials of a four-day work week were also cited as promising for work-life balance, particularly given that women perform three times more unpaid care work than men.

Experts cited in the material argue that gender parity needs to be built into AI development and deployment from the start, alongside gender-responsive skills programs and clearer pathways for women moving between sectors. In low- and middle-income countries, the digital divide remains a constraint: women are 19% less likely to have mobile internet access, which could limit participation in an AI-driven economy.

The central uncertainty is whether governments and employers will pair AI adoption with the structural supports—such as flexible schedules and affordable childcare—that the research suggests are necessary to prevent existing gaps from widening.