The outlook isn’t overwhelmingly optimistic for women in the workplace. Both within the tech sector itself, and also in industries that are embracing Artificial Intelligence (AI), there’s a gender imbalance in who is more likely to lose their job as a result of AI.

According to global employment estimates from the International Labour Organization (ILO), clerical work is the most at risk from generative AI, with 24% of clerical tasks categorized as highly exposed and another 58% as medium-level exposed. This means women are more exposed to the automating effects of gen AI, as they are overrepresented in clerical work globally.

When interface analyzed data on nearly 1.6 million AI professionals worldwide, it found stark gender imbalances, mirrored across the wider technology sector. Women account for only 22% of AI talent globally, and fewer than 14% of senior executive roles in AI. Alex Rumble, CMO at HTEC, notes:

With only 22% of AI professionals being women, this number is compounded by two additional factors: there are fewer women than men in leadership positions, which means we’re building the technology without enough female input and in doing so, repeating the very bias that affects them.

While there are women pioneers in AI, who are making a significant impact on its development, female voices are underrepresented. Part of this is down to the fact the industry is very male-dominated, with women still only accounting for around 25% of tech jobs.

To counter this underrepresentation, Chelsea Hopkins, Social Media and PR Manager at Fasthosts, argues that it’s important to showcase the already successful women’s voices in STEM, to ensure women founders of AI technology are recognized and credited. She adds:

Despite the gender disparity in AI, women have already been crucial in the development of the AI era. However, when AI is scanning the internet in real-time for data, women’s voices are not platformed as easily, as they are marginalized in conversations in the STEM sphere due to underrepresentation in the workforce.

Perpetuating stereotypes

As AI systems pull data from large data sets with historical biases, this could amplify the pre-existing disparity between women and men’s voices. As AI systems perpetuate the gender stereotypes and biases, this could work to further marginalise women in tech. Hopkins says:

This calls for more gender representation in STEM as a sector, but in the models of AI too. It’s important to keep AI human-led, with continuous auditing and monitoring of the systems of AI.

The lack of representation of women in AI could be a reason for the gender gap in use of the technology. Deloitte UK’s 2024 Digital Consumer Trends survey reported that just 28% of women were using gen AI, compared to 43% of men. Women are also less interested in trying out different aspects of gen AI: whether conversing with a travel chatbot, receiving help in buying products, or getting a personalized fitness plan, more men wanted to experience the task compared to women, with up to a 14% difference.

Another challenge to overcome is an inherent distrust of AI systems among women. Only 18% of women experimenting with or using gen AI had high or very high trust that the providers of the gen AI capabilities they use would keep their data secure. This compared to 31% of male adopters, the Deloitte study revealed.

The gender gap in attitudes towards trusting and experimenting with AI tools needs to be overcome to ensure women don’t find themselves excluded from the future workforce. The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) ‘Future of Jobs Report 2025’ highlights how critical it will be for workers to acquire AI skills – or risk losing their job.

Headcount reductions

According to the report, 77% of employers plan to reskill and upskill existing staff to better work alongside AI, while 69% intend to hire new people with skills to design AI tools and enhancements, and 62% will take on new workers to better work alongside AI. But 41% of those same employers also plan to downsize headcount where AI can replicate people’s work.

To safeguard their careers, women need to move away from a standpoint of resisting AI and instead focus on mastering the technology; researching which AI tools are gaining most traction in their specific industry sector is a good starting point. In the legal sector, for example, standout candidates are those who understand how AI can aid workflows and manual tasks, according to Sophie Best, Senior Consultant, Legal Tech at Jameson Legal. She explains:

Broadly, platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, Microsoft Copilot and Notion AI are ones that I and others I know use heavily for streamlining research, drafting and internal workflows. Gaining fluency in these tools and understanding how they integrate into real-world systems is a game-changer. I’ve worked with many clients who are now expected to understand AI not just for efficiency, but to mitigate risk and protect reputations.

According to Rumble, to advance their careers in the AI era, women need to be curious, drive their own re-skilling, and stop avoiding AI or treat it as optional. She explains:

Given that the demand for AI-specific skills is increasing, up-skilling and re-skilling initiatives should focus on building foundational digital competencies and the skill bundles that combine technical know-how with critical cognitive and socio-emotional skills, rather than promoting technical AI skills in isolation. By acquiring digital literacy and technical skills, women can not only secure positions in the tech industry but also influence the design of AI systems.

Future careers

Broadening the definition of what it means to work in technology will help women forge future careers. Coding and engineering roles are one element of the industry, but businesses developing AI-based tools also need product managers, ethics advisors, customer strategy leads, marketers and operational roles. Ritu Dubey, Head of Market Development at Digitate, notes:

By expanding awareness of these diverse opportunities, women can find entry points that align with their skills while contributing meaningfully to AI’s evolution. Utilizing AI tools in everyday tasks can help here, building understanding and improving efficiencies. This isn’t about everyone needing to become AI developers, but rather about embracing AI technologies to streamline work and unlock their full potential.

As women are increasing their AI skills, they also need to ensure they are being heard for their successes in the sector. Hopkins notes:

Women must actively advocate for themselves in the AI era, and platform their voices as much as possible in places where Large Language Models scan and retrieve their resources, such as news publications, Wikipedia and Reddit. When women are contributing to the conversation, they’re much more likely to bridge that gap of gender bias and be platformed by AI tools.

With women currently making up such a small portion of the AI workforce, this highlights the urgent need for greater female participation. As Best notes:

Women who lean in here won’t just future-proof their roles, they’ll position themselves as trusted advisors at the intersection of tech, governance and business.

My take

It’s not that surprizing that so few women are working in AI roles, as it mirrors the wider tech sector gender imbalance. What’s more surprizing and concerning is the gap between men and women when it comes to using gen AI tools, as the point of these is they don’t require any technical skills to use them. In a follow-up piece, I’ll be exploring the AI tools women should be trying out to stay ahead in the AI era.

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