Women — particularly women of color — are significantly overrepresented in jobs considered AI-vulnerable, according to a report from the National Partnership for Women & Families. These professions are the most at-risk for exposure to artificial intelligence and those in which workers are also the least likely to be able to adapt and transition to new work.
Although women represent less than half (47.4 percent) of the American workforce, they make up 82 percent of workers in the most AI-vulnerable occupations. These professions include clerks, payroll and timekeepers, tax preparers, secretaries, and administrative assistants, among others.
Women of color represent nearly one-third of the employees in AI-vulnerable professions, but they are less than one-fifth of the country’s overall workforce. This disparity is largely due to women of color’s disproportionate representation among government program eligibility interviewers and interpreters and translators, where they respectively make up 46 and 45 percent of workers.
“The integration of AI into workplaces is not a predetermined process with inevitable outcomes,” the authors conclude. “Policy choices will shape whether AI transitions exacerbate or reduce gender inequalities at work. As AI capabilities evolve, ongoing research and policy adaptation will be essential. Women workers must be centered in both research and policy development. Their experiences, needs, and insights should drive our collective response to AI’s transformation of work.”