Women’s jobs wiped out by AI as men reap rewards

By the Editorial Team · Thursday, September 17, 2026

New data from the World Economic Forum and LinkedIn reveal that women are significantly underrepresented in AI roles and leadership, comprising less than 20 percent of AI engineers and only one in eight executive positions. This disparity threatens to exacerbate gender inequalities as AI advances, with experts warning that without targeted interventions, women risk being excluded from high-paying AI jobs while facing job losses in vulnerable roles.

Women face significant challenges in the rapidly growing artificial intelligence (AI) sector, as new data reveals they are underrepresented in both employment and leadership roles within the industry. Recent research from the World Economic Forum (WEF) and LinkedIn highlights disparities affecting women in AI across various countries and sectors, raising concerns about the technology’s impact on gender equality.

The WEF’s latest Global Gender Gap report, which assesses 145 economies, shows that although most countries have made progress in closing gender gaps, female participation in AI remains disproportionately low. Women constitute less than 20 percent of AI engineers and hold only about one in eight executive roles within AI firms. Overall, women account for just a quarter of new AI hires, lagging behind their male counterparts in every level of AI organizations. This contrasts with non-AI firms, where women’s representation is slightly higher but still falls short of parity. For example, women make up 25.3 percent of top management in AI companies compared with 27.7 percent in non-AI firms.

Experts underline that these disparities are not simply due to a lack of qualified women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. Saadia Zahidi, managing director of the WEF, emphasized that the issue lies largely in hiring practices, noting that even in countries with strong STEM education participation among women, they remain underrepresented in AI roles. She warned that the sector risks replicating longstanding gender inequities, as many women currently work in roles vulnerable to automation and disruption by AI technologies. These roles often include administrative positions such as paralegals and assistants, areas where AI advancements threaten job security.

LinkedIn’s head of global public policy, Sue Duke, echoed these concerns, describing the underrepresentation of women in AI leadership as substantial and persistent. Duke highlighted the risk of a "triple penalty," where women not only lose jobs due to AI-driven disruption but also fail to secure positions in the emerging, higher-paying AI industry. She forecasted that without significant change, current trends indicate girls born today may never see equal representation at the highest levels in the AI sector.

Despite the overall closing of gender gaps globally—with countries like the UK ranking fifth on the WEF index and closing over 84 percent of its gender gap—progress remains fragile. Economic participation and political empowerment have seen gains, but the fast-paced rise of AI poses new obstacles. Women are disproportionately concentrated in lower-paid data annotation roles within AI, while the upper echelons of AI innovation continue to be dominated by men.

The findings underscore the need for targeted strategies to foster diversity and inclusion in the AI workforce to prevent deepening gender inequalities as the sector expands globally.

This article was reported by synthesizing coverage from multiple independent news outlets to present a balanced, unbiased account. Read about our editorial standards. Spotted an error? Let us know.