Report Finds Women Dramatically Overrepresented in Most AI-Vulnerable Jobs

A new analysis finds more than eight in 10 workers in the jobs most at-risk for being lost to AI are women, with women of color making up more than 30% of workers in these roles.

In a new report, “AI and Emerging Risks for Women Workers,” the National Partnership for Women & Families (NPWF) finds women making up 83% of the workforce in the 15 most “AI-vulnerable” jobs. These positions include court, municipal and license clerks; certain secretaries and administrative assistants; tax examiners, collectors and revenue agents; and government program eligibility interviewers, according to NPWF.

Overall, NPWF researchers determined that “many groups of women are dramatically overrepresented in the most AI-vulnerable jobs,” according to a statement from the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit advocacy group.

For example, white women, the shares of the most AI-susceptible jobs among white women, Latinas and American Indian and Alaska Native women are nearly double that of the overall workforce, according to the report. Black and multiracial women’s shares of the most AI-vulnerable positions are more than one-and-a-half times larger than their shares of the workforce overall, NPWF found.

Suggesting further study of workplace AI to ensure equity for women workers as the technology continues to advance, NPWF researchers also offered a number of policy recommendations designed to achieve that same end.

For example, the report authors advocated enforcement of existing anti-discrimination and other worker protection laws, establishing strong federal protections for workers in AI-enabled workplaces and promoting gender diversity in the AI workforce.

“AI is beginning to influence and change American workplaces, at a time when we still have so much work to do to create workspaces that are equitable and fair for women, especially women of color,” said Jocelyn Frye, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families, in a statement.

“Because women are significantly overrepresented in positions such as secretaries, office clerks and receptionists, they will be uniquely affected by this technology. Without clear standards and accountability, we risk reinforcing the same inequities that have shaped our economy for decades.”