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Women’s jobs are at a higher risk of automation by artificial intelligence (AI) than those occupied by men, according to a new study from the United Nations.
The recent report from the UN’s International Labour Organisation (ILO) and Poland’s National Research Institute of the Ministry of Digital Affairs (NASK) found that automation could replace just under 10 per cent of female-dominated positions in high-income countries compared to the 3.5 per cent it could replace for men.
The biggest disparity between male and female-dominated jobs happens in high-income countries, where 41 percent of all high-income work for women could be exposed to AI, compared to 28 percent of men’s jobs.
In Europe and Central Asia, 39 per cent of women’s jobs could be affected compared to 26 percent of men.
The patterns identified by the study “reflect both occupational structures,” and that AI-exposed jobs are “concentrated in higher-income countries”.
Overall, the ILO found that one in four workers globally work in an occupation with some AI exposure.
Full replacement by AI still ‘limited’
To reach these findings, the survey was conducted with1,640 people employed in various fields in Poland, with the results analysed by a small group of international experts.
Researchers then developed an AI that used this survey data alongside national job information to identify how likely 2,500 professions and over 29,000 work tasks would be automated.
The study found that clerical occupations like data entry clerks, typists, word processing operators, accountants, and bookkeeping clerks are the most exposed to AI, due to some of the tasks performed in those professions, like taking meeting notes or scheduling appointments.
Other professions identified with a large AI exposure are web and media developers, database specialists, financial, and software-related jobs.
The study notes that these numbers reflect the “potential exposure,” but that they don’t reflect any actual job losses.
Full replacement by AI is still “limited,” the report continued, noting that human involvement is still needed to oversee certain tasks.
“As most occupations consist of tasks that require human input, transformation of jobs is the most likely impact of generative AI,” the report reads.
What could impact the number of jobs lost or AI adoption more broadly are technological constraints, infrastructure gaps, and skills shortages, the report continued.
The report asks governments, employees, and workers organisations to shape “inclusive strategies” that can help protect job quality and productivity in endangered fields.
“It’s easy to get lost in the AI hype,” Janine Berg, senior economist at the ILO, said in a statement. “What we need is clarity and context”.
