Women are significantly more exposed than men to job disruption from generative AI, according to a new report from the International Labour Organisation.
The study says jobs dominated by women are nearly twice as likely to be affected by GenAI. It warns this could widen gender inequality in the world of work.
The report highlights three main reasons for the gap. Women are overrepresented in roles most likely to be automated, underrepresented in AI and science, technology, engineering and mathematics jobs, and AI systems can reflect existing social biases.
The brief examined 436 occupations worldwide. It found 82, or 19%, are female-dominated, 89, or 20%, are male-dominated, and 266, or 61%, are mixed.
Female-dominated jobs are mainly in health and care, teaching, social work and culture, business administration and clerical support, personal services, sales and food preparation, and textiles and clothing manufacturing.
Male-dominated roles are concentrated in construction, manufacturing, skilled trades, ICT, science and engineering, protective services, agriculture, and some senior executive and armed forces positions.
Across all occupations, 29% of female-dominated jobs are exposed to GenAI, compared with 16% of male-dominated roles. Mixed occupations show a similar exposure rate to female-dominated ones, at 28%.
The highest exposure is in business administration and clerical support roles, including typists, payroll clerks, secretaries, receptionists, librarians, translators and interpreters.
Among male-dominated jobs, higher exposure is mainly in ICT roles such as software developers and web and multimedia developers.
Women are more exposed than men in 88% of countries analysed.
In some small island states in the Pacific and Caribbean, as well as in Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the Philippines, more than 40% of female employment is considered at risk from GenAI.
Exposure is higher in high-income countries, where 41% of jobs are exposed, compared with 11% in low-income countries. The report links this to differences in job structures, digital readiness and economic diversity.
It says Europe and Central Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean, have the highest average exposure for female workers, while Africa and Asia have the lowest.
In lower-income countries, women are more likely to work in agriculture or low-productivity services. This reduces exposure to GenAI, but also reflects lower participation in formal sectors such as health, education and public administration.
The report notes that men’s jobs are more evenly spread across sectors, leading to smaller regional differences in exposure.
Countries where men have relatively high exposure, though still lower than women, include Switzerland and the United Kingdom in Europe, the Maldives in Asia, and Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates among Arab States.
The report says GenAI is unlikely to remove jobs entirely. Instead, it will change tasks, reshape work processes and alter required skills.
For women in exposed roles, this could mean changes in workload, closer supervision and a need for new skills. It could also bring opportunities if policies support training and fair access.
“Generative AI is not entering a neutral labour market,” said Anam Butt, a co-author of the study. She said social norms, care responsibilities and labour policies continue to shape who works in which jobs.
“The impact of generative AI on women’s jobs is not predetermined,” said Janine Berg. She added that inclusive design, policy and dialogue could prevent AI from reinforcing inequality.
The report calls for gender equality to be built into the design, deployment and governance of GenAI, alongside efforts to reduce occupational segregation and expand women’s access to skills training.
