The rise of generative artificial intelligence risks exacerbating gender inequalities in the labor market, with women being more exposed to the transformations and automation risks than men, according to a new report from the International Labour Organization (ILO) published last Thursday.
In this study titled “Gen AI, occupational segregation and gender equality in the world of work,” the UN agency explains that female-dominated professions are “almost twice as likely to be exposed” to this technology.
According to the analyzed data, about 29% of feminized professions exhibit an exposure level to generative AI, compared with 16% of male-dominated professions, while 16% of jobs predominantly held by women fall into the categories with the highest automation risk, versus only 3% for masculinized professions.
The ILO notes that this vulnerability is explained by several factors, notably the high concentration of women in administrative and support roles—secretarial work, reception, payments processing, or accounting assistance—composed of routine tasks more easily automated, while men are more represented in construction, manufacturing, or manual trades.
The study also shows that women are more exposed than men in 88% of the studied countries and that, in certain economies such as Switzerland, the United Kingdom or the Philippines, more than 40% of female employment is potentially exposed to generative AI.
“Generative AI does not enter a neutral labor market,” notes Anam Butt, an ILO researcher, pointing out that “discriminatory social norms, the unequal distribution of family responsibilities, and certain economic and labor policies continue to determine who has access to which jobs and under what conditions.”
The study also highlights that women remain widely underrepresented in technological and scientific sectors: they accounted for about 30% of the global AI workforce in 2022, representing limited progress since 2016.
The ILO thus stresses the importance of public policies that promote women’s access to digital skills, their representation in AI-related occupations, and the integration of gender equality into the design and governance of emerging technologies.
